The Pacific Beach Surf Club’s 10th annual Summer Longboard Classic surf contest found a generous, waist-high south swell on Saturday June 14 ” a prime playground for the contestants to display their surfing skills.
“Everything went real well,” said PB Surf Club founder and event judge Glenn Paculba. “It got a little windy, but the waves were nice, a solid south swell with good sets. Everyone had a lot of fun.”
The aloha-filled fundraiser for the Wild Coast foundation was judged a success. An enthusiastic crowd agreed.
New champions were crowned in nine divisions of competition, including longboards, stand-up paddle plus the “dog and cat” heats.
Surfing contestants were grouped into Menehune 14 and under, Juniors 15-19, Men’s 20-34, Seniors 35-49 and Masters 50+. The women’s divisions include Juniors and Senior Women’s with the age-break at 30.
Claiming the title in the new girls Menehune division was Bryn Lutz, followed by Harley Taisch and Tiare Thompson.
Winner of the boys Menehune division was Lucas Dirkse with Preston Cromwell in second and Ricky Cunningham in third.
Junior women’s winners were led by surf legend Larry Gordon’s granddaughter Mele Saili followed by Erin Lewis and Winnie Riley.
The Junior Men’s winners were Preston Cromwell, Nick DeRov and Luke Emerson.
Senior women champion Haylee Nemeroff led the pack of ladies including Jane Mold and Lorraine Schmalenberger.
Men’s division winners were Micah Wood, Jerry Swearinggen and Matt Dalton. Senior Men’s division was won by Masi Saili, Mike Gillard and Jeff Warner.
The Master’s division champs were Pablo Smith, Whitney Guild and Ron Greene.
The stand-up paddle division was won by Kevin Coffman, followed by Whitney Guild and Jeff Warner.
The dog heats were not competitive but were a popular diversion for the surfers and fans on the shore.
“We added hats and the blow-up guitars as props ” everyone started with props. It was a real fun way to finish out the day,” Paculba said.
The next major local PBSC associated contest will be the All Women’s World Famous contest in late September followed by the OMSURF at Crystal Pier.