Editor’s Notebook -- S.J. Cahn

Part of the fun of community journalism is the chance to get out among

the readers, often at events I’d otherwise be tossed from as soon as I

slunk through the door. The mayor’s dinners, the awards events, the

service organization breakfasts, the surf contest.

Oh yes, the surf contest. That I was looking forward to -- for the

most part.

Just last week, in our capacities as editor, senior city editor and

photographer for the Pilot’s sister paper, the Huntington Beach

Independent, Tony Dodero, I and Sean Hiller suddenly found ourselves

taking part in a media surf contest at the Huntington Beach Pier.

The Independent’s surf columnist, Rick “Fig” Fignetti, thought it

would be a blast. Us against teams from Surfer, Surfing, Trans World Surf

and Automatic magazines, part of a little sideshow to the OP Tag Team

Tournament going on this time last week.

Fig, you should understand, is a good surfer. Really good -- he still

surfs in contests and wins. He owns a surf shop. He shapes boards.

So another contest, one that’s maybe even more relaxed than what he’s

used to -- no problem.

On the other hand, for me, there were just a few issues to consider

over the course of the three days I had to get ready.

1. The surfers from the other magazines, if not former pros, well,

probably pretty close.

We, on the other hand . . . well, I’ll try to be as detached from this

as possible. Tony surfed National Scholastic Surfing Assn. contests when

he was younger. If he’d been surfing much lately, which he hadn’t for too

many reasons to mention, he’d have no problem.

Sean. Sean won’t admit this, but he can surf. He’s no pro, but he

isn’t going to embarrass himself.

Me. Is the opposite of “no slouch” slouch? I might not be that bad,

but the 10 years I spent going to school and working in the Midwest,

Northwest and the East -- pretty much everywhere except where there are

waves -- put a fairly big hole in my surfing career.

2. The crowd, as in people actually watching you surf.

For the problems there, see No. 1 and use your imagination.

3. Our competition, like ourselves, has the power of the press.

My name, finally in a surf magazine, next to the words “lame,” “kook,”

“barney,” take your pick.

Pretty much, I had a picture of my not only wiping out on every

takeoff, in front of -- I don’t know -- hundreds of Surf City locals, but

then having my lameness appear in a magazine. Maybe with a little

thumbnail-size photo.

Yeah, so I was really stoked by the whole thing. But then I thought

more about it and figured, really, what’s the worst that can happen?

I panicked more.

Finally, I came to my senses and realized that showing up for the

contest would get us out in the community, we’d meet a few people, make a

few contacts. We could chat with some folks and talk shop with “surf

journalists.”

Then this thought hit: I’d spend an hour getting paid to surf.

I was in.

And that brings us to problem No. 4.

4. The surf, or, actually, the lack of surf.

Huntington Beach last Friday was as flat as I’ve seen it. It reminded

me of where I grew up surfing, Manhattan Beach, which more often than not

everyone called “Lake Manhattan.”

“Lake Surf City” just doesn’t have the same ring, but that’s exactly

what it was.

And, you’re smart enough to guess it, when we drove into the parking

lot near the pier, the contest was canceled. Called off. Finished. And so

were our hopes of, if not winning that media contest, at least not

falling flat on our faces.

Of course, later that day, I found out that Fig is promising we’ll

enter again next year. And I have 350 days to worry about it.

All this allows me to make one final point. As you can maybe tell,

we’ve got enough surfers to go around here at the Pilot and not enough

engaged in another fine water sport: boating.

I know there are stories out there we should be doing, stories we

aren’t tied into because we can’t tie a square knot.

So if you ever have any thoughts or ideas for us when it comes to

sailing, feel free to give us a call.

Just don’t expect to see a Pilot yacht entered in the

Newport-to-Ensensada race any time soon.

* S.J. Cahn is the senior city editor. He can be reached at (949)

574-4233 or by e-mail at o7 steven.cahn@latimes.comf7 .