Lots of surf on tap in Hawaii

WET AND WILD WITH ROCKIN’ FIG

More good weather and surf has hit Surf City beaches this last

week. Again, light Santa Ana wind conditions have left many a glassy

afternoon session, when normally, it’s heavy onshore winds.

Air temps have climbed to the 70s, unheard of in January. And the

El Nino storm track system has been downgraded because we haven’t

seen much rain or snow in our local mountains so far this year.

Over in Hawaii, they held the QuickSilver Masters World

Championships at Makaha Jan. 20 through 28. That’s where all the top

world tour standouts from yesteryear come together and surf it out

like old times.

In the Masters ages 35 to 44 division, some big ripping was going

on in the 4- to 6-foot good surf for the final. Aussie Gary Elkerton,

a runner-up to the world title numerous times, was in top form.

Elkerton met up with top-10 standout Brad Gerlach, a former

Huntington Beach resident, who was mowing through the rounds to set

up the showdown.

In the final, Elkerton was picking off the sets and throwing some

mean power carves in the pocket to take it. Elkerton, who never won a

title back in the 1980s, has come back to win three Masters world

titles in a row.

Gerlach, who was a runner-up in his younger days, too, was

runner-up again, placing second with 17.25 to 13.25. Gerlach had some

great exchanges, and some surfers were saying that, the way he was

surfing in the event, he could be in the top 20 right now.

Equal thirds went to Aussies Robbie Bain, one of the fiercest

competitors ever, and the 1989 champ Martin Potter. Equal fifth was

former U.S. Champ from San Clemente Mike Parsons, four-time world

champ from Santa Barbara Tom Curren and former world champs

Australian Barton Lynch and Hawaiian Derek Ho, who has won the Triple

Crown too many times to count.

In the Grand Masters Division, big ripping was going on too. The

‘78 world champ and Assn. of Surfing Professionals President Wayne

“Rabbit” Bartholomew had a great run and met up with the legendary

Mark Richards, a four-time world champ ’79 through ‘82, in the final.

Rabbit got on a roll and took the 45-and-older win with a decisive

victory, 17.50 to 13.40, in the action-packed final too. Bartholomew

and Richards were getting compliments on the art of surfing they were

displaying throughout the event.

Placing equal third were Hawaiians Buzzy Kerbox, who has moved on

to big-time modeling, and Bobby Owens, the ’98 Grandmasters winner

and Sunset Beach Hawaii standout. Equal fifths were former world

champ from South Africa the “Ambassador” Shaun Tomson, Hawaiian Pipe

dominator Michael Ho and Australian veterans Terry Richardson and

Paul Nielson.

Honorable mention goes to Surf City resident and the 1976 word

champion, “P.T.” Peter Townend, who lost out in round three, as did

former Seal Beach ripper Marty Thomas, who was in the top 16 four

times in his career.

See ya.

* RICK FIGNETTI is a seven-time West Coast champion, has

announced the U.S. Open of Surfing the last nine years and has been

the KROQ-FM surfologist for the last 17 years, doing morning surf

reports. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at

(714) 536-1058.