39-Year-Old Sebastian Inlet Legend David
Speir Clinches 25th Annual NKF Surf Festival Pro-Am Win; Tuach,
Howell, Dawson,
and Quintal Clean Up As Well By Nick McGregor
TURF: 25th Annual National Kidney
Foundation Pro-Am Surf Festival; Cocoa Beach Pier, Cocoa Beach, FL; September
3rd-6th, 2010.
ENERGY: A little bit of everything,
from offshore-groomed head-high glass courtesy of Hurricane Earl on Friday to
ankle- to knee-high slop on Monday. But that’s Florida in September, right?
Firing one minute and gone the next.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: With
Hurricane Earl scattering Florida surfers up and down the East Coast, the
silver anniversary of the NKF was made up mostly of local Central Florida
residents. But Barbados wahine Chelsea Tuach, who’s claimed a host of titles this
year, most recently at the Rip Curl GromSearch in the Outer Banks, decided to
upgrade her amateur entry at the last minute and give the Angel Eyewear Women’s
Pro a shot. “When we were signing her up, I had almost given the lady the money
for her to enter as an amateur,” said Barbados legend, surf coach, and 1991 NKF
Pro winner Alan Burke. “But I looked at Chelsea and told her, ‘It’s time to
take that next step. You’re ready.’” Was she ever — Tuach clinched her
first pro event here in Cocoa Beach, with more big wins sure to follow in the
future.
SLIDE: The NKF has been a Cocoa Beach
tradition for 25 solid years now, but forget the surfing for a second —
this Labor Day institution is all about raising money for the National Kidney
Foundation and honoring the hard work of twin brothers Rich and Phil Salick.
After three successful kidney transplants, Rich is in need of another before
the end of the year, making this edition of the NKF carry even more weight.
“This has never been a benefit for me,” Rich humbly claimed. “This was just my
payback to the NKF for a lot of things they’ve done.”
The surfing
talent on offer this year sure paid the Salicks back, too — Melbourne,
FL, 14-year-old Corey Howell continued his rapid ascension with a convincing
win in the Anarchy Jr. Men’s Pro, knocking out Cocoa Beach’s Nolan Tyler and
St. Augustine’s Keto Burns in the three-man final after Satellite Beach
aerialist Chris Tucker was late for the heat. Howell also fell one score short
of the making the Men’s Pro final, although his $800 1st-place prize in Jr.
Men’s surely took away some of the sting. “[Losing in the Men’s Pro] was a
bummer because I knew I could have done better,” Howell said. “I think that
made do better in this event.”
Tuach’s
Angel Eyewear Women’s Pro victory was surprising not only to herself but also
to fellow finalists Nikki Viesins, Jasset Umbel, and current Hawaiian resident Leah
Dawson. But Tuach’s tear is becoming so intense that female surfers the world
over might want to keep an eye on this unassuming 14-year-old Bajan. “I stayed
close to the pier to get more rights for more speed, because I’m used to bigger
waves,” Tuach said. “I know some of the girls are older and they're really
good, but I figure I'm at that level now.”
Dawson
avenged her 4th-place finish in shortboard by acing the Women’s Pro Longboard
division for the second year in a row, while Quintal cruised to an easy Men’s
Pro Longboard win, surely feeding off of the confidence he gained two weekends
away by earning $4,000 at the Vans Joel Tudor Duct Tape Invitational, held in
conjunction with the East Coast Surfing Championships in Virginia Beach, VA.
“I'm in college at the University of North Florida, so any chance to win some
extra money is always a good thing,” Quintal said. “And this event is always
great; it's obviously competitive because it is a contest, but it's definitely
a more laid-back atmosphere."
But the
biggest story of the day came when Sebastian Inlet loc’dog David Speir ran away
with the $2,000 1st-place check in the Steven G. Casanova Men’s Pro division.
Speir defeated past NKF winners Robert Rohmann and Jeremy Johnston, along with
last year’s Quiksilver King Of The Peak Eddie Guilbeau to earn his third Labor
Day victory… who cares if the last two came almost 20 years ago? “I told them,
‘Good luck, groms’ before we hit the water,” Speir laughed. “I’m just stoked to
still be able to compete with them.”
THE PAIN: Surely 20-something test
pilots Rohmann, Johnston, and Guilbeau must have been bummed to lose out to a
guy (almost) twice their age in Men’s Pro.
THE MAN: What can we say though? Speir
is such a likeable guy, with Space Coast roots that run so deep, it’s hard not
to smile at the thought of a 39-year-old schooling some of the best competitors
on the East Coast. Hey, Speir’s longtime friend Kelly Slater, who’s only one
year younger at 38, is still winning contests and gunning for another world
title — why can’t Speir do it too?
