A number of Hawaiian gurus were polled in Surfing Life magazine a couple of years ago to nominate the most difficult wave to surf on the North Shore and their answer? ... Haleiwa.
   Perfect from afar, far from perfect, the muddy bowl not far the mouth of the Haleiwa River can turn into a streaming torrent of unpredictable boils which pimple themselves all over 12' slabs.
   A hard place to surf, an even harder place to win a contest. Not for former 'CT tourer and fearless Hawaiian Roy Powers who scored highest heat score of the event during the final with two mind-boggling barrels to smoke out Parko, Bede and Sean Moody.
   Though a day of hideous wipeouts for most, Powers edged closer to a return to the elite World Tour next year, the win taking him just outside the Top 10 on the qualifying series.