6 Things To Watch At The Hurley Pro Sunset Beach
The story of the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach thus far is the forecast. It’s really the only story as the North Shore has been hammered by swell and weather the last few days. But the seas are settling (a little) and the winds look to be shifting, meaning it’s time to start thinking about the contest and the abundance of storylines that have emerged since the Pipe Pro wrapped up a week ago. Here’s six things you need to know:
1. The Surf
Giant and wind-whipped, that’s been the last week on the North Shore. And while the winds look like they start to cooperate a bit better this weekend and beyond, Surfline’s official forecast is calling for 15- to 20-foot surf on Sunday, and it doesn’t drop below 8- to 10-foot for the next week. Whenever the contest runs, it’s not going to be small.
2. The Yellow Jersey
Fresh off their statement-making wins at Pipe, Caity Simmers and Barron Mamiya are coming into Sunset ranked number one in the world. There’s no reason they can’t leave Sunset in the same position. Mamiya won at Sunset as recently as 2022, and as a North Shore kid, has spent more time in the water there than most other surfers on tour. And Simmers is a style master in right point surf. Sunset really suits her aggressive, attacking approach. At only 18 years old, experience and the ability to meet power with power may be a concern, but she’s got heaps of momentum and confidence guiding her right now, so that may be a moot point.
Caity Simmers, Barron Mamiya Win Pipe Pro, New Era Dawns On Championship Tour
3. The GOAT
Kelly Slater was crystal clear about the state of his surgically repaired hip at Pipe—that it felt fine in the tube, but turns were a different story. Slater’s also never been the biggest fan of Sunset, making this contest a huge question mark for the greatest of all time. Maybe he embraces the challenge of the bigger swell, but if he’s physically not there yet, it’s anybody’s guess what he does next.
4. The Goofies
Two words: Cole Houshmand. Only a rookie on tour, he’s built like a brick shithouse, focused on avenging his poor result at Pipe, and has been spending all his time at Sunset lately. He could surprise a lot of people much the way Jordy Smith did in the early days of his career. Because of his size, and being a goofy-footer, he’s able to draw deep bottom turns and project under the lip. World champ Caroline Marks has much the same ability to use that bottom-turn-top-turn combo as a point of differentiation to the judges.
5. The Wildcards
Kai Lenny has to be licking his chops at the prospect of taking on the world’s best at 15-foot Sunset. He has Ethan Ewing in his opening heat, which should produce some fireworks. Keanu Asing, Brodie Sale and Zoe McDougall aren’t exactly slouches out there either. All four surfers are from Hawaii and have spent and abundant amount of time at Sunset over the course of their careers. Don’t be surprised to see some upsets.
6. The Winners
John John Florence and Molly Picklum take the win at Sunset. Florence is perhaps the best suited to slow Mamiya's roll, and after the Pipe final he owes him one. Picklum has the power game to match the forecast at Sunset. She also won here last year, so clearly she knows what it takes to top the podium. Florence and Picklum will be in the yellow leaders jersey as the tour wraps up it Hawaii leg.
Kai Lenny Looks To Shake Up Championship Tour With Sunset Beach Wildcard
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.