The Green Room

The Mavericks Surf Contest lives on for another year.

Contest Director Jeff Clark has announced that the official contest window will open on Jan. 1 and run through March 31.

“We are all stoked to be back for another year,” Clark said in a statement. “No matter what else is going on in the world, Mavericks will be there. The season looks promising, as we’ve already seen some major swells roll through Half Moon Bay. The perfect contest day we’re looking for will bring a northwest groundswell between 18 and 20 feet (translating into waves faces of 30-40 feet).”

Ross Clarke-Jones (white) and Ryan Seelbach (red) drop in on one of the bigger waves of the quarters during last year's contest.

If and when Clark determines an impending swell warrants giving the green light to hold the contest, 24 legendary big-wave riders from around the globe will have 24 hours to make the trek to the world-famous big wave break a half-mile offshore of Pillar Point Harbor, near Half Moon Bay.

This year’s international roster of invitees includes eight surfers from Santa Cruz. The 24 competitors, in alphabetical order, are: Matt Ambrose (Pacifica), Ben Andrews (San Francisco), Grant Baker (South Africa), Ion Banner (Half Moon Bay), Chris Bertish (South Africa), Carlos Burle (Brazil), Kenny Collins (Santa Cruz), Shane Desmond (Santa Cruz), Nathan Fletcher (San Clemente), Brock Little (Hawaii), Greg Long (San Clemente), Josh Loya (Santa Cruz), Peter Mel (Santa Cruz), Shawn Rhodes (Pacifica), Ryan Seelbach (San Francisco), Evan Slater (Ventura), Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz), Jamie Sterling (Hawaii), Anthony Tashnick (Santa Cruz), Darryl Virostko (Santa Cruz), Grant Washburn (San Francisco), Dave Wassell (Hawaii), Tim West (Pacifica), Zach Wormhoudt (Santa Cruz).

Also named were the 15 alternates, in order of priority: Alex Martins, Danilo Couto, Mark Healey, Tyler Fox, Rusty Long, Nic Lamb, Jamie Mitchell, Mike Gerhardt, Russell Smith, Kealii Mamala, Garrett McNamara, Andrew Marr, Lawton Smith, John Whittle, Colin Dwyer.

The Mavericks contest window usually starts in December, but organizers were forced to delay the opening ceremonies until they could firm up financial support from sponsors ambivalent to invest given the current economic climate.

Just like last year, the 24 surfers in the contest will compete for a $75,000 prize purse. The purse breakdown awards $30,000 for first place, $12,000 for second place, $7,500 for third place, $3,500 for fourth, $2,500 for fifth and $1,500 for sixth place.

The event will once again be webcast live over the Internet and fans can also sign up to receive a cell phone text message alert as soon as the contest green light is given.

To minimize the impact of spectators lining the beach at Pillar Point, contest organizers are encouraging fans to enjoy the contest via the webcast at home or by attending the live webcast viewing event at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Heads up! M10 Surfboards currently has a new batch of premium series model surfboards available at their showroom. For the first time this year, shaper Geoff Rashe and crew have caught up to demand from custom orders and have had the opportunity to get some stock boards out on the rack at the showroom, all available at a reasonable price.

In addition, the shop has a plethora of used boards from other top labels such as Rusty, …Lost, Mayhem, Stretch and Channel Islands, all still in good condition and available at great deals. The used boards are piling up as surfers around town take advantage of M10’s trade-in incentive: bring in a used board in good condition and M10 will offer you credit towards a brand new M10 surfboard in exchange.

Swing by the M10 factory [401 Ingalls St. at Swift St. on the Westside] and see general manager Marco Foreman to find out if your next magic board just might be in stock…

"What you need?" 5'6" Hogfish to 8'0" guns, M10 manager Marco Foreman has got you covered.

“The paddle in was amazing and we were surprised how many waves were actually caught. Almost everyone got a wave in what turned out to be an optimal paddle in day at the reef.”
– Contest director and Nelscott Reef founder John Forse.

(After conferring with big wave contest guru Gary Linden, and based on competitors feedback and spectator enthusiasm, Forse decided to integrate the paddle-in into future events.)

