"She's a cruel old bag."
Surf fans around the world thrilled, yesterday, as the shortboarding portion of the world’s largest surf contest got underway beneath grey-ish skies in Huntington Beach, California. The US Open of Surfing is the third stop on the World Surf League’s Challenger Series, the penultimate tour required by all professional surf hopefuls not named Kelly Slater to hop up to the big leagues.
Currently, Australia’s Jacob Wilcox and South Africa’s Luke Thomson are sitting one and two, ready to pack bags and join their heroes at Bells Beach in April for the kickoff of the 2026 Championship Tour. Kolohe Andino maybe too. While the former Championship Tour mainstay is currently 50 on the CS, his heat 2 win propelled him into the Round of 64 and quite possibly a 5th final’s appearance.
Andino made it through along with Peterson Crisanto, Kauli Vaast, Jadson Andre and others before organizers called the event off, citing too-small waves while shaking balled fists at cruel Mother Nature.
It was, to be charitable, terrible, unwatchable, very bad and no good.
Here are the “highlights.”
The aforementioned organizers cited Huntington Beach usually being a “wave magnet” even though the magic pull attracts the same sorts of waves as it does culture (i.e. low quality) but yesterday the ankle-high nothingness was even too much for them to take
Challenger Series events, as you know, field many more surfers than Championship Tour ones and so there is limited flexibility in the schedule. There is some misplaced hope that Thursday, almost one week from today, will provide a pulse but, otherwise, Liam O’Brien et. al. will have to “surf” ripples for day after day. Chris Cote and Mitchell Saladbar up in the booth attempting to make lemonade out of air.
Do you cry for them or mock their plight?
No wrong answers.
This is the most overrated break in the world, especially during the summertime.
Huntington beach is much better in October.
The optics are always nice in the summertime, but the quality of waves are terrible. The organizers will never learn.
And as far as California goes, San Clemente and Santa Cruz have way better waves than Huntington Beach does, all year around.
There’s a reason the surfing competition for the upcoming Olympics will be held in San Clemente, instead of Huntington Beach. Smart move.
He’d look this flowy on any higher volume board, but yeah
No wave pool nearby?
RIP Chris Bystrom
insane clip. you’re right, that board strips all the unsightly twitchiness from his style and distills it to its pure, radical essence. the most enjoyable surfing i’ve ever seen from him. side note: I was at Uppers with my son not long ago and he said, “who’s that old fat guy ripping out there?” it was Dino. anyway, thanks for posting, kuntol.
“Highlights”…
The 805 beer commercial of surf events.
“even though the magic pull attracts the same sorts of waves as it does culture (i.e. low quality)”
How dare you write such a wonderful smack in the balls Charles. Bravo.
Mitchell Saladbar. Welcome back, pro surfing. Welcome back, Chas.
The Cunt Diaries era mate, not just being provocative, only showing us the preposterous nature of all things surfing by writing about it in a faux earnest manner.
Bravo to The Cunt Diaries.
Xox
The Cuntmen section on HERE. HERE. and HERE…as well.