Peters floats into main draw at U.S. Open
Hometown surfer plays waiting game and prevails in qualifying at Huntington Beach.
Derek Peters had waited a day for this final qualifying heat, but now a much shorter stretch felt like forever.
“He wants these 45 seconds over so fast,” said a voice over the loudspeaker at Huntington Beach, and Peters bobbed in familiar water and hoped.
He held a slight lead over Jake Marshall and only one of them could advance to the main event of the Men’s Qualifying Series at the U.S. Open of Surfing, a 32-man field that hits the water Monday. Marshall stared out at the ocean as seconds dripped off the clock, waiting for a wave that never came. Peters watched until the final horn gave him the win Sunday morning, four heats and 25 hours after the competition began.
Peters then pounded his fist into the water, raised his tired arms in the air and started feverishly paddling to shore.
“I was just looking at the horizon and nothing was coming,” Peters said. “Then the time disappeared on the clock on the pier and I was waving my arms and asking [the announcer] to tell me every five seconds. I had to tell him sorry after, I didn’t mean to be rude. It was nerve-wracking.”
The 23-year-old Huntington Beach native’s love for surfing was bred on this beach. It started when he was a kid and his dad took him into the water, and only increased when he started coming to the U.S. Open every summer. He doesn’t remember his first one, but will never forget sitting in the stands as local surfer Brett Simpson won titles in 2009 and 2010.
Now Peters lifeguards here for about 50 hours a week, but he won’t be on duty the next few days. He’ll be busy competing in the main event for the first time, while hometown fans line the beach and pier.
“I always wanted to be in this event, ever since I saw it for the first time,” Peters said. “I have put a lot on hold to try to make it in surfing. It’s not easy, it really isn’t, but I don’t want to regret anything.”
To get there, Peters hit the water at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and advanced through the second round nine hours later, after fog delays. The qualifying rounds resumed early Sunday, and he advanced to the final heat with the best score of the morning.
Paddling out for the final round, Peters had a clear plan: Because only one surfer would make the main event, he resolved to stay patient and take only the waves that could yield a big score. That would put him in first place or last, he figured, but he wasn’t gunning for second or third.
With six minutes left in the heat, he found an ideal wave and took a slim .87point edge over Marshall. That held until the finish, and a group of Peters’ friends waited on the edge of the water as he sped in with a smile spread across his face.
After engulfing him in a group hug, they lifted Peters onto their shoulders and carried him up the beach while people lightly applauded from their towels. Marshall walked 10 steps behind, kicking up sand and shaking water off his shaggy blonde hair.
Peters waited a lifetime and a day to qualify for the main event. For that, Mother Nature was kind.
“I was just really happy he never got a wave, luck was on my side,” Peters said. “. . . But I feel a bit weird celebrating just yet, because I know how many talented guys are in this event and I have a lot of work to do this week. I don’t want to blow the opportunity now.”
jesse.dougherty@latimes.com