Wet and wild with Rockin’ Fig -- Rick Fignetti
Summer’s just about here and the kids are counting the hours before
they get out of school. The weather has been quite typical of this time
of year, the morning June gloom, or cloudy skies the first half of the
day, turning to sunshine later. How about that water temp -- 67 degrees,
maybe the El Nino water temps, when it rose to the 70s, will return. The
surf has still been that mix of swells, from both directions, in the
waist- to chest-high plus zone. And by most reports this could be a
crowded summer, here at home on our local beaches with less people taking
the big vacations overseas. Surf City will be rockin’ with all the
festivities laid out over the next three months.
It looks like the Foster’s Pro Surfing Tour is coming to town with its
first event slated for June 21-23 at 9th Street. It has World Qualifying
Series sanctioning and is giving away $80,000 in prize money for the
season. You won’t want miss the annual Fourth of July parade, starting at
the pier and going up Main Street to Huntington Beach High School. It’s
legendary -- it’s where you see tons of old friends and is the biggest
west of the Mississippi.
The Huntington Beach Pro-Junior Surf Series will be hosting its fifth
event of the season at the pier July 7 and 8, with lots of divisions and
an Air show too. The local talent should fare well.
The Professional Surfing Tour of America is hitting the shores of
Huntington Beach at Goldenwest Street July 18-21. The top talent in the
U.S. will battle it out. Last year’s top finishers were from right here,
Seal Beach’s Ryan Simmons in the men and Josh Mohr in the longboarding.
The week of July 27 through Aug. 4 will feature one of the biggest World
Qualifying Series events, a six star, the U.S. Open of Surfing, on south
side of the Huntington Beach Pier. It boasts the largest field of surfing
contestants in the world. It also attracts some of the best surfers, some
of the top 44, and some of the largest crowds of spectators in the arena
type setting. BMX and skateboarding are usually part of the fun extreme
sports event too, plus some hot bands should be performing throughout the
weeklong extravaganza.
Following the biggie, is another HB Pro-Junior Surf Series sponsored
by Del Taco at 9th Street, August 11 and 12 to keep that stoke going. So
as you can see, tons of fun in store for a good summer. Or, if you’re a
Soul Surfer, just find your own sand bar down the beach.
Hot news flash bulletin in the HB Pro-Junior Surf Series held over the
weekend at the pier -- which saw some high energy surfing -- was won by
ripper Nate Yoemans. Up-and-coming shredder Matt King was second, third
was Austin Ware and Huntington’s Shaun Ward finished fourth. The Macho
Air final was won by Huntington’s Brandon Guilmette busting big time.
Newport’s Andrew Doheny took the super groms, in boys Seal Beach’s Chris
Waring won and took second in juniors to Gabriel Garcia. Huntington Beach
Pier regular Mike Mattison tore his way to a win in the men’s division,
while surfer/shaper Jon Wildfong won masters. In longboarding, Steve
Newton, held off the former world champ Joey Hawkins for the win and
Lauren Sweeny won the women -- good job. 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
(106.7) 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.
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