Yadin Nicol, Salt Creek Spinoff, CA

Yadin Nicol has a chance to get in the Hurley Pro at Lowers. Glenn Hall’s back is in real poor shape, and if it stays in poor shape, then Yadin shall pull on a jersey. And just in case that happens, Yadin’s been putting in time to readjust to OC conditions (having just come back from Tahiti). “It’s been flat as a lake with the occasional knee-high swell here and there for the past month or so,” says our photographer, Quinn Matthews. “Luckily, Yadin was able to catch a sneaky swell that snuck past the radars and had some head-high sets at Salt Creek in the morning, before heading back up to Santa Barbara in the afternoon to get his travel plans all figured out. We lucked out with sunny conditions and clear water too, which made up for the colder water temps. They’ve been dropping fast without the south swells to warm it up.”