Kai Sallas of Honolulu had barrels of fun surfing in Mexico last week.

Sallas won the Puerto Escondido Tube Riding Contest for longboard surfers last week at Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

"It was some of the best surf I've ever had for a contest," he said. "It was a four-day event, and the waves were solid every day."

The unique contest was judged on tube time — otherwise known as barrel rides. Sallas said the waves at Puerto Escondido lived up to its nickname as "the Mexican Pipeline."

"The first day was really big, I would say a good 10 to 12 feet, Hawaiian size," he said. "You had to charge, but at the same time you had to be careful."

Sallas said he took four longboards on the trip and returned home with one. Three of his boards broke in the big surf on the first two days of the contest.

"When I got down to one board, I was a little worried," he said. "But on the final day, the (waves) came down to about 4 to 6 (feet), so that was perfect for my last board."

Sallas received $3,500 for the victory, which he said was one of the biggest of his career.

"It's a really big contest for longboarding," he said. "The wave at Puerto Escondido is always good, and you only get judged on your barrels, so it's tough to win."

Among the other Hawai'i surfers, Keegan Edwards tied for third place, and Dino Miranda tied for fifth place.

WOMEN'S WORLD TOUR RESUMES IN AUSTRALIA

After a one-month break, the 2006 World Championship Tour for women will resume next week with the Havaianas Beachley Classic at Sydney, Australia.

It is the richest event on the women's tour with a total prize purse of $100,000. Most of the other contests on the tour offer $67,500 in total prize money.

The event is the sixth of eight stops on the 2006 tour. Three Australian women have separated from the rest of the field in the chase for the 2006 world championship.

Melanie Redman-Carr is currently rated No. 1 with 4,752 points, followed by Layne Beachley with 4,452 and Chelsea Georgeson with 4,044.

Among the Hawai'i surfers, Rochelle Ballard is No. 10, and Megan Abubo and Keala Kennelly are tied at No. 12.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.