http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Columnists/GoingWild/colWILD041808.htm
OPINION: Columns
April 18, 2008
Sharks! Skills! Vibe! Event had it all
By JORDAN KAHN
GOING WILD
Maybe it's true that surfers are the only people in the world who would watch a surfing contest.
Surfing isn't on ESPN. It's not in the NCAAs. It isn't even on in the Olympics. In fact, it's more likely your typical arm-chair quarterback thinks surfers are a kind of hippie than an athlete.
But don't let 'em fool you.
Saturday through Monday at the Eastern Surfing Association's Southeast Regional Championships, 450 of the best amateur surfers in Florida and Alabama showcased the athleticism and fearless passion it takes to cut it in this sport.
WHAT SHARKS?
This event for East Coast surfing's amateur governing body was in New Smyrna Beach, the "Shark Bite Capital of the World."
And this was not some monster-under-the-bed subconscious fear. On Saturday, Jaws was airborne. Spinner sharks were leaping 10 feet into the air, flailing in tight, tooth-flashing spirals.
The event's emcee, Travis Ajay from Daytona Beach Shores, said event judges counted sharks jumping between 24 and 40 times.
"And most of them were in the 5-foot range," Ajay said.
Art Lueck from Satellite Beach said the whole "Bite Capital" thing entered his mind a bit as he paddled out for his longboard heat.
"I cut my knee right before I went out," he said, bending his leg to show off an inch-long slice closed by freshly congealed blood.
Even with pelicans dive-bombing bait almost on top of them, in classic surfer nonchalance, nobody got too sketchy.
"I was more worried about making it out of my heat than about the sharks," said 16-year-old Chelsea Gresham of St. Augustine.
These surfers thought keeping cool amidst a Cuisinart ballet of flying sharks was worth it to surf one of the best waves on the East Coast.
FULL BLAST SURFER VIBE
For three days, two six-person heats were in the water almost non-stop. In tented scaffolding towers, the judges scored their rides and Ajay called the action over the P.A. by the surfer's colored jerseys.
"Orange to the nose."
The sound of wind and surf filled the silence between his commentary.
"Waaaay outside, look at blue's bomb right!"
The two miles of sand from Flagler Avenue to Ponce Inlet was packed with sun tents and beach mobiles. Connie Howard, the ESA's North Central Florida director, said State Road 44 was bumper to bumper for six miles from the beach to 1-95 on Saturday.
The county's beach access toll booths counted some 1,800 cars in New Smyrna Beach that day.
There were way more than 1,000 people there. And nearly every one of them radiated bronzed, chiseled surfer cool.
One look and you knew these people lived surfing. Michael Wood of Port St. John, a longboard competitor, said he grew up in a home with more than 70 surfboards in it.
The event was more than a steppingstone to the East Coast championships. It was a chance for an under-the-radar counterculture to gather en masse, and a chance for this city to celebrate a moment as the sport's epicenter.
"This is a surf town. . . You see surfers here from 6 years old to 60 years old," said surfboard shaper and vice mayor of New Smyrna Beach, Randy Richenberg. "We've got some pretty deep roots."
TOTALLY GNARLY!
Just paddling out through the onrush of breaking waves would be a tall order for even an iron-pumping street baller, but these surfers made it look easy.
The judges called the conditions 2 to 4 foot, but a few school bus-sized humps of water were swelling up and detonating across the shallows.
Though ignored by mainstream sports media, and perhaps understated to a fault, Ajay said surfers are up there with "the finest athletes."
"It's the only sport in the world that's not on a fixed playing field," he said.
Many of these regional finalists are hoping wins as amateurs will springboard them to the pros.
Lauren McLean of Cocoa Beach, the reigning East Coast women's champ, said next year she's going to try her hand at the pro tour's World Qualifying Series.
And all that skill in the water translated into some electrifying rides.
Two of the hottest rides of the event were by Dustin Richardson of Daytona Beach Shores and Bill Whatley of New Smyrna Beach.
In a junior men's shortboard heat Saturday, Richardson launched off the lip of a wave and did a full loop-to-loop in the air, pulling off a big front side rail grab reverse.
That got him 9s and 9.5s from the judges.
And on Sunday, Whatley wowed the crowd by taking the zero-margin-for-error route by sliding through two different tubing sections on the same wave.
Terry DeLoach of Jacksonville Beach ran down to the water to greet Whatley after the heat.
"A double barrel! Man, that was insane," DeLoach said.
You had to see it to believe it, sports fans, and maybe you had to be a surfer, too.
jordan.kahn@news-jrnl.com
ESA Southeast Regional Championships Results
Menehune: 1. Tristan Thompson; 2 Logan Hayes; 3. Luke Marks.
Boys: 1. Christian Miller; 2. Keto Burns; 3. Jonathon Hatton.
Junior men: 1. Dustin Richardson; 2. Michael Howard; 3. Peter Polanski.
Men: 1. Ben Manganaro; 2. Tanner Deprin;
3. Ben McLeod.
Masters: 1. Donnie Macrae; 2. Jimmy Blumenfeld; 3. Todd Frazier.
Senior men: 1. Rodrigo Miranda; 2. Jason Motes; 3. Buddy Evans.
Grandmasters: 1. Jim Kathe; 2. Bill Whatley;
3. Sean Hayes.
Legends: 1. Kevin Brandt; 2. Ron Sapp; 3. Pete Lopez.
Grand legends: 1. Chum McCranels; 2. Rich Kenny.
Girls: 1. Jasset Umbel; 2. Savanna Bradley;
3. Emily Ruppert.
Junior women: 1. Haley Watson; 2. Alex Geesey; 3. Carley Franco.
Women: 1. Lauren McLean; 2. Jennifer Morris;
3. Kayla Beckmann.
Senior women: 1. Valarie Rose; 2. Heather Jenkins; 3. Tina Tyrone.
Menehune longboard: 1. Patrick Nichols; 2. Sam Deeley; 3. Jonathon Heater.
Junior longboard: 1. Dylan Andrews; 2. Tommy Evans; 3. Frank Roper.
Men's longboard: 1. Michael Wood; 2. Austin Marvin; 3. Joe Thibodeau.
Masters longboard: 1. Bill Whatley; 2. Jason Motes; 3. Mitch Kaufmann.
Legends longboard: 1. Carmen Garcia; 2. Pete Lopez; 3. Jim Miller.
Women longboard: 1. Lisa Autrey; 2. Chelsea Gresham; 3. Mallory Turner.
Senior women longboard: 1. Heather Jenkins;
2. Dana Jones; 3. Julia Arnold.
Menehune bodyboard: 1. Bryce Davies; 2. Samantha Gresham; 3. Chloe Pitard.
Open bodyboard: 1. Austin Dalton; 2. Joey Rosadio; 3. Al Rumbos.
Open shortboard: Keto Burns; 2. Donnie Macrae; 3. Michael Howard.
Distributed without profit to ESA Great Lakes District members for education purposes.
