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.

“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)

Sentinel Staff Report
After rain postponed competition Saturday, big waves showed up in force Sunday for the final rounds of the Nelscott Reef Tow-in Classic surf contest in Lincoln City, Ore. So did Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft of Santa Cruz.

Replogle and Craft’s surfing during the early rounds Friday afternoon and Sunday morning placed them in the middle of the field heading into the finals Sunday afternoon. The pair made the most of the many clean waves of up to 40 feet that rolled through to beat out the team of Rodrigo Resende of Brazil and Yuri Soledad of Hawaii.

Eraldo Gueiros of Brazil lost partner Carlos Burle after the first round when the The Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau contest held at Waimea Bay in Hawaii went on high alert for Sunday [conditions ended up being too stormy to run the Eddie]. He picked up Everaldo Pato as a backup, and the duo took third. Osh Bartlett and Tyler Fox of Santa Cruz finished fourth and Homer Henard and Matt Rockhold of Santa Cruz were fifth.

The 3-year-old contest went through some rough times this year. Half its contestants pulled out of the event after the bigger Maverick’s Surf Contest near Half Moon Bay got the green light Friday. Then the swell came in later than expected for the Nelscott contest, which was supposed to be held Friday, allowing surfers to get in just one round that day. The rest had to be made up on Sunday.

But Sunday arrived sunny and calm with frequent, clean 40-foot waves. Contest spokesman Adam Wagner said that made everything worth it.

“There isn’t a single person here who wouldn’t say today was worth waiting for,” Wagner said.

The 2007/08 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is officially ON! Contest directors are anticipating a long awaited break in the stormy weather and hurricane force winds that have assaulted the Oregon coast relentlessly with every large swell so far this winter. 

The contest is scheduled for this Friday, January 11th, when a massive WNW swell is scheduled to hit the Oregon coast and build throughout the day, while a storm front clears out and light SE winds (hopefully) help clean up the waves. The Sentinel will be sending its team up to Oregon for the event so stay tuned to the paper and The Green Room for all the latest news, footage, and results.

Right now elite tow-in teams from around the world are boarding planes, prepping their gear, loading up trucks, trailers and skis and heading to Lincoln City, Oregon. Contestants have 48 hours to make it to Nelscott Reef by Friday morning. Click here for the full list of contestants.

With a series of large WNW swells stacked up in the Pacific, many of the invitees were waiting to hear if other big wave contests might be called for the same swell.

Apparently Santa Cruz tow partners Peter Mel and Ryan Augenstein were ready at the drop of a hat and began motoring North from Santa Cruz with all their gear as soon as word broke Wednesday of the contest green light, but then stopped the trip a couple hours outside of Santa Cruz to make sure Jeff Clark wasn’t planning on running the Maverick’s contest.

Mel made a cell phone call to Clark, who then apparently made his decision over the phone not to hold the contest at least through the weekend, despite a very promising and large WNW swell forecast to hit Friday with good conditions, and another, slightly smaller swell but also with good conditions, scheduled to hit on Sunday. Read the full story in the Sentinel here.

Talk of running The Eddie at Waimea Bay this weekend has also been circulating. Read about it here.

With heaps of large swell lined up across the Pacific, and prestigious heavy water contests threatening to all go off at the same time, what’s a big wave surfer to do?

Below is the Nelscott Reef event’s official press release…

PRESS RELEASE
January 9, 2008
Behemoth LLC changed the contest status today to green as a large swell is forecast for Friday January 11, 2008. The third annual Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic will be held in Lincoln City, OR on this Friday.

It looks as if the decision to extend the holding period until March 31st was a good one. The forecast for Friday calls for light winds out of the SSE, and a long period swell. The swell will build throughout the day peaking at 20′ at 18 seconds.

“This is the first real swell of the season that is not combined with hurricane force winds. It should be bigger than the past two years, which were held in 14′ and 16′ swells”, said contest founder John Forse.

The Nelscott Reef Tow in Classic operates under a three month holding period. Forse is looking for the right combination of swell and wind - large swell and light or no winds. On the few days a year that these conditions occur, the waves at Nelscott Reef can be epic.

Usually plagued with short lived swells, The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is looking at 3 days of solid waves. The swell should remain in the 20′ range through Sunday afternoon, allowing a little breathing room for the contest organizers. If conditions do not pan out on Friday, the contest will be pushed to Saturday or Sunday. Either way, the contest will be held this weekend.

