Day 5 at the Cold Water Classic
Santa Cruz, California– October 21, 2010 – The swell rolled into Steamer Lane Santa Cruz today for the O’Neill Cold Water Classic California as the top names in surfing got into the water, putting on a spectacular show for the gathering crowds. Jordy Smith and Nat Young – both previous winners at this competition - were battling it out at first light, in the first heat of the day with local boy Nat taking the win. “I was pretty nervous about that heat. I’ve been thinking about it since I saw the draw,” said Nat. “It was pretty exciting to surf against Jordy out there especially in front of my home crowd. I was just hoping to make the heat. I wasn’t really expecting to beat him!” Jordy Smith, current ASP World Number Two, arrived in Santa Cruz straight from an impressive European World Tour campaign. “It’s a war not a fight,” said Jordy of his second place finish in his first heat here. “We’ll see how it goes the rest of the comp.” “It feels good to be here,” he said. “It’s a tricky wave to surf. But I’m having fun. I don’t have too much worry about this event. It’s just nice to surf with two or three or guys out,” said Jordy. Conditions today were among as good as they get here at Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz. A clean North West swell, and perfect smooth waves meant the surfers were at their best for this ASP Prime event. The standout of the day was Australian Dayyan Neve scoring an 8.23 and a 9.33 – and thus the highest heat score of the day. “I was only in rhythm at the end of the heat,” said Dayyan. “I’ve only had a few surfs out here at Steamer Lane, but I loved it. I’m just having a good time surfing a perfect pointbreak with only four guys out.” And the battle for the $50,000 has commenced. Currently leading the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series, Shuan Cansdell, was first in the water, coming out top of his heat. “I didn’t do anything too special,” said Shaun. “I was happy to get through that heat. It’s hard to get the $50,000 out of your mind. I’ve been trying to focus on my surfing and take it heat by heat. It’s a good motivator though.” Shuan was not on the sidelines watching as Stuart Kennedy, sitting just behind him in the ratings, also win his heat: “That’s the thing with the 50K up for grabs,” said Shaun. “It’s easy to get caught up in everybody else’s business. I just want to focus on my own surfing and try to better it in each heat.” The next call is tomorrow, October 22nd at 7.30am for an 8am start with Heat 23 in the Round of 96. WATCH IT LIVE: http://www.oneill.com/cwc/california
