Wet and Wild With Rockin’ Fig

Rick Fignetti

Were movin’ into fall and it’s been a good one so far --crankn’ waves

are here at our local Surf Citybeaches. The surfs been on a roll for

nearly threeweeks straight now with waist- to head-high pluswaves. The

crowds have thinned down a tad, with all thegroms going back to school

and vacationers going backhome too. The weather’s been insane, sunny

skies, kindof a late Indian summer. I guess that is why everybodywants to

move here, huh, driving those real estateprices up.

The National Scholastic Surfing Assn. held its prestigious Open Season

event at Oceanside’s South Jetty last weekend in some smokin three- to

five-foot plus surf. In the finals of the men’s division, Carlsbad’s Josh

Montgomery ripped to first, but a charged up Huntington Beach High School

surf team member, Brett Simpson, took out second -- not bad for the first

year running in the division.

Juniors saw some radical moves by Killian Garland of Santa Barbara,

who won it. Seal Beach’s Chris Waring, son of Professional Surfing Tour

of America head judge,Scott Waring, took fourth, but is number one in

thestandings after two events.

In the boys’ division, losing out in the semifinals, that’s one short

of the finals, but still racking the big points were Tommy Steury in

fifth and Kyle Kennelly in seventh. In the mini-groms, thats 10 and

under; Newport’s Andrew Doheny placed second, Ford Archibald third --

that’s son of legendary Matt Archibald, whostarted the new school

movement way back when and Huntington Beach’s Jessie Steelman in fourth.

In bodyboarding ChrisEspinoza finished second.In the O’Neill Surfing

Magazine Air Show Final, Oxnard’s Nathaniel Curran blew up with an air

reverse and pulled it, to take it. Nathaniel, the brother of World

Champion Tour standout, Tim Curran, has been busting the sick airs

lately, just like his older brother. Carlsbad’s Sean Taylor was second

with some nice moves and Brett Simpson went large too, placing

third.Coming up this weekend, is the United States Surfing Federation’s

third event of the season, at the ever famous, Topanga point. All

divisions will meet Saturday and Sunday trying to cash in on big points,

being given away over a two-day spread, a few from Huntington Beach will

make the trek.

Also the 31st annual Huntington Beach City contestwill run over the

weekend on the south side of theHuntington Beach Pier. All divisions and

age brackets, willbattle the surf and turf for local bragging rights fora

whole year. Perspective winners of their divisionswill normally compete

in a Super Heat for top doghonors, too. Contest director Bob Werth has

done afine job over the years of putting the event together,now he just

needs some good surf for it!Local surfer Mike Hoisington took the Volcom

contest in Newps last week. He’s been seen shralping the Huntington Beach

Pier during the lastswell, along with a few others that I’ve seen -- Ryan

Turner, Tom Rezvan, Big Andy Hobson, Junga Ralph, to name a few.The tip

of Cabo San Lucas saw some good size waves from Hurricane Juliette last

week, but it did end up stalling off the coast a few days. That led to

rain and wind, so flooding and battering, that pretty much stormed it out

and tore it up a bit. Thetwister was rumored to have hit, at Todo Santos

up the coast. It could be a few weeks before those roads are all fixed up

again and dried out. And to think I was supposed to go down there last

week.That’s it for now. Fig over and out.

* RICK FIGNETTI is a six-time West Coast champion, has announced the

U.S. Open of Surfing the last eight years and has been the KROQ-FM

surfologist for the last 15 years where he’s done morning surf reports.

He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.