A-List Talent Ready to Kick Off North Shore Season at Sunset Pro

The waiting period for Sunset Pro opened Monday but was quickly put on hold to wait for a solid swell scheduled to hit the North Shore later in the week.

“They will likely wait till Saturday, Sunday, and Monday,” predicted Rainos Hayes, one of  pro surfing’s coaching maestros and astute Hawaiian observers. Meanwhile contestants will no doubt be feasting on great Hawaiian food like Salmon Lomi-Lomi (see recipe below).

Contests at this storied surf spot have been on and off over the past several years, held at different times and with different sponsors. But it  is now back as a top option for the Qualifying Series  (the division that pro surfers have to compete on to ultimately make it to the WSL Championship Tour).

John John Florence’s Take on It

“Sunset Beach is such a challenging wave,” noted John John Florence, when talking about the Qualifying Series at Sunset compared to events on the Championship Tour. “This is a much bigger event and there are more guys.”

And girls, to be accurate. “For the ladies it’s Skai Suitt and Chesney Guinotte,” notes Rainos Hayes. Some of the others to watch would be Kiara Goold, the 14-yr-old Tahitian sensation who is leading the ratings at the moment. Or defending ISA Jr. Champ Vaihiti Inso, Hawaii’s hottest young female challenger.

A Deep Talent Pool

And these qualifying competitors are so chuck full of smoking hot talent the heat sheets might un-intentionally combust.

“Luke Tema is one of the best newcomers at Sunset at the moment as well as Mananalu Chandler,” says Hayes. Hayes should know - he coaches World Champ Italo Ferrera. “Billy Kemper gets it done well, but I could see the return of Finn McGill. And Eli Hanneman hitting his stride too.”

Long-time respected team coach Jason Shibata agrees. “Zeke Lau is back in the forefront, leading the ratings after a couple of hard years - and he is deadly in a heat,” says Shibata, a former pro himself and coach of numerous champion teams.

“And keep an eye on Makena Franzsonn, one of the North Shore’s dark horses that might blow some minds in the early heats,”

Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti, Japan’s Shun Murakami, and Oliver Zietz from the Netherlands are top of the ratings too, making this an interesting international battle beyond the usual trio of Aussie-American-Brazil power competitor duels.

Hot Talent and Cold Salmon

“The talent pool is really deep actually, Observes Hayes. “Guys like Josh Moniz are now the seasoned Veteran at 28 years old. And you have the young Challenger Series pro like Shion Crawford coming fresh off his world challenger run into his position as last year’s defending champion,” Hayes adds. “Hard to bet against that.”

Last February, Molly Picklum won the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach for the second year in a row, becoming the world's number one surfer at the time. Picklum's back-to-back wins are only the second time this has happened since 1999 and 2000.While neither she nor Men’s winner Jack Robinson will compete in this QS, it certainly features some of the very best up-comers to watch for future greatness. And Sunset Beach will once again be a definitive proving ground for hot talent to make their mark. Tune in this weekend. You might even see Mason Ho, Hawaii’s globetrotting professional- at-large if there’s not a better swell somewhere else on the globe.

And chances are no matter where that is (hopefully right here at his base on Sunset Point), he is eating some good Lomi-Lomi Salmon. This dish The good news is he (or you) can eat it anywhere. If you want something simple look no further. If you need something healthy this fits the bill on any diet. When it comes to flavors, it doesn’t get better. An if you’re looking for authentic Hawaiian cuisine this is it.

Lomi-Lomi Salmon Recipe