The North Shore of O'ahu is often described as the mecca of surfing, and yesterday offered more proof.

A mix of international surfers took turns in the spotlight on the opening day of the Xcel Pro Presented by No Fear men's surfing contest.

The first round and half of the second round was completed in 4- to 8-foot waves (based on traditional measurements) at Sunset Beach. The Xcel Pro, which has been run every year since 1984, is considered the kick-off event for the famous North Shore surfing season.

"It's a very important time of year for us," North Shore veteran surfer Liam McNamara said.

McNamara was one of the standouts from the Hawai'i contingent yesterday, scoring an 8.67 (out of 10) for his best wave in his second-round victory.

"I really didn't have much energy because I got caught on the inside on my wave before that," he said of his high-scoring wave. "But what ever energy I did have, I was lucky enough to pull off two good turns."

The Xcel Pro is part of surfing's World Qualifying Series, so many international surfers enter it to earn points. It also means the Hawai'i surfers have to earn their entrance into the event as well.

"Basically, I try to travel around the world the whole year to get a few (qualifying) points here and there," McNamara said. "I don't like surfing the small-wave events, but I do it just to get into this event."

Hawai'i-based surfers have won 21 of the previous 22 Xcel Pro contests, but contest owner Ed D'Ascoli said this year's field has approximately 60 international entries — the most in the contest's history.

And based on yesterday's results, some of the international surfers are capable of performing well in Sunset Beach's tricky waves.

Australia's Darren Turner rode one of the best waves of the day — completing two precise turns in the dangerous section of an 8-foot set. He received a near-perfect score of 9.0.

"You can't really hear the scores when you're out there, so you have to put it all on the line with every wave," Turner said. "It's definitely a hard wave to surf, but once you get a good one, it's the same as any other wave — you just try to put your best maneuvers together."

Turner, however, is not exactly a newcomer to the North Shore's powerful waves. He said he has spent the past few years practicing at Sunset Beach.

"You have to get here at least a few days before the contest to get used to the waves," said Turner, 29. "And the last two years prior to this one, I spent two months straight surfing Sunset in all sorts of conditions. Even with all that, it's like something different every time you go out."

Che Stang of San Diego had the best heat of the day — a two-wave score of 15.40 in his second-round victory.

"I was just going for the inside (waves), the medium-sized ones, and get a couple turns in," he said. "I was just trying to get through. I didn't know I had the high score. Wow."

On the surface, it would seem to be a surprise since Stang is in the Xcel Pro for the first time.

But like Turner, Stang said he put in his practice time in years past.

"I've been coming here every year since I was 16," said Stang, 23. "If you don't know what's going on out there, you'll get lost real fast. This is my first time in this contest, but it's not my first time at Sunset, so I felt OK."

Other standouts not from Hawai'i included David Richards of South Africa, Yukio Ogawa from Japan, Devon Tresher of Florida, and Shane Beschen of California.

Among the other Hawai'i surfers advancing were former Xcel Pro champions Derek Ho and Kaipo Jaquias, Rainos Hayes, Flynn Novak, Chas Chidester and John Gomes.

The top seeded surfers in the contest received byes yesterday.

Elite Hawai'i surfers Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, Fred Patacchia Jr. and Roy Powers are not entered because they are competing in Brazil this week.

The event will continue today, conditions permitting. For updated information, call 596-7873 or visit xcelwetsuits.com.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.