Surf gets going down there

RICK FIGNETTI

It’s kinda nice to have a week with some sunshine for a change, in

this record setting year for rainfall. Seems like everything is still

drying out and getting back to normal, although that ocean water

still has a tinge of murkiness to it.

The local mountains got tons of snow from the last storm as it

stalled there -- eight feet in three days -- boosting the base levels

at Mountain High Resort up to an incredible 12 feet. Up at Big Bear,

they picked up a few feet too, and the skiing and boarding has been

unbelievable with a packed powder surface.

We picked a pretty decent west swell the first part of the week on

the West Coast and it was firin’ with overhead sets at our Surf City

beaches.

Over in the land down under, it’s summertime and the start of the

World Championship Tour at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast. The

waiting period started March 1 and goes ‘till the 13th. The men’s

Quicksilver Pro and the women’s Roxy Pro will showcase the best

surfers in the world trying to get a jump in the ratings race.

In the men’s competition, wildcard slots were given to Aussie

ripper Luke Munro -- who last year took out Mick Fanning, one of the

favorites in the contest -- while the other wildcard, Ventura’s Dane

Reynolds, who’s known for boosting some big airs, upset world champ

Andy Irons in the U.S. at Trestles, so both are dangerous low seeds.

Of course, the top men’s seeds are A.I., the Gold Coast’s Joel

Parkinson and six-time world champ Kelly Slater.

In the women’s competition, Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich will be

leading the charge, defending her world title this year against

Kauai’s Rochelle Ballard and Australian Chelsea Georgeson, the No. 2

and No. 3 seeds.

We’ll keep ya posted on results.

At the big five-star World Qualifying Series event, the Hang Loose

Pro in Brazil, Santa Barbara’s Bobby Martinez took first place honors

with one of the highest two-wave scores ever for a World Qualifying

Series final, 19.85 out of a possible 20. Martinez is one of the

U.S.’s most decorated amateur surfers with lots of national titles

under his belt. He is No. 1 in series ratings and is trying to follow

in the footsteps of Huntington’s Timmy Reyes and San Clemente’s Chris

Ward, who made the big show and are in Oz with the World Championship

Tour for their rookie seasons.

Back at the Hang Loose Pro, Brazil’s Dunga Neto was second, while

Americans Nathaniel Curran from Ventura and Laguna Beach’s Mikey Todd

placed equal fifth. Not a bad start!

It looks like veteran surfer Pat O’Connell, 33, is retiring after

15 years as a surfing pro. The Laguna Beach resident finished as high

as 10th in the World Championship Tour standings one year, and had a

shot at the world title, which his buddy Slater won that year.

O’Connell is known for his surfing in the movie “Endless Summer

II,” going around the world in search of perfect waves. He’ll still

do some of the local World Qualifying Series events.

And a sad note, the original surfer girl, Sandra Dee -- who played

Gidget in the early surf movies -- passed away last week. She was

married to pop icon Bobby Darin, and was known for bringing gals into

the surf scene in the early ‘60s.

That’s it for now, see ya. Fig over and out.

* RICK FIGNETTI is an nine-time West Coast champion, has

announced the U.S. Open of Surfing the last 11 years and has been the

KROQ-FM surfologist for the last 18 years, doing morning surf

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

(714) 536-1058.