Ladies Line Up For All-Female 3rd Annual Jetty Coquina Jam On Long Beach Island, NJ By Casey Butler
TURF: 3rd Annual Jetty Coquina Jam; 110th Street,
Long Beach, NJ; August 7th, 2011.
ENERGY: After an excruciating month of virtual flatness in
the Garden State, Tropical Depression Emily kicked up some much-needed swell
for her fellow female ocean goers on Sunday. On Long Beach Island, a beach full
of good-spirited spectators watched as New Jersey’s girl contingent streaked
across waist- to shoulder-high waves at Jetty’s 3rd Annual Coquina Jam, which benefitted breast
cancer.
The 32 gathered contestants
rode boards of all shapes and sizes with enough ambition to keep things
interesting and enough amiability to keep things fun. All of the event’s
proceeds (think pink wax — “bars for boobs” — clams on the half shell, and
surfboard raffles) were donated to David’s Dream & Believe Cancer
Foundation. The organization will give the $7,163 raised on Sunday to local
families grappling with breast cancer. Even the beach badge checkers were
feeling charitable, as they allowed hundreds onto 110th Street to surf and
observe badge-less.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT
CLUB: The Coquina Jam’s contest
format is somewhat unusual, though if you’re familiar with Jetty’s Clam Jam,
it’s basically the same deal: randomly drawn teams of two, one girl under 25
and one woman over, go head-to-head in a bracket-style comp. The contestants,
who are often complete strangers, remained friendly from check-in through the
air horn at heat’s end, and often fraternized on the beach while cheering on
other opponents. Talk about good sportsmanship. The semifinals and finals of
the Coquina Jam used to be held during the men’s Clam Jam in October, but a lot
of the surfers will be in school in the fall, so event organizers decided to change
it up this year and power through the entire contest in one day. “They deserve to
win it today,” said Jetty co-owner Jeremy DeFilippis.
SLIDE: At 6:00 a.m. it was pouring rain and the wind
was blowing hard out of the south. By the comp’s start at 8:00, the rain had evaporated
into a salty haze and the wind had less of a stranglehold on the two- to
four-foot, slightly unkempt sets. “The best waves we’ve had in probably a
month,” pointed out commentator and ESM Assignment Writer Jon Coen. “The Jetty Clam Jam in October is awesome, but
every year, I see some guy who’s pissed at the judges, bails on his partner, or
can’t pace themselves drinking for seven hours. The Coquina Jam is just so damn
pleasant. It’s the only all-female contest around and everyone is just so
easygoing, but they still push themselves in the water. There’s no dicks...
literally.”
Bayville, NJ, native Carly
Cappelluzzo caught the first wave of the day, making it look easy. “It’s like a
washing machine,” she laughed later. Teammate Kristin Myers of Surf City added,
“There were a lot of fun drops and then nowhere to go… But it was super fun!” Manahawkin’s
Danielle Berndt wasted no time yanking eyeballs on her neon pink and green
longboard. The 27-year-old recently returned from Biarritz, France, and her
worldly confidence was evident in her controlled drops and occasional noseride,
which pushed her into the semis.Meanwhile, 57-year-old LBI
legend Mary Frack didn’t advance past round two, despite a substantial store of
style and grace.
Between Round Two and the
semifinals, an hour-long open “expression session” allowed anyone to
participate, and everyone who’d been baking on the beach and itching for some
rides rushed into the water. All of the semi contestants surfed well, but the
finalists took a truly no-holds-barred approach. Three-time finalist and 2009
winner Debbie Green, who recently finished her doctorate and drives from
Philadelphia to surf the Jersey Shore, nearly got covered up on one wave. The
31-year-old then grabbed rail as she dropped into a head-high face and pulled a
huge bottom turn, sending the crowd on the beach into a frenzy. 27-year-old Sarah
Dodds of Manahawkin maintained the highest scores of the day with huge cutties
and floaters, while her teammate, 14-year-old Long Island, NY, grommette Selena
Moberly, proved that youth does not equal inexperience. And 23-year-old Ship
Bottom resident Allie Panetta scored a gorgeous wave and raced straight down
the line, raising cheers on the sand. The final was tight, to say the least. THE PAIN: According to two-thirds of the judges, the two finalist
teams actually ended up tied, but in the third judge’s book, Dodds and Moberly
edged out Panetta and Green by a mere point to steal the win. In accordance
with the event’s all-in-good-fun policy, all four women’s names will be printed
on the seashell-inlaid surfboard trophy, created by local artist Joel Dramis in
2009.
THE WOMEN: Sarah Dodds is reportedly one of the only women who
frequents LBI’s frigid winter surf, and after spending a year in Australia she
was in top form at the Coquina Jam. Her teammate, Selena Moberly, had her mom
drive her down from their hometown of Southampton, NY, to participate in the
all-girls event, and Selena made a lasting impression with her backside prowess
and explosive top turns. “It was awesome to win this whole thing,” Moberly
said. “It was really fun and it was worth spending the money for the charity.”
“I’m really stoked,” Dodds
added. “It’s a super fun event and I met a lot of people. I had an awesome
partner — I think that’s why I won. It’s good for charity, you hang out
with friends and family… it was just a great day.”
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT
FIGHT CLUB:“Just
surf and have fun.” –3rd Annual
Coquina Jam champions Sarah Dodds and Selena Moberly on their unbeatable competitive
strategy
“This is a good, beneficial
contest and I’m proud to do it.” –Carly Cappelluzzo, three-year
Coquina Jam veteran
“I got five waves in my
heat. I don’t think I ever got five waves in a heat in my life.” –57-year-old
LBI legend Mary Frack on her competitive luck
“The level of surfing is
just so high from where it was two years ago. Between the new girls coming into
this event from all over the region, the local girls getting more experience
and the younger girls getting better, it’s great to see.” –Runner-up
Debbie Green
“It's just amazing how it all worked
out with the crowd, weather, and waves — so stoked.” –Jeremy
DeFilippis, Jetty Life co-owner and Coquina Jam organizer
“The Jetty Clam Jam in October is awesome, basically because LBI
didn't have a specific event just for our community for like 15 years. This
will be the 5th year Jetty runs it, and for the most part, everyone is still
super appreciative. But every year, I see some guy who’s pissed at the judges,
bails on his partner, or can’t pace himself drinking for seven hours. The
Coquina Jam is just so damn pleasant. It’s the only all-female contest around
and everyone is just so easygoing, but they still push themselves in the water.
There’s no dicks... literally.” –ESM Assignment Writer and Coquina
Jam commentator Jon Coen
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 3rd
ANNUAL JETTY COQUINA JAM: 1.
Selena Moberly & Sarah Dodds 2.
Allie Panetta & Debbie Green 3.
Anita Harrington & Danielle Berndt 4.
Corey DeStefano & Joanne Danneker
: ADVERTISMENT :
: ADVERTISMENT :
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