Surfing Championships at Huntington Beach : The Stars Are Quickly Slipping From View

Weird things are happening at the sixth annual Op Pro Surfing Championship, which, by today, probably will have changed its sign to read “Op Pro Surfing Vanishing Point.” Compete at your own risk.

Oh, sure, Tom Curren, smooth mover and two-time world champion, managed to escape the trapdoors by the wax of his board Thursday at the Huntington Beach event. But even Curren, who surfs the way Baryshnikov dances, had to come from behind to beat John Parmenter, an unranked surfer from Huntington Beach.

The rest of surfing’s reigning dynasty fell into sudden decline in what has to be the largest mass-disappearance scene since “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Mark Occhilupo, the third-seeded but wavering Australian who has won the last two championships at Huntington Beach, was beaten in the first-round men’s main event by Todd Holland, a tiny 18-year-old in his rookie year.

Tenth-ranked Brad Gerlach was upset by Greg Anderson, another unseeded surfer having to come up through the trials.

Even Aussie Tom Carroll, the No. 2-seeded surfer, who, in the last four years, has won two Assn. of Surfing Professionals titles and was third and second the next two years, was dispatched by Hawaiian Sunny Garcia, a 17-year-old with a personality as bright as his name.

“There is an element of luck involved,” said Curren. “You have to have it working for you to get waves. I was lucky to get a couple of good rides.”

Indeed, Curren had problems with his first few waves, which sent him somersaulting into the surf while Parmenter was collecting approving scores from the judges. However, Curren was able to take control as the heat continued. He finished with three good rides, including an inside wave he caught just off the pier and controlled like a puppeteer all the way to the beach.

Then, in a move that brought cheers from the crowd, he out-paddled Parmenter to the orange buoy, giving him priority to select the next wave. Although his priority position did not turn out to be crucial since there were several more waves, Curren won anyway, averaging 94.7 of a possible 120 points for his four best waves. Parmenter’s average was 90.9.

Then the disappearances began and took a turn for the rampant. Holland, the U.S. Junior Nationals champion, knocked off Occhilupo.

Holland, a native of Cocoa Beach, Fla., and familiar with small waves like the three- to four-footers at Huntington Beach, outpointed Occhilupo on almost every wave. He led the Aussie from the beginning and, with a ride worth 26.3 points, put Occhilupo in the position of having to come up with an almost perfect ride. He didn’t, and Holland advanced to today’s second round of the men’s main event.

“I was just thinking I would go out and fall off the board or beat him,” Holland said. “Against a top 16 guy in an event, I would say this is my best performance.”

Occhilupo, who was eliminated, was not available for comment.

In the very next heat, Garcia put together four mean rides to average 95 points and finish off Carroll, who has suffered a string of minor injuries and managed just 81.1 points.

“I was just surfing like myself,” said Garcia, who had beaten Carroll before in Hawaii.

The juggling of leaders continued later as Anderson’s average of 93.1 barely toppled Gerlach’s 92.6.

So now the event that competitors call the Wimbledon of surfing tournaments is like a jet in which the first-class section has been punctured, and even Capt. Curren at the controls can feel the tug.

Back at the airport, they’re wondering how it will land.

Surfing Notes

Nea Post, the 15-year-old Huntington Beach amateur who plays piano at night after an afternoon of surfing, was in tune with the waves again Thursday. Just before the incoming tide began making the sea discordant, Post won her second-round trials heat to advance to today’s main event against Australian pro Pam Burridge. . . . Jolene Smith, runner-up to Post Wednesday, also won her heat Thursday to advance to the main event, which happens to include her fourth-seeded twin sister, Jorja. . . . Tournament officials are still hoping that Hurricane Hillary, raging 461 nautical miles west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas near the tip of Baja, Calif., will increase the size of the waves in time for Saturday’s finals. Most of the waves so far have been three- to four-footers with occasional peak sets reaching five and six feet. The National Weather Service in San Diego says Hillary, which is supposed to weaken Saturday morning, might have a slight effect on the surf of south-facing beaches. Huntington Beach faces west. However, the pull of the full moon will generate the highest tide of the year at 9:16 p.m. Saturday and could increase the size of waves. . . . Quarterfinals for seeded women and those who managed to rise through the trials, begin at 7 a.m. today. . . . Round two of the men’s main event will begin about noon.