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| Sunset Beach Contest #2, October 1 & 2, 2005 by Mia Melamed The first JAMBA JUICE NSSA Sunset Beach surf meet in three years was held successfully this past weekend on the North Shore of O’ahu. The conditions and weather turned out to be a little different than forecast. Everyone came prepared, bringing bigger boards, and warmer clothes for the heavy rains and strong winds expected. However Thursday and Friday was anything but rainy. The sun shined all day and offshore winds swept across the waves blowing no stronger than twenty mph. The Tropical storm Kenneth as well as the Aleutian storm that was going to give us radical weather and waves weakened. All we got was some left over lightning and thunder with some evening rains arriving Saturday. There was barely a bump on Thursday morning but by mid afternoon the start of a small swell started to show at Val’s reef (inside Sunset) becoming easily ride-able. The rights funneled over the shelf while the lefts broke softer and moved towards deeper water. Friday morning the low tide had Val’s closing out but Sunset point was two feet with only one guy out. The waves didn’t look so appealing but when we paddled out it was a lot of fun. The tide turned around by noon and Val’s had head high sets rolling through. Competitors and locals were taking advantage of what was given; by evening the point was firing and guys were getting little in and out barrels. Saturday morning surfers were practicing at Val’s and the point, which made it a lot easier to catch waves because the crowd was spread out. The point had head high sets providing a fun little wall to work with. Competitors had the choice to surf their heats at Val’s or risk it at the point and hope for a good scoring set to come through. As the morning moved on the point deteriorated so the heats remained strictly at Val’s. A standout of the weekend was Sunset’s very own Mason Ho winning three divisions; the Open Men’s, Explorer Men’s and Explorer Junior’s division. He out-surfed his opponents with smart wave choice and defensive tactics. In the Open Junior’s it was Alex Smith that rode his waves to victory. Coco Ho surfed with confidence and maturity taking the Open Women’s division. Her consistency helped her through each heat surfing each wave crisp and clean. In the Open Mini-Groms Koa Smith took charge and positioned himself well giving him the pick of the sets. Three surfers achieved a double whammy… Carissa Moore, Matty Costa and Kaimana Beauford all left with a pair of first place trophies beside their board bags. Carissa took out the Explorer Women and the Explorer Girls divisions. These small waves made it a challenge but this rising world champion still managed to pull off her three sixties, tail reverses and straight ups like it was nothing. Matty Costa in the Open Boys and Explorer Menehune divisions sliced the rights apart, impressing the judges with technique and style. In the Open and Explorer Long-board divisions Kaimana was probably a little relieved that the big swell backed off, though it would have been a sight to see these guys taking the “Sunset drop” on those huge boards. Better luck next time guys! Sunday morning the waves dropped and Val’s still had some little fun ones. As opposed to Saturday’s sporadic rain showers Sunday was almost too hot. The light winds kept us cool and the waves nice and glassy. The Explorer Boys final was a ferocious battle till the end with Ezekiel Lau walking away as a happy camper. With the tide moving in, it became a little more inconsistent with the sets breaking closer to the beach. Six surfers on a small peak created triangles and paddle battles throughout the day. Positioning in the lineup was the key to advancing. The waves may have been small but the waves kept good form throughout the contest. A big mahalo goes to Jamba Juice for their continuing support towards the NSSA. Also the Sunset beach community and lifeguards for letting the contest take place. Contest number four will be held at Banyans on the Big Island October 29 & 30, we hope to see you there! RESULTS: Explorer Long-board |
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