“It was insane. Those guys killed it out there. When you are tow surfing all day, it’s really spread out and you can come at it from any angle. tow surfing shows the angel, paddle surfing shrunk the playing field down to a takeoff area, you realize that’s a good wave to paddle. I’m not a big wave paddler, but the guys today put themselves in position to get pounded. There’s some big waves out there. They were doing it like a heat, full-on battling for positioning, strategizing. It’s pretty exciting. I saw Jamie Mitchell get pounded, ran into some bull kelp. That stuff can definitely take you out.”
– 2007 and 2008 co-champion Adam Replogle

“It was fantastic, it was long overdue, demonstrating that it could be paddled. It was really great to see the resurgence of the purity of paddling into big waves. They proved without a doubt that this is a paddle-able wave.”
– Jake Wormhoudt, who won the inaugural Nelscott contest in 2005 with brother Zach

2008 Paddle-In Contest final results:
1. Kealii Mamala (HAW)
2. Jamie Mitchell (AUS)
3. Shane Desmond (N.Cal)
4. Mike Parsons (S.Cal)
5. Gary Linden (S.Cal)
6. Justin Howard (Oregon)
7. Chad Jackson (C.Cal)
8. Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal)
9. Steve Harnack (Oregon)

Santa Cruz’s Jake Wormhoudt flies down the face of a huge wave during the finals of the Nelscott Reef Tow-In Classic. Three of the four teams in the final hailed from Santa Cruz, including winners Alistair Craft and Adam Replogle. photo: Richard Hallman

When the 2008 Nelscott Reef Tow-In Classic was given the green light for Sunday, Santa Cruz surfers Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft were on the fence about whether to make the ten-hour haul north to Lincoln City, Ore. to compete.

Having already won the last contest in January of this year, the duo wasn’t sure if the responsibilities of work and family around the Thanksgiving holiday would allow them the time to defend their title.

“To be honest with you, we weren’t even going to do this,” Replogle said. “We didn’t show up for the ceremony last year. Not because we were trying to be disrespectful, but me and Al both have two kids and a job to get back to and we’re in the middle of nowhere out here. So it’s pretty overwhelming to be here. I just didn’t think it was going to happen.”

After repeating as champions Sunday at the frigid deep-water wave in Central Oregon, the two are glad they returned.

Replogle and Craft towed each other into numerous bombs, surfing the waves — some in excess of 30 feet on the face — as if they were out shredding a head-high day at Sewer Peak, and earning first place with a combined score of 44.26. The father-son team of Josiah and Jeff Schmucker from Australia earned second place with 41.8, followed by two pairs of Santa Cruz brothers: Russell and Tyler Smith in third [41.22], and Zach and Jake Wormhoudt in fourth [40.16].

“Back to back, it was killer. We had a good time,” Craft said. “I think last year we didn’t feel that great about the final, we didn’t think we had a chance of winning. Neither Adam or I felt we surfed spectacularly or had great waves. But this year we felt we had a shot.”

With three of the four teams to reach the final hailing from Santa Cruz, the final was more like a tow-in session among friends in their own backyard than a high-stakes international contest, Replogle said.

“Basically we had just a normal surf, respecting each others surfing and timing,” he said. “We tried to ensure the normal protocol where whoever has been waiting the longest gets next wave. Sometimes when you don’t have people form your own neighborhood out there, things can get very competitive. … It can get intense.”

Aside from a bout of early-morning fog, conditions for the fourth annual contest were all-time. Air temperatures hovered around 65 degrees and there was no wind all day, keeping the huge waves glassy and well-shaped.

“I can’t believe I’m walking around in a T-shirt,” said contest organizer Adam Wagner.

Hawaii’s Kealii Mamala won the inaugural paddle-in contest, earning $1,000 and free entry, along with tow partner Garrett McNamara, into next year’s Nelscott contest. The Hawaiian waterman, who in recent years has dared to ride just about any craft in big waves — from stand-up paddle surfing at Maverick’s to tow surfing waves created by falling glaciers in Alaska — managed to snag four of the roving beasts breaking across the shifty Nelscott lineup.

“Kealii is phenomenal,” Replogle said after watching the paddle-in event. “Tow, paddle, stand-up, I think that guy could do anything on a board.”

A total of 12 waves were caught in the highly anticipated event, proving that the wave at Nelscott can indeed by paddled into. The first wave of the paddle contest happened to be snagged by Zach Wormhoudt, who managed to sniff out the takeoff spot before the rest of the pack.

“Zach got a bomb,” said brother Jake. “It was fantastic, it was long overdue, demonstrating that it could be paddled. It was really great to see the resurgence of the purity of paddling into big waves. They proved without a doubt that this is a paddle-able wave.”