Nelscott Reef’s web page has all the latest information and updates, as well as a real time traffic light for contest status, which is now showing green. Visit www.nelscottreef.org for all the latest information.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is the only tow in contest on the North American continent and Oregon’s only professional surf event. It is also the only tow in contest to be certified carbon free by Carbonfund.org.

At 23 years old, Santa Cruz’s Anthony Tashnick is the youngest invitee to the Mavericks Surf Contest. He’s been surfing Maverick’s since the ripe old age of sixteen when, on just his fourth session at the break, he paddled out on a clean, 25-foot day into a crowded Mav’s lineup stacked with veterans and caught the wave of the winter–and subsequently took the beating of his life when he reached the bottom and got obliterated by the guillotine lip.

Since his spectacular initiation season in 2001, ‘Tazzy’ has continued to grow as a big wave surfer, traveling around the world to put in his time at the heaviest breaks he can find. Under the wing of Santa Cruz heavy water veterans such as Peter Mel, Josh Loya and Ken Collins, Tashnick has become a regular summertime pilgrim to the Mexican Pipeline at Puerto Escondido and makes multiple trips to Oahu’s North Shore every winter. Here Tashnick speaks about how he got into the game and his thoughts on this winter… 

How did you get into surfing Maverick’s?

I was in my sophomore year of high school. The summer before my sophomore year, I had Mark Goin shape me my first Mav’s gun. It was a 10’1”, still the biggest board I’ve ever had. The reality didn’t get to me till I had the board in my hand and realized how big the thing was.

Describe your first legit session out there

I went up with Brummy (Mike Brummet) for one of my first sessions. He left and I got a ride home with Skinny (Ken Collins). Skinny had anchored his ski out there in the channel and said I had to get a wave first before I could get a ride back in. There were just eight guys out, it was about 15 feet and I was in the bowl by myself so I went for it.

My first three sessions I had gnarly wipeouts. I took a pretty solid beating every time. It was good in the long run. It’s really scary until it happens to you, but then you feel more confident. I had taken some pretty gnarly beatings at Middle Peak but this was way heavier.

Describe “the wave” that you caught when you were 16 years old in 2001

I went up there with Brummy and we got there early in the morning. He told me it was going to be a big day. It was the same day that Parsons caught his XXL winner at Cortez Bank. He told me to just wait by the dock and feel it out while he went to go tow and wait for him to come back. Meanwhile, Chris Brown drives up to the dock without a tow partner and says he’ll give me a ride out.

I had never sat on a jet ski before in my life. I get out there, it’s a little overcast, and next thing you know, Brown is like, ‘I got a new tow board, I want to try it out. Why don’t you tow me around in a few circles real quick.’

I said OK, and I didn’t even do two circles when an outside set came. He’s yelling at me to pull him in and I’m like, ‘oh fuck.’ I got him in perfect and I followed him along the shoulder. I hadn’t been on the ski before ever. I had no idea how to do it, but by like half an hour I was whipping him in behind the bowl coming in from Ross’ cove. Then a really big one came in and I pulled him in real deep. He went left and it was a good decision. After that we went in and ate lunch.

Tashnick air dropping en route to his 2005 title.

Then I went back out and paddled with Brummy and Chris Brown. They told me to just sit and watch, don’t even catch waves. Of course, I was a cocky little grom. I said, ‘yeah right’ and paddled out and around, outside of everyone.

Next thing you know this outside set came and I was all psyched to be out surfing with my hero Chris Brown. This set came and I paddled over three waves and then saw the fourth. It was the opportunity of a lifetime so I decided to go.

I knew it was a bomb. I got annihilated. My eyes couldn’t focus for a few seconds when I first came up. There were more waves in the set and I took three on the head and got washed through the rocks. I inhaled some water and vomited a little when I got to shore. I still don’t really remember it that well. That was the thing, I was kind of choking, gasping and panicking while getting washed through the rocks. The rocks are dense. I had so much adrenaline going I had to paddle back out and get a couple more. That season there wasn’t too many more sessions. I went to Puerto the summer after that year. Skinny dragged me down there.

Who pushed you?

