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.