YOU DO NOT
TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “We
had a great crowd today and not a single problem. And we're probably lucky the
conditions weren't like Thursday, or we'd be having some drowned menehunes!”
–Event co-organizer Phil Salick, stoked to have plenty of waves for the
25th Annual NKF Surf Festival
“I’ve surfed
that pier many times… Kelly and I would ride our skateboard or our bicycles
— sometimes with our surfboards — all the way from the pier to his
house off Minutemen Causeway.” –2010 NKF Men’s Pro winner Dave Speir,
reminiscing after claiming his third Labor Day victory
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE 25TH ANNUAL NATIONAL
KIDNEY FOUNDATION PRO-AM SURF FESTIVAL:
STEVEN G. CASANOVA MENS PRO 1. David
Speir, $2,000
2. Jeremy Johnston,
$1,300
3. Robert
Rohmann
4. Eddie
Guilbeau
ANARCHY JR. MENS PRO 1. Corey
Howell, $800
2. Keto
Burns
3. Nolan
Tyler
4. Chris
Tucker
ANGEL EYEWEAR WOMENS PRO 1. Chelsea
Tuach, $600
2. Jasset
Umbel
3. Nikki
Viesins
4. Leah
Dawson
MENS LONGBOARD PRO 1. Justin
Quintal
2. Patrick
Nichols
3. Tommy
Evans
4. Sam
Duggan
WOMENS LONGBOARD PRO 1. Leah
Dawson
2. Mary
Payzant
3. Mallory
Turner
4. Crystal
Cooper
DR. LANCE MAKI PRO TANDEM 1. Chuck
Inman & Tiffany Rabicle
2. Rico
Leroy & Sarah Burel
3. Clement
Cetran & Dhelia Birou
4. Clay
& Kristen Huntington
SUP RACE OPEN 1. Ian
McFarland
2. Frank
Dillenburg
3. Girard
Middleton
SUP 12’6” AND UNDER 1. Chip Bock
2. Pauly
Chambers
SUPER MENEHUNES 1. Tommy
Coleman
2. Noah
Dovin
3. Christian
Daniels
4. Zander
Venezia
5. Joey
Putnall
6. Caroline
Marks
MENEHUNE BOYS 1. Luke
Marks
2. Jack
Umbel
3. Skyler
Baker
4. Evan Moll
5. Tommy Lueck
6. Grant
Malinowski
7. Zack
Marks
MENEHUNE GIRLS 1. Mallory
Theurer
2. Izzy
Gomez
3. Isabella
Venezia
4. Hannah
Claunch
5. McKenzie
Bradley
6. Taylor
Yelverton
7. Mallory
Moore
BOYS 1. Dane
Mackie
2. Joshua
Burke
3. Logan
Hayes
4. Nick Hoff
5. Michael
Kapica
6. Jonathan Eden
JUNIOR MENS 1. Tide
Behrend
2. Ryan
Nemeth
3. Josh
Beaugrand
4. Tyler
Hendricks
5. Alex
Zaffone
6. Campbell
Gunther
MENS 1. John
Creamer
2. Dylan
Bisset
3. Josh
Zelner
4. Dale
Nemeth
5. Ford
Thomas
6. Bradley
Jones
MENS MASTERS 1. Brent
Newell
2. Chad Carr
3. Michael
Olesky
4. Jonathan
Chaney
5. Justin
McVicker
6. Michael
Lee Welker
SENIOR MENS 1. Justin
Carver
2. Kelly
DeRivero
3. Dan
Dunagan
4. Randy
Sanders
5. Joe
Stewart
6. Sean
Williamson
MENS GRANDMASTERS 1. Charley
Hajek
2. Scott
Bradley
3. Jimmy
Norfolk
4. Paul
Prince
5. Brett
Hedleston
6. Denny
Dean
LEGENDS 1. Charlie
Paxton
2. Bob
Freeman
3. Pepe Sira
South Carolina’s Cam Richards Steals 12th Annual
Tommy Tant Memorial Classic Men’s Pro Title From Florida Vets; Cody Thompson, Amy Nicholl,
Noah Schweizer, And Dan Worley Also Win Big
VQS
HITS THE JACKPOT AT CASINO PIER Jellyfish Surf Series Winners Include Local Boys
Hammer, Schmidt, Vanaman, And Siganos, Along With Florida Girl Emily Ruppert
DUBIOUS RECORD The WRV
Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Offers Locals Genuine Perspective & More
Money Per Square Foot Of Wave Than Any Surf Contest In History
Sweetwater Leaves It Up To The Grom At Oakley Surf Shop Challenge Mid-Atlantic Regional Qualifier; “Uncle” Andrew Gesler Drives Heritage Win Home In Northeast
By Matt Pruett and Nick McGregor;
Photos by Matt Lusk