LINCOLN CITY, Oregon, July 18th, 2008 – Behemoth, LLC is proud to announce
the 2008 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic lineup and a new paddle in contest, a first for the
Classic.  Coming off three years of perfect contest conditions, Behemoth has raised the
bar for the 2008 contest.  Once again, the world’s best tow in surfers will converge in
Lincoln City, OR for the one-day event to be held sometime between October 1 and
December 31st, 2008.

This years contest will once again attract some of the biggest names in the sport.
Previous winners of the event, Jake and Zach Wormhoudt and Garrett McNamara and
Kealii Mamala will return, competing against such names as Brad Gerlach and Mike
Parsons, Greg and Rusty Long, Tyler and Russell Smith, and an Irish team of Alistair
Mennie and Andrew Cotton.

This year there will be 16 teams competing for the prize money, rather than 20 teams
from previous years.  The smaller field will allow more waves per contestant and
minimize interference.

New this year is the introduction of a paddle in contest, to be held in the one hour slot
between the preliminary heats of the Tow contest and the finals.  The winner of the
paddle contest will get a seed, along with their tow partner, to the 2009 Nelscott Reef
Tow In Classic, plus a cash purse.

Behemoth has always advocated the philosophy that ‘Big Wave credentials are
established by paddling big waves not by the simple purchase of a PWC’ and is a
requirement to be a competent and safe tow in surfer, a philosophy shared by many if not
all of the pros.  The addition of the paddle in event is a natural extension of that
philosophy.

“This is the best way for the locals to prove that they have what it takes to compete
against the best in the world”, says Forse.  “The winner of the paddle contest will get a
seed, along with their tow partner, to the 2009 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, plus a cash
purse”.

Behemoth has set aside half of the available slots for the locals.  The locals will have
their work cut out for them, with the field of ten surfers vying for the biggest and baddest
wave they can paddle into.  The pros competing in this year’s paddle in event will be
Zach Wormhoudt, Mike Parsons, Shane Desmond, Greg Long, and Al Mennie.  Local
Oregonian invitees are Steve Harnack, Tim Hinton, Dan Hasselschwert, Jay Senewald,
and Jason Garding.

The contest has a 3-month holding period to allow for the best possible combination
of large surf and weather.  During that time, John Forse, the pioneer of Nelscott Reef,
monitors the forecasts and when conditions look right, he makes the call, which is a 48-
hour notice of the start of the event.  For three years in a row, his call has been the right
one, with each year bringing bigger and better conditions on the contest day.  The 2007
event was split between 2 days, with waves up to 50 feet on some of the sets.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, unofficially marks the opening of the Pacific big
wave season.  With the absence of La Nina, which plagued the North Pacific with poor
conditions last year, conditions could be epic again.

Behemoth, LLC will be refreshing their web page, www.nelscottreef.com, for the
2008 contest in the upcoming weeks.  The new page will contain all the information on
this years contest, including a real time contest traffic light.  Photos and videos from the
previous years will also be available.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is the only tow in contest on the North American
continent and Oregon’s only professional surf event.

2008 Confirmed Tow In Contest List:

Shane Desmond (N.Cal) Tyler Fox (N.Cal)
Garrett McNamara (HAW) Kealii Mamala (HAW)
Raph Bruhwiler (CAN) Keith Malloy (S.Cal)
Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal) Jake Wormhoudt (N.Cal)
Brad Gerlach (S.Cal) Mike Parsons (S.Cal)
Greg Long (S.Cal) Rusty Long (S.Cal)
Russel Smith (N.Cal) Tyler Smith (N.Cal)
Dave Mcgill (Oregon) Matt Esnard (Oregon)
Yuri Soledade (Brazil) Everaldo Pato Texeira (Brazil)
Jeremy Rasmussen (Oregon) Tom Miller (Oregon)
Al Mennie (Ireland) Andrew Cotton (Ireland)
Jeff Kafka (N.Cal) Brent Simpson (N.Cal)
Alec Cooke (HAW) TBD

2008 Paddle In Contest List:

Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal)
Mike Parsons (S.Cal)
Shane Desmond (N.Cal)
Greg Long (S.Cal)
Al Mennie (Ireland)
Steve Harnack (OR)
Tim Hinton (OR)
Dan Hasselschwert (OR)
Jay Senewald (OR)
Jason Garding (OR)

No, not that kind of amateur home video! Get your minds out of the gutter people.

