Reef/ Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest Celebrates
Fifth-Year Anniversary With Boat Drinks,
Ragers Galore, And A $20,000 Prize
Purse By Matt Pruett
TURF: 5th Annual Reef/ Sweetwater Pro-Am
Surf Fest; Oceanic Street, Wrightsville Beach, NC; July 10th-12th, 2009
ENERGY: Well, we’ve been claiming this event
ever since it broke ground in 2005. But this year, the
5th Annual Reef/ Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest ranked an impressive #2 in boss
dog sports publication Sports Illustrated’s
(www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com) online story, “Sports On The Cheap: The 25 Best Summer Sports
Bargains.” Granted, the chest-high NE windswell that blew in from nowhere for
Friday’s opening rounds steadily went flaccid through Sunday’s finals, which
went down in mushy shin-scrubbers that broke, literally, ten feet from shore.
But that didn’t put the kibosh on this completely unhinged rager. In fact, the
lackluster conditions (along with the sweltering July heat) might have actually
fueled the celebration, with absolutely no quarter given or taken by any
attendee once party o’clock rang. It’s not like anyone was worrying about a
dawn patrol.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT
CLUB: The last time ESM
co-founder and Photo Editor Emeritus Dick Meseroll had been to Wrightsville
Beach was in 1990 — for a Hurricane Bertha swell he chased up the
Carolina coast with Jesse Fernandez shortly before launching the mag. For the
next two decades, Mez had to experience the thrill of one of the most surf-stoked
regions on the East Coast vicariously through stories from former WB residents
who worked for him, like myself and ex-ESM
Art Director Kenny “Gibber” Gibbs, or through the multitude of photos submitted
by Southern North Carolina shooters like Robbie Johnson, DJ Struntz, and Kenny
Onufrock. Seizing the opportunity to capture “The ‘Ville” circa 2009 this
weekend, Mez was floored by a shocking revelation that exposed the true electricity
and beauty of New Hanover County. “This place is unbelievable,” he said, his
mouth agape and eyes convulsing side to side as he held a frosty Bud can while being
taxied via boat to the event after-party at the Bluewater Grille. In fact, at post
time, Mez was still up there, entertaining the prospect of shooting a rumored
potential swell with Ben Bourgeois “somewhere between Topsail Island and
Carolina Beach.” Stay tuned to EasternSurf.com
for photographic evidence... if we can pry him away from his new favorite Right
Coast beach town, that is.
SLIDE: “I’ve been having the best year of
my life,” said local liaison and former ASP World Tour competitor Benny B, who
actually deferred a wildcard slot in the Billabong Pro J-Bay to be at his
hometown event. “I didn’t think I’d be traveling that much, but I’m traveling
more than ever now that I’m off tour. It’s been awesome linking up with good
friends I haven’t been able to surf with in a long time.”
Like Mark
Hunt, for instance, who showed up this weekend to compete in his very first
Reef/ Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest after spending a few years in Japan before
settling down in Raleigh, NC, where he attends Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary. Inarguably one of the best surfers in Wrightsville history and Ben’s
best childhood friend and mentor, Mark didn’t make much of an impact in the
money rounds here, but his 30W-slick, Machado-esque style is still clearly
evident despite a current, more pressing devotion to family and faith inland.
“The guy won’t surf for months,” said longtime chum and Sweetwater Surf Shop
Manager/ event co-organizer Tony Butler. “Then he’ll come into town, we’ll hold
these little mock heats, and he’ll just whip my butt. Mark’s amazing.”
Other Tarheels made a
heavier dent on the competition — an amalgamation of New Jersey, New
York, California, Australia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Florida, and North and South
Carolina shredders. Benny B and Crystal Coaster Brian Carpenter both advanced
to the semis, while young bucks Hunter Heverly and Owen Moffitt dazzled
spectators with a respective backside vertical A-game and a Fanning-like
frontside blitzkrieg. With an 11:37 am high tide and miniscule conditions on
tap, the four-man final pitted Ocean City, NJ-based Ergophobia Team Manager
Matt Keenan (who admitted to never placing higher than 5th in this contest) and
Kona, HI, junior pro Dylan Goodale against New Smyrna Beach, FL, sparring
partners and former Reef/ Sweetwater Pro champs Aaron “Gorkin” Cormican (2006)
and Jeremy “Gromson” Johnston (2008). “Wonder if the judges will score
run-and-jumps?” wondered contest emcee Brian Tracy, as Gorkin skimmed into a
pre-heat section, obliterating water further than the entire wave spilled, bump
to break.
