2nd Annual NBK 4th Of July Fish Fry Tames New Smyrna Inlet Words and photos by Kris Kerr
TURF: 2nd Annual NBK 4th Of July
Fish Fry; New Smyrna Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, FL; July 4th, 2010.
ENERGY: Waist- to shoulder-high peaks
rolled through New Smyrna thanks to a distant but fun ESE groundswell. And even
though the 2nd Annual NBK 4th Of July Fish Fry got stormed out by 2:00 p.m.,
the afternoon post-rain glass-off made the contest even better.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: Mike Duffy made an emotional appearance in memory of his brother Matt, who
passed away earlier this year.
SLIDE: Here’s the deal, straight from
event organizer Aaron “Gorkin” Cormican’s mouth: “The rules to
the NBK 4th Of July Fish Fry are very simple: everybody shows with a $1 and
some boards. It's basically a free-for-all at the beach drinking beers and
having a good time. The competitors will ride as many of the different boards
as they want, and will be judged on the overall performance for the day —
remember, beers are involved. The panel will consist of everybody involved so
things are fair. The prize is a four-pack of 16 oz. Red Stripes, with the rest
of the entries going towards beers for the day. Also, we’ll give out specialty
prizes for the guys who work the contest all day.”
If that doesn’t
sound like a good way to celebrate our nation’s independence, I don’t know what
does. Gorkin ended up nailing Best Maneuver for a huge air-reverse
on a 6’2” box-rail 1985 pro model. Ollila and Beefer tied for Best Turn, while Nasty
Nester took the Tom Curren award for best style throughout the day by making it
all look easy.
THE PAIN: No one loses at the
Fish Fry, plain and simple.
THE MAN: Gorkin deserves props for setting
everything up and getting New Smyrna’s stacked crew together to forget about
the serious side of surfing and just have fun.
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “I felt like Ross Williams out there.” –Best Maneuver winner/ NBK Fish
Fry organizer Aaron Cormican after doing a backside snap on a beefy 6’2” WRV
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