Here’s the view from the media boat at Maverick’s, Jan. 12, 2008, captured by the shaky hands of your local surf scribe (Hey, it’s hard to film with a tiny digital camera while trying to balance yourself on the railing of a rocking media boat, packed well over its legal capacity with jostling photogs and journalists). In between the jittery shots of boats in the channel and close-ups of the back of photographers’ heads, I think I might have actually documented a few of the waves ridden during the sixth running of the Maverick’s contest.

Thanks to Sentinel video editor extraordinaire Christina Gullickson for putting the whole thing together and transforming my D-grade amateur footage into a dramatic blockbuster of epic proportions. The C-gull also managed to get this movie a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America by editing out a few of my narrational indiscretions (notice the break in the audio during Evan Slater’s air drop wipeout). Enjoy…

As the first morning light dawned over the water at the 2008 Maverick’s surf contest, the scene didn’t quite appear to be in line with the months of pregame hype. But in the end, the legendary wave off of Pillar Point Harbor somehow mustered up some big-wave magic to provide everyone on hand Saturday with a thrilling finish.

Greg Long, the unsponsored 24-year-old charger from San Clemente, won the contest for the first time, beating out a field of 24 of the best big-wave surfers in the world. The real winner, though, was Maverick’s, which proved itself yet again as the world’s premiere big wave, worthy of all the hype and able to deliver once again, even with the odds stacked against it.

Ross Clarke-Jones (white) and Ryan Seelbach (red) drop in on one of the bigger waves of the quarters.

“I’m glad Jeff called it,” event producer Keir Beadling said. “It was a great day all around. Everything came together in a short amount of time.”

It didn’t look so good early in the day. The west/northwest swell that prompted contest director Jeff Clark to hold the contest had peaked through the night. While still potent, it was beginning to dissipate with some long flat spells. The tide was low but would be shooting up high through the morning and into the afternoon, which wouldn’t help matters.

While no one could complain about the weather conditions — light and variable winds and clearing skies — the waves weren’t huge by Maverick’s standards, just 20 feet on the face with the rare 25-foot bomb out the back.

The lulls between sets lasted up to 10 minutes, occasionally 15 — a big deal in heats only 45 minutes long. There were probably about 6-8 waves on average ridden in the opening rounds and the waves were already starting to show signs of dying out. They often would just jack up for a huge drop and then mush out into a soft shoulder, like big Middle Peak on steroids.

I didn’t think groveling was possible in a big-wave event, but guys were doing what they had to, just trying to get through some of the slower, flatter opening round heats, especially Heat 2. Granted, a term such as groveling is relative when used in the same sentence as Maverick’s. However, more than one surfer was seen scratching to catch a slower inside wave that they would normally never even flinch for just to get a score.

By the time the final rolled around, the wave droughts had gotten longer. The scene began to look more like Lake Havasu during spring break than a dramatic, death-defying big-wave event. There were tons of boats, jetskis, yachts and kayaks out, as well as a catamaran and even a dude on an SUP. Two Coast Guard boats were cruising around and a helicopter was buzzing overhead, but the waves were still playing coy. Spectators were relaxing, enjoying the sun and some beers while casually waiting for the next set.

“There are some long lulls out there for sure,” said Evan Slater, who placed sixth, before the final. “It’s gonna be a dog fight.”

Sure enough, the final started out with yet another long wave drought, with only one wave ridden through the first 15 minutes or so. With so few waves early on, the six finalists–Long, Jamie Sterling, Grant Washburn, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Tyler Smith and Slater–figured that the winner would be determined by whoever could catch the one decent wave that rolled through. Faced with what appeared to be a dire situation, they huddled together and hatched a plan — split the $75,000 prize purse evenly between them.

“We were bobbing out there for like 10 minutes without a wave and I could have swore it was Greg’s idea,” said Tyler Smith, the only local to make the final, finishing fourth. “We all said, ‘Why not?’ You know, and shook on it.”

Turns out the surfers were wrong. After they joined arms in the water and made their pact, a set of 20-foot waves began marching in from out the back. Despite the high tide and the dropping swell, Maverick’s mustered up some big-wave magic and produced a thrilling final.

There was jockeying, big, late drops and radical big-wave surfing. Somehow the biggest waves of the day managed to march through right then with a couple legitimate, heaving 25-footers. It was the most consistent 15-20 minutes of the event and it came at the perfect time — 15 minutes before the end of what turned out to be an epic final, filled with drama and suspense.

