The thought has often occurred to me when crafting the schedule for the “It’s Game Time Somewhere” Tour that I might occasionally have to deal with weather wiping an event off the scoreboard. I never thought that a lack of weather might be the culprit though.

But when the Pacific turned to glass for three straight days prior to my visit to the ASP Hurley Pro, it occurred to me that I might not be able to claim surfing as one of the Nifty Fifty sports that ultimately make up the Tour. As Jeff Spicoli might say, “Bogus, dude – we need some righteous waves out here, pronto!”

I can only dream of someday being that eloquent.  

Fortunately, in the wee hours of the morning, somebody kick-started the wave machine. And while the early action at the Lower Trestles venue was a little slow when I arrived beachside, things got better quickly. Much better.
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When is a world class surfing event not a world class surfing event? When the ocean looks a lot more like a pool table than a scene from The Endless Summer.

Action at the ASP World Tour’s Hurley Pro had started out frenetically on the first day of the event, enabling the completion of Round 1 and almost half of Round 2 in near ideal conditions.

But when Day Two arrived, it forgot to bring waves with it. Day Three…the same. Day Four…Ditto. The break between the 5^th and 6^th heats of Round 2 had stretched out farther than anyone could have imagined.

At the end of the third day of little to no surf though, optimistic reports of a building swell had ASP World Tour officials hopeful that competition could begin again the next day – which coincidentally was also known (albeit unofficially) as “It’s Game Time Somewhere Day At The Beach”.
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