FAVORING THE FLAWED Neither Comp Collision Nor Igor-ophobia Can Halt The Magic Of The 43rd Annual ESA Eastern
Surfing Championships By Matt Pruett
You hear it all the time — how a surfer’s
personality is reflected in their surfing style. I always shudder whenever I
hear that. Because, frankly, as much as I love everything about riding waves… I
pretty much suck at it. And if the aforementioned logic is true, then that
means not only am I a bad surfer, but I’m kind of a lame dude in general.
Cue the panic music.
But maybe I’m looking at all this way too acutely.
Maybe the cliché suits me.
Because in surfing, as in life, I always seem to just
barely pull it off. And that dubious precedent might actually help me heading
into this upcoming week. Easterns Week.
Beginning on Sunday, September 19th with Adult Competition (those finals
scheduled for Tuesday), the 43-year-old event is, once again, staring down a Category
4 Hurricane, Igor, with another juicy tropical system, Julia, feeding off
whatever scraps he leaves behind. Though both are forecasted to bolt north and
remain well off the coast, these things you can count on: the waves will be
big, the conditions challenging, the winds dicey, and the dramatics high. And
come the end of the week, tensions could be equally high, with several Easterns
contestants also slated for entry into the Hurley/ WRV Outer Banks Pro, which
starts on Friday — smack dab during Youth Competition heats. That means
resourcefulness will be key for many surfers and their associated managerial,
familial, photographic, and journalistic entourages. Like me. Pulling off two
clutch stories that could be happening simultaneously an hour and a half apart
could make me Ari Gold, or break me Larry David.
But it will figure itself out. It always does. After
all, there will be waves, dude. And whenever there are waves on the East Coast,
it’s impossible to perceive the impossible. Who knows? For once, my style —
the same cursed style that’s evoked countless fits of anger and tears of
self-pity over the last 25 years — might prove to be my savior. For a visual history of the greatest
amateur bonanza on the Right Coast, click here: http://www.easternsurf.com/feature_easternspreview/index.html
For a full Easterns schedule, heat sheets, and more,
visit www.SurfESA.org
THE OLD IN-OUT
The 2009 WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Is Moving Ahead Like Clockwork
Along The Graveyard Of The Atlantic... Let's Hope Hurricane Season Doesn’t Dish
Out A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence
BILL OF SALE Surf Expo Comes To Town Early With Lower-Than-Usual
Attendance Rumors And Category 4 Hurricane Bill Zooming In. Will You Blow Town To
Bro Down Or Sit Tight And Get Right?
