Saturday, November 21, 1998
G-Shock win
By Greg Ambrose
gives Jaquias a shot at
$1-million bonus
Special to the Star-BulletinFrom the mouth of a child came a prediction that no one else could see.
"My daddy is going to win this contest to buy us a new house," said Kaimana Jaquias, with the supreme confidence of the very young.
His father, professional surfer Kaipo Jaquias, did not dare make a similar prediction as he surveyed the mob of talented surfers lined up against him.
But when the final horn sounded to end the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro, Jaquias had won the first event of the Triple Crown of Surfing and was $6,000 closer to buying his family their own place on his home island of Kauai.
The victory also makes Jaquias the only surfer who has a chance to claim the $1million bonus offered by Vans, owner of the Triple Crown, to the surfer who wins all three events.
"Now I can buy my house," Jaquias said. "If I get the next two contests, I can buy the whole island."
Every surfer in the event was supercharged by the vision of earning the right to win the $1 million jackpot, and the level of competition was off the scale. And although Jaquias won the event the old-fashioned way, with excellent wave selection and powerful moves, he was aided by a pair of crucial interference calls.
Most spectators with an ounce of insight picked five-time world champion Kelly Slater to win the G-Shock, as he was on fire, catching every wave in sight and surfing them with style and inspired innovation, powering past impossible sections and floating over closeout walls.
But a paddling interference against Derek Ho in a semifinal heat bumped Slater from contention and allowed Jaquias and Ho to advance to the final round.
Early in the final heat, Aussie Chris Davidson was surfing with the enthusiasm and flash of a 16-year-old kid who had a chance to win his first contest in Hawaii. But when he and fellow Aussie Mick Lowe paddled for the same wave, Davidson was charged with the interference, ending his chance to win the contest.
After the final heat, Jaquias jovially thanked his two Aussie opponents for making his job easier. Later, he was more serious when describing the interference calls. "When that happens, you have one less guy to worry about. It's strategy, you have to be a fierce competitor."
But the way he was surfing, Jaquias did not really need the interference calls. He was like a man possessed, chasing down every wave in the ocean, lefts, right, big waves, small waves, and working them with huge frontside and backside floaters and lip bashes until they expired on the inside reef.
Fittingly, although well in the lead, Jaquias caught the last wave of the contest just as the horn sounded to end the battle.
And it was a battle.
"Kaipo held me off on a couple of waves out there," said Ho. "That's competition. We told each other that anything goes in the final round. Earlier, we were helping each other out."
There will be no such kokua again, not with $1 million at stake.
"If Kaipo and I are in the final heat of the Rip Curl and one last good wave comes through, I'm going to take it from him," said Ho.
Jaquias was appropriately humble in victory. "I never looked ahead to win the $1 million. I just went out to do my best. There were too many more guys that could have won this contest, and could win the other two events.
"But I have a feel for this place. It helps when your wife is from here and you have to practice here a lot."
Hugging his son, Jaquias showed his appreciation for the child's kokua.
"Thanks for the mana, Kaimana. I'm going to buy a house on Kauai now, I want to give my kids the kind of life I had."
This was his first victory of the season, and it came at just the right time. Unlike every other competitor, Jaquias now has two goals: to win the Triple Crown title, and to win the $1 million bonus.
"In 1996 I won this contest, and used that momentum to win the Triple Crown. Now I've done it again, I have momentum for the Triple Crown, and $1 million to shoot for."