“All of a sudden a few 20-footers rolled through,” Smith said. “[The pact] almost encouraged the waves to come. It’s not really about the money.

“I was hoping for the three, two, one,” Smith said referring to his third and second place in the last two Maverick’s contests and his hope for a title this year, “but I’ll settle for the 3, 2, 4. I’m just happy to make it out of my first heat. It was another great day thanks to Jeff Clark.”

You know it’s been a good final when there is no clear-cut winner heading into the awards ceremony. It also helps when there is a perfect 10 ridden, earned by Long for his air drop down the vertical face and big bottom turn after nearly losing his balance halfway down the face. Sterling also nabbed what many considered the largest wave of the day during the same flurry. In fact, the final was one of only two heats where every surfer snagged at least one solid ride and four of the six had two great scoring waves.

True to his word, Long announced at the podium the surprise twist to the crowd and received a huge applause.

“People always say that the day picks the winner,” Long said. “The waves just gravitate to one person and today the waves came to me. [Splitting the prize] really took the edge off for everybody. It was just a free surf, sharing with friends.”

Here they are folks, the final results for the 2007/08 Mavericks Surf Contest held on January 12, 2008 in Half Moon Bay, Calif. In addition to the results you will also find a random melange of video clips courtesy of the Sentinel and your local humble surf scribe.

First round (Top three advance)

Heat 1

1. Jamie Sterling, 25. Shawn Rhodes 19.5, 3. Greg Long 16, 4. Ion Banner 14.3, 5. Russel Smith 12.25, 6. Brock Little 9.25.

Heat 2

1. Grant Washburn 25, 2. Dave Wassel 20.8, 3. Matt Ambrose 16, 4. Josh Loya 14.2, 5. Kenny Collins 13.5, 6. Danilo Couto 6.8.

Heat 3

1. Ryan Seelbach 25, 2. Shane Desmond 23.3, 3. Evan Slater 21.7, 4. Garrett McNamara 17.3, 5. Ross Clarke-Jones 13.8, 6. Randy Cone 13.2.

Heat 4

1. Grant Baker 26.6, 2. Anthony Tashnick 25.4, 3. Tyler Smith 24.0, 4. Peter Mel, 21.7, 5. Zach Wormhoudt 19.4, 6. Darryl Virostko 18.2.

Semi Finals (Top three advance)

Heat 5

1. Jamie Sterling 22.3, 2. Greg Long, 17.9, 3. Grant Washburn 17.8, 4. Dave Wassel 14.8, 5. Shawn Rhodes 3.5, 6. Matt Ambrose 0.

Heat 6

1. Grant Baker 24.3, 2. Evan Slater 25.9, 3. Tyler Smith 24.3, 4. Ryan Seelbach 23.3, 5. Shane Desmond 20.4, 6. Anthony Tashnick 10.2.

Finals

1. Greg Long

2. Grant Baker

3. Jamie Sterling

4. Tyler Smith

5. Grant Washburn

6. Evan Slater

**Jay Moriarity Award: Jamie Sterling

Take a look back one more time at Saturday’s competition at Maverick’s courtesy of local videographer Ryan Vaughan. The scene, sun, waves and the competitors, all set to music from Ribsy’s Nickel. See the video …

Evan Slater air drops into oblivion during his heat at the 2007/08 Mavericks Surf Contest.

Ken “Skindog” Collins gets the bad news that he finished fifth in his quarterfinal heat, failing to advance.

An outside sneaker set catches the pack off guard in Heat 4 of the Mavericks Surf Contest. Zach Wormhoudt of Santa Cruz (white jersey) thinks about going for the wave but pulls back at the last second, probably a good decision.

Flea arrives fashionably late for his opening round heat as his driver attempts to maneuver through the gridlock of jetskis and other flotsam in the channel.

The much-hyped Heat 4 at the ‘08 Mavericks Surf Contest included Darryl “Flea” Virostko, Peter Mel, Anthony Tashnick, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Tyler Smith and Zach Wormhoudt. Here Mel and Smith drop in on the first wave as Mel kicks out and Smith is overtaken by the white water. Flea takes a somersault wipeout on the second wave, and Baker makes a nice drop on the last wave.

I thought this might be Josh Loya’s year to take the title, but the Santa Cruz veteran had a relatively short Mav’s contest campaign in 2008. In Heat 2 of the opening round Loya was matched up against Danilo Couto (Brazil), Dave Wassell (Hawaii), Matt Ambrose (Pacifica), Skindog, and Washburn.