Mike Brummet, Skindog and Zach Wormhoudt were the main guys who pumped me up about it. Mike Brummet got me up there for my first two sessions. I looked up to Richard Schmidt and all the other guys, of course. But Brummy was the one calling my house, pulling me out of school and waking me up at 3 in the morning getting me psyched to go surf it. Skinny was also really supportive. Zach Wormhoudt got me pumped too. I remember talking to him about it before heading up for the first time. Brummet and Zach were my junior guards instructors. Skinny I would see out at the Lane. He would give me dunkings. He was also an airbrusher for Arrow.

What attracted you to big waves?

Living in Santa Cruz, growing up surfing the Lane, some days were big. You just kinda deal with it. As a grom, I started learning the excitement of dropping into a big wave. I used to surf big Middle Peak when I was a kid and I got a couple bombs, for being 12 years old. My friend Pat Groen, who’s no longer here, started taking me down to other spots like Moss Landing. He helped me out a lot. He got me sponsored by Pac Wave, my first sponsor.

Are you still anxious when you paddle out at Mav’s or does it just feel natural?

Always.

What guys do you look up to out there?

Every guy has some little characteristic that stands out. One guy might have something that the other doesn’t and vice versa. Grant and Flea. Nathan Fletcher, the last two years we’ve paired up and really pushed each other. Flea, Skindog, Peter Mel for sure. Peter Mel’s helped me a lot with traveling and getting used to being on the road and we were tow partners for a while. Those guys are all gnarly. I’ve learned a little bit from so many people over the years, it’s hard to pinpoint just one person.

How did your life change after winning the Mav’s contest in 2005?

When I was 19 I got into the event. I made it to the finals and took fourth. I was twenty the next year when I won it. Definitely, my life’s changed. My career was able to move forward for sure as far as sponsors and traveling. I got into the Red Bull contest in Africa and onto the alternates for the Eddie. At the same time, people kind of look at you differently. Being the underdog is cool because you feel like you have nothing to lose.

Do you have a preference for tow or paddle?

Paddle. Paddling is way more of a rush. You might not be getting as many waves, but when you get one you feel it. It’s way more vertical. I think paddling is the gnarliest thing you can do.

I think that if jet skis do get banned, it almost might be better for my career. So many people are going out there behind skis getting bombs these days. If all the tow-ins just disappeared…I mean I’d be bummed, because I like towing too, but if paddling was the only option on crazy days, certain people might start standing out. There are people out there getting big, gnarly waves paddling in still. Without the skis, we might start seeing people coming up from the underground being recognized more. I think more new faces might emerge a little bit if there was only paddle. There are some gnarly guys all over the world who just paddle into huge waves but don’t get photos.

Do you think a ban on tow-in surfing will ever realistically be enforced?

I don’t really see that.

Do you think the Mav’s contest will happen this year?

Yeah, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t.

Is your opening round heat (with Peter Mel, Flea, Twiggy, Tyler Smith and Zach Wormhoudt) for this year’s contest the most stacked big wave heat you’ve been in?

Every heat is stacked out there and everyone in that contest is gnarly pretty much. In that heat, people who are contenders are gonna be knocked out. I think every heat’s hard in that event. I’m not thinking about the heat because you’re surfing for yourself out there. As soon as you start trying to surf against someone you’re in trouble. I’m just going out trying to focus on getting two good waves and not get overwhelmed by surfing in the same event as my heroes.

There’s a fifty percent chance that another big wave title will be brought back to Santa Cruz when the 2007 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic goes down in Lincoln, Oregon this winter.

On September 18th contest organizers announced the lineup for this year’s contest. More than half of this year’s competitors hail from the Santa Cruz area, including Zach and Jake Wormhoudt who won the inaugural Nelscott contest in 2005 and return as partners this year, after a broken foot separated them the during practice for the 2006 event. Two other brother tow teams will be competing this year: Santa Cruz’s Russell and Tyler Smith and San Clemente’s Rusty and Greg Long.

Also returning are last year’s champs Garrett McNamara and Kealii Mamala–both from Hawaii–who will look to defend their title against the most talented field yet for a Nelscott contest. Other world-class competitors will include such teams as Brad Gerlach and Mike Parsons, Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft, Raph Bruhwiler and Keith Malloy, Greg and Rusty Long, as well former Eddie Aikau winner Ross Clarke-Jones, defending Mav’s champ Twiggy Baker, and Jeff Clark and Peter Mel. Check out the video of last year’s contest:

