Wet and Wild with Rockin’ Fig -- Rick Fignetti

Summer hit last weekend with some baking days at our local beaches.

Warm air temps and sizzling action on the sands helped to swing us right

into things.

Water temps have been great in the upper 60s and many have been

trunking it already. And with those ingredients, the beaches have been

pretty packed with sun worshipers and others just looking to cool down

with a nice dip in to the ocean. Not to mention the groms are out of

school.

Down south, at San Clemente Pier, the Professional Surfing Tour of

America ran an event that featured lots of surfers from our neck of the

woods doing well. The action-packed men’s final saw local standout Chris

Drummy of San Clemente take a super close one. Less than half a point

separated three surfers. Huntington Beach’s wonder kid, Brett Simpson,

almost stole the show from the top ranked pros with some tail-out lip

bashes and airs, finishing second. Seal Beach’s Ryan Simmons the

defending champ from last year, again, put on a fine display of surfing

taking third. And Laguna Beach’s Bron Huessenstamm rounded out the top

four.

In the women’s no one could stop last year’s PSTA overall winner Julia

Christian of Carlsbad, who posted the highest scoring final of the event.

But, Surfside’s Jodie Nelson put on a strong performance to place second,

and finds herself in the number one spot in the overall points ratings

half way through the season.

In the longboarding, World Champ Colin McPhillips was in top form,

demonstrating why he’s one of the best, as he won the event. Local nose

riding specialist Josh Baxter of San Clemente was hot on his heels losing

by only a half a point. Former NSSA standout Linden Brocolli finished

third, and Zack Howard in fourth. Look for these surfers to surf it out

again, right here in Huntington, July 18-21 at Goldenwest Street.

This weekend starts the, “big show” for all the amateurs from around

the nation at the National Scholastic Surfing Assn.’s National

Championships. The first couple days will be held at Salt Creek for the

college, high school and middle school events. It will shift over to that

prime southwest point break Lowers, on Tuesday, and will go until

Saturday with finals for the Open and Explorer divisions.

Big stuff -- a lot of schools from the area will be in it.

Good luck to Huntington Beach, Edison and Marina high schools, Dwyer

and Sowers middle schools and all competitors from Surf City -- you might

get lucky and win a national title. If a southwest swell hits, watch out,

there’s gonna be some prime time moves thrown by all divisions, from the

mini groms to the juniors and mens slashers. No doubt even the super

seniors will be having their moments too. See ya there.

* 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.