After a long lull to start the heat, Loya grabbed the second wave that rolled through and scored a decent sized drop to a bottom turn kickout. It was a nice ride but he needed to combine it with a bigger score to ensure a berth in the semis. After another lull a big set came marching through, catching the pack inside, and Loya was the first to make it out to the waves. After sprinting out to the first wave of the set, Loya spun around and took a few deep stroked to get into it. As he got to his feet, the wave began to suck out and go square, at which point Loya leaned back and kind of skirted along the lip and rode over the back of the wave. It would have been a heavy drop, but if he could have stuck it he probably would have been in first.

Another good wave never came his way after that and Loya finished fourth, just missing the cut. At the after party he told me he kicked out because he wasn’t in the right spot. He thought he would be able to find one more wave in the heat that would let him into the money spot, where he knew he could make it instead of getting worked and possibly snapping his board. It was a good strategy, there just weren’t quite enough waves coming through. In fact, I counted about half as many waves in Heat 2 as in Heat 1.

• Through the opening rounds it looked like a two horse race between Twiggy and Jamie Sterling. Both surfers placed first in their opening round heats as well as their semifinal heats, with Sterling consistently catching the biggest waves of his heats and Twiggy consistently taking off extremely deep and pulling radical maneuvers down the line. Twiggy pulled one particular rail grab carve along an inside wall that was especially impressive and earned a chorus of hoots from the channel.
• According to event producer and Mavericks Surf Ventures CEO, Keir Beadling, over a quarter of a million people logged on to view the contest’s online webcast and another 1,000 attended the live viewing at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
• Even with pleas from Jeff Clark and contest organizers to stay away, crowds packed tiny Princeton-by-the-Sea for the sixth edition of the Maverick’s Surf Contest. Fans began arriving before day break, and the San Mateo County sheriffs’ office estimated the contest drew 40,000 to 50,000 spectators to the beach and cliff area off the break Saturday. Those figures are similar to those from the 2006 contest, which was held on a Tuesday in February.

The highly anticipated Heat 4 featured three former champions in Darryl “Flea” Virostko, Anthony Tashnick and Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, as well as Mav’s kingpin Peter Mel and consistent placers Zach Wormhoudt and Tyler Smith. Five of the six were from Santa Cruz, Baker from Durban, South Africa. Sure enough, Heat 4, didn’t disappoint. Aside from the final, it was the highlight of the contest.

Three-time champ Flea made a dramatic entrance, arriving 5 minutes late. He never checked in for the heat. People heard he was arriving when the heat started and alternate Ryan Augenstein has held back. Flea came speeding in on a jet ski, asking if anyone had any wax. He hopped out gets to the lineup 10 minutes late and got into the thick of it.

Flea went straight over the falls on the first wave that came his way and would back it up with another dramatic wipeout to lay claim to worst donuts of the day–although Evan Slater probably deserves a share of that honor for his multiple free falls in the pit.

Flea’s first wave came right to him. He paddled in late and tried to push down the face, perching himself practically on the tip of his board. He was suspended at the top of the wave for so long that once gravity finally started to help him out and get him down the face it was too late, and Flea just free fell and went down with the lip.

On his next wave, the biggest of the heat, he split it with Baker. Baker went right and Flea went left. Flea’s backside drop was epic, leaning back on his back foot, looking like he was in some advanced yoga position and somehow sticking it and getting a long ride to the inside.

The third wave Flea took was his second gruesome wipeout. Again the wave came right to him. This time as he dropped his fins caught for a second and it looked like he might make it, but then his board slipped out from under him and he went skipping down the massive wave face on his back, like a pebble.

Flea would finish last in his heat despite charging as hard as ever. The three-time champ was his normal, unique self, arriving fashionably late and entertaining everyone in the channel with his antics.

On Friday night, Flea is reported to have shown up at the competitors meeting wearing a goofy tie and carrying a reporter’s notebook. Witnesses said he paid rapt attention and was taking vigorous notes, or, possibly, pretending to take vigorous notes.

After his opening round performance, Flea was towed in to a flotilla of friends on skis, including Anthony Ruffo, on a tin, rusty fishing boat spraypainted The Compassion. I can’t see the boat in the water any more as the finals are being held. Looks like they split.

Flea boards “The Compassion” after his opening round heat, with skipper Ruffo at the helm.