The competition will take place in Lincoln City, Oregon, sometime between October 1 and December 31. The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is the only tow in contest on the North American continent and represents theonly professional surf event held in the state of Oregon. As per normal protocol for big wave contests, the exact date of the event will depend upon wave conditions, which will be continually monitored during the holding period. Once maximum wave conditions are observed, competitors will have 48 hours notice to get their equipment ready and make it to the Central Oregon Coast. Last winter the Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic was one of the only big wave contests that was able to run–along with the North Shore Tow In Surfing Championships– as both Maverick’s and the Eddie Aikau Invitational at Waimea Bay got shut out in what was a sub-par winter for big swells. And hey, even if the contest doesn’t score massive waves to get the reef rumbling, the boys can still tow the burly beachbreak. Check it out:

“We have some of the greatest tow surfers from around the world on board for this years event,” said John Forse, event organizer, in a press release.  “The competition will be fierce with a line up as stacked
as we have for 2007.”

Now in its third year, the Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic has expanded the breadth of its competitor field to go beyond the usual big wave suspects from California and Hawaii. This year international tow teams from Australia, South Africa, Morocco, and Brazil will be represented as well. Here is the full list of invitees and alternates:

2007 Tow Team Invitees:

Shane Desmond (N.Cal) Tyler Fox (N.Cal)

Adam Replogle (N.Cal) Alistair Craft (N.Cal)

Garrett McNamara (HAW) Kealii Mamala (HAW)

Raph Bruhwiler (CAN) Keith Malloy (S.Cal)

Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal) Jake Wormhoudt (N.Cal)

Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS) TBD

Brad Gerlach (S.Cal) Mike Parsons (S.Cal)

Jeff Clark (N.Cal) Chris Bertish (S. Africa)

Peter Mel (N.Cal) Ryan Augustine (N.Cal)

Greg Long (S.Cal) Rusty Long (S.Cal)

Twiggy Baker (S. Africa) TBD

Russel Smith (N.Cal) Tyler Smith (N.Cal)

Steve Nichols (N.Cal) Ali Ben Hammou (Morocco)

Dave Mcgill (Oregon) Joel Smith (Oregon)

Danilo Cuoto (Brazil) Rodrigo Resende (Brazil)

Skiz Doudt (Oregon/HAW) Chava Greenlee (HAW)

Pablo Schulte (S.Cal) Davey Smith (S.Cal)

Vince Broglio (N.Cal) Richard Schmidt (N.Cal)

Osh Bartlett (N.Cal) Anthony Ruffo (N.Cal)

Josh Mulcoy (N.Cal) Stan Meurer (N.Cal)

2007 Tow Team Alternates:

Carlos Burle (Brazil) Eraldo Gueros (Brazil)

Dan Moore (HAW) John Anderson (HAW)

Mike Brummett (N.Cal) Chris Brown (S.Cal)

Makua Rothman (HAW) Ikaika Kalama (HAW)

Brent Hudson (N.Cal.) Jeff Kafka (N.Cal)

Homer Henard (N.Cal) Matt Rockhold (N.Cal)

Matt Ambrose (N.Cal) Shawn Rhodes (N.Cal)

Ramon Navarro (Chile) Danny Fry (Chile)

John Gangini (HAW) Yuri Soledad (HAW)

Check out this footage of Hawaiian hellmen Garrett McNamara and Kealii Mamala towing into a tsunami wave created when a massive chunk of ice breaks off Child’s Glacier in South-Central Alaska and plunges into the Pacific Ocean.

No matter where you stand on the whole Motorized Personal Water Craft/tow surfing issue, you have to admit one thing–it’s strangely appropriate that a tsunami wave resulting from global warming and the subsequent melting of thousand year old glaciers, only be possible to ride with the aid of a fossil fuel burning machine like a jet ski.

The more these guys tow the outer reefs (and the more your average Joe practices tow-ats in three foot waves down at Moss Landing), the more CO2 is released into the atmosphere, and thus the more their chances of scoring another one of these freak waves increases–even if it’s only by the tiniest increments. Ironic? We think so.

Who knows what other strange new extreme sports will be made possible by the tragedy of global warming? Mountain boarding the steepest alpine peaks that once were covered in year-round ice and snow? Iceberg hopping near the poles? Tow surfers hunting the ever-increasing number of hurricane swells in the Gulf of Mexico every summer?

History has been made. Tsunami glacier waves have officially been ridden by surfers. Cutting edge and creative, or a big fat waste of time, money and resources for a freezing cold, mushy wave? That’s for you to decide. But honestly, Kealii– “All natural?”–come on, dude.