After a week of 0′ to 2′ waves on the north shore of Oahu, a 3′ to 4′ swell made it’s way to Hawaii today. A starved stretch of seven miles with the worlds top pros setting around playing Xbox, fishing, jumping out of planes, playing golf and taking four hour naps jumped to life Sunday with Rocky Point showing some overhead sets.

The Reef Hawaiian Pro – the first of the 3-event Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series presented by Rockstar Energy Drink – will commence tomorrow, Monday November 21, and run three consecutive days to crown a champion on Wednesday.

“In the 29-year history of running the Vans Triple Crown, we’ve never gone this far without running one competitive day,” says Randy Rarick, Executive Director of the Series. “But we knew it was possible, given it’s a La Nina year. We saw a similar pattern last year, but this year La Nina is more strengthened. This is precisely why we have a 12-day window. Without it, the event would not have been able to start.”

The swell finally arrived and the lineups were packed.

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(Click to view more) The first swell to come into the Hawaiian Islands in a week arrived today bringing 3' to 4' waves to some spots on the north shore. Wave starved surfers packed the line ups from Lani's to V-land. November 20, 2011

The period allocated to the Reef Hawaiian Pro started November 12 and runs through the 23rd.

“A new WNW swell will fill in tomorrow and hold through Wednesday to allow us to run the Reef Hawaiian Pro straight through the final three days of its holding period,” says Managing Director Marty Thomas.

“Heat times for the first three rounds have been adjusted to 20 minutes duration, potentially increasing to 25 or 30 minutes for the later rounds, but it just depends upon whether we get an 8am start or a midday start tomorrow.”

The new swell is forecast to be in the shoulder-high range with clean, offshore conditions, but may take the morning to fill in, hence the possible midday start. Stay tuned to VansTripleCrownOfSurfing.com for updates.

Among those who will take to the waves on the opening day of competition are: Flynn Novak (HAW), Jamie O’Brien (Haw), Tim Reyes (CA), Jack Freestone (AUS), and Maui surfers Ian Gentil and Ian Walsh.

John Salanoa