Johnston,
who looked remarkably sharp despite only logging a few hours of sleep from his
pub-crawling 23rd birthday celebration the night before, hacked off a couple
trademark blasts while Goodale managed to string together some decent
combinations on the lefts. For much of the heat, Keenan actually looked to be
in a league of his own, flowing through several attractive frontside
slash-tailslide combo meals before Gorkin, who sat much further south than the
rest of the finalists, nailed a helpless left thrice to oblivion. A one-off,
fin-free frontside blast sealed the deal to give Gorkin his second victory at
this event, and his fourth win this year (he also won the Smith Optics High
Roller in Melbourne Beach, FL; the LandShark Spring Surfari Pro in New Smyrna
Beach, FL; and the K-5 Surf Klassic in Encinitas, CA). “This has been a really
good year for me as far as contests,” Gorkin said. “Not to claim it, but I feel
like every time I show up I should be in the finals, just because I have a lot
to live up to for myself. I’m not really a competitive person, but when it
comes to this kind of stuff, I’ll see Jeremy go vert and be like, ‘Oh shit,
wait a minute! How much time’s left?’ Then I’ll hear Nutty [Heath Walker] and
everyone cheering for the other guys and I’m like, ‘Fuck, where’s my crowd?’ Jeremy was actually my main
motivation to win this. He’s an amazing contest surfer, and I’ve taken things
from his surfing and applied it to mine. Usually older guys don’t take things
from the younger guys, but Jeremy’s got a lot of potential, and I hope one day
he gets the opportunity to do the whole WQS. We’re like brothers, that guy and
me. We fight a lot [in heats], but we love each other.”
THE PAIN: Some may have thought it reckless
for Melbourne Beach, FL, pro Blake Jones to join a small crew of buddies for a
Saturday night skate jam at the immaculate, Team Payne-built Eastern Skate
Supply indoor park, having advanced into the following day’s quarterfinals. But
seriously, what’s a frisky 21-year-old athlete to think? “Oh, I better not go
out and surf perfect six-foot Pipe today, because I don’t want to get injured
before that 4-star in Japan next week.” “Sorry, man, I can’t go on that
Mentawais boat trip with you, because some of those reefs are shallow and I
might get a boo-boo before my next catalog shoot?” “No, babe, I can’t take you
out to dinner tonight because I heard there’s a nasty flu going around, and God
forbid I get sick before the comp tomorrow.” Playing it safe is one thing.
Going through life quarantining your ability like a nervous, paranoid freak and
totally ignoring that restless urge to dispel some youthful aggression is
another. Blake is an insane surfer. Blake is also a very good skateboarder, and
after some impressive runs in ESS’s Mona Lisa of bowls, he took a nasty spill
following a frontside air gone awry. A doctor confirmed that he had fractured
his elbow, requiring six weeks of recovery time. So yeah, he had to medical
default his quarterfinal the next morning, but we tip our helmets to Blake. In
the immortal words of the late George Carlin, “You need
a little danger in your life! What are you gonna do, play with your prick for
another 30 years? Read People magazine
and eat at Wendy’s ‘til the end of time? Take a fuckin’ chance!”
THE MAN: OK, this may be a little
self-serving, but screw it... Rob Brown is the man. In fact, Rob Brown, his
parents Jane and Michael Brown, and his brother Jared Brown are all “the man,”
figuratively speaking, or course. Not only did Rob put up the ESM staff for the weekend, which
included myself, Mez, and Photo Editor Ryan Gamma, but the heavily respected
local pro also opened the family’s spacious beach home to Puerto Rican
competitor Wesley Toth; New York groms TJ Gumiela and Balaram Stack; Maryland
native and Spectacular Adventures
filmmaker Jerry Ricciotti; and Gator farm of Floridian pros — Jeremy
Johnston, Tommy O’Brien, Jake Kirschenbaum, Alek Parker, along with random
overnighters like Zack Humphreys, Gorkin, Nils Schweizer, and some nameless,
faceless coeds on the hunt for some surfer steeze... Sitting out the comp due
to a broken wrist didn’t keep Rob from going out of his way to enhance
everyone’s pleasure of the Wrightsville Beach experience — be it mid-day beer
blasts on the family boat, evening creepfests in the bars, after-hours
shenanigans in the Brown Compound, or impromptu skate sessions in Wilmington.
When it comes to gregarious North Carolina blokes, they don’t make ‘em any more
solid than Rob. He is generosity incarnate.
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT
FIGHT CLUB: “They told
me, ‘we don’t condone drinking in heats, son.’ But the wave I caught after that
beer ended up being one of my higher scores.” –Vero Beach, FL, competitor
Eric Taylor, following his Round Three heat, where he accepted a beer handoff
mid-heat from old pal and Surfing Magazine Photo Editor Jimmy Wilson, who taxied ET a cold one from local booster
Rob Brown’s boat anchored out the back
“Hey,
whatever works, you know? Besides, I’m not gonna fall on a knee-high wave.” –Cocoa
Beach, FL, competitor Jake Kirschenbaum, who weaseled around the town’s strict
leash ordinance by fastening a makeshift leg-rope around his ankle with duct
tape and string
“They
should have named that movie premiere Spectacular Disaster and filmed Sir
William [Billy Hume] and I surfing the bars. I remember getting a seven-hour stand-up vodka
barrel at Red Dog’s.” –Kill
Devil Hills, NC, competitor Jeff Myers, following the Friday night Red Dog’s
premiere of Jerry Ricciotti’s new