glassy clear surf canvas

2009 SUNSHINE SURFABOUT CONTEST

May 16-17th, 2009. Location: Random Cen-NorCal Beachbreak. Surf: 2-5 feet and clean.  Much thanks and aloha to Sunshine Surfshop in Monterey, 130 competitors and all of the beautiful specatators. The weather was amazing both days, and it was actually HOT on Saturday afternoon. The wind was light and the waves were glassy most of the event. The spectator turnout was record breaking... countless people were watching the event, and parking was a bear.   Photos by WK and others.

I competed in 3 divisions: Bodyboard, Longboard, and Shortboard.

Me getting ready to paddle a late eve heat in the 29TH ANNUAL 2009 SUNSHINE SURFABOUT.

The waves were pretty damn fun for a surf contest. I was glad to surf with just a few other people out. Wish I caught this one!

Pulling into a late evening barrel.during a surf contest.  This is what you call an "all day" event!

Floating through the last heat of the day. I was on the beach for two days from 7am till 9pm, and competed all day.

I walked out onto the low tide sandbar and got this photo of the Mens Semi Final paddling out.

This was me warming up well before the event. 

It was a beautiful weekend at the beach, and there was a record turnout of spectators for the event. I took this photo in the morning from the water before many of the crowds showed up. Thank you Sunshine Surfshop for putting this great event on.

Even mans best friend was having a good time at the beach. Wes Williams and his dog Snugs walking back from a practice session up the beach from the contest site.

For the second day of competition it was alot smaller, but still contestable. Here some spectators watch me snap in a heat.

This was my "camp" for the two days of the event. I was prepared from previous years and had a really nice setup. I set up a tent, surfboard rack and "patio". I built the surfboard rack out of PVC to keep my boards out of the sand. This was a 2 day event, and to compete in multiple divisons required me to be on the beach all day. Advancing in the event required me to be on the beach all day Sunday as well, starting at 7am. The finals were at 7:30pm! For two days you east, breathe, and sleep with sand.  ...Special thanks to Mel "Ping" Flores for the support and helping me haul my gear.

My friend Brian Simpson surfed really well through the event, and finished out the event 2nd in the Finals. Here he busts out a First Place heat win.

Here is the Event winner Robbie Newman waxing up  before a Longboard heat. Robbie won an intense competition in the Distance Paddle and the title "2009 All-Around-Waterman". Its a difficult task, and its definitely a respectable title indeed..

Here competitor Dane Anderson carves a small but clean wave over the shallow sandbar. Dane finished 1st in the Open Mens Final.

Wes Williams keeps the pace up, even in white-out conditions. The waves got really small near the end of the event, and it made it really hard to get a good score. Wes did well and finished out 4th overall in the Open Mens final.

Beside the contest area, guys like Mikey Selbecky were practicing for their next heats. Here Mikey practices for the Longboard event and gets a picture-perfect nose-ride.

The contest provided a rare mix of competition, brotherhood, and soul. Everyone helped each other, was positive, and shared good vibes. It really was an amazing event to be a part of. There was much aloha to be shared. Kendrick Shen checking the talent and conditions for the next Longboard heat.

I am about to blast-off in the Semi-Finals.

Before the event.

The first day provided some really good surf. The waves were clean and well overhead on Saturday morning. My best heat was in the first round of the Body Board. The waves were perfect, and I managed to get a few really nice barrels,  I ended up winning the heat, and finished ahead of second place by 12 points. I actually made it to the Semi-Finals of the Body Board division...haha.  By the afternoon, the surf had dropped off considerably.

The afternoon surf on Sunday was alot smaller. Here I advanced to the finals.

 Here Calder Dyerle floats over the dry sandbar on low-tide during the Open Mens Semi-Finals. He advanced to the Finals.

HERE IS WHAT I VAGUELY REMEMBER OF THE CONTEST RESULTS: (SORRYYY!)

OVERALL EVENT WINNER "WATERMAN" TROPHY: ROBBIE NEWMAN OPEN MENS: DANE ANDERSON MASTERS CRAIG COX, BRIAN SIMPSON, RON TRIPLETT

MY PLACINGS: Masters Shortboard: 5th in Finals, Bodyboard: placed in Semi-Finals  Longboard: placed in Quarter-Finals.

The event was filled with aloha, good times, and classic moments. I look forward to the event next year.

viseedors!