Higher learning at Lowers

FOR THE RECORD

The April 27 column “Wet and Wild with Rockin’ Fig” misidentified the event won by local surfer Brett Simpson. He won the Vans Pro Championship in Huntington Beach in March. Pat Gudauskas won the four-star Le Vende Surf Pro in La Suazaie, France.

***

Things are heating up on the West Coast.

This week saw the start of the Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ four-star, $75,000 Body Glove Surf Bout at Lower Trestles in San Clemente.

The 14th annual bout started on Tuesday and will run through Saturday at the classic point break.

The competition attracted 192 surfers in the men’s division and 32 grommets in the grade-two pro junior event.

Past winners of the men’s include a young Kelly Slater, who launched his pro career with a win in 1990. Top Californian goofy-foot ripper Jeff Booth won three times, in ‘88, ’91 and ’95.

A former top World Championship Tour standout, local Shane Beschen, won in ‘92, ’93 and ’96. Other hot Cali surfers to win it include Taylor Knox in ’94 (with an assortment of slashes), Timmy Curran in ’97 (throwing some airs) and Rob Machado in ’98 (bashing the rights and lefts).

Three time world champ “A.I.” Andy Irons was the man in 2004, and South Africa’s David Weare went off last year to win it.

Some of the former winners are back this year to surf again: Beschen, Knox, Curran and Machado will be hard to beat if the waves are on. Plus, some W.C.T. pros like C.J. and Damien Hobgood and local boy Chris Ward are flying in from Australia, back from Bells contest.

Veteran greats Pat O’Connell, Shea Lopez and Asher Nolan are entered, too, as is Brett Simpson, who won a four-star in France last week.

Another local ripper entered is former national champ Mike Losness, who won his title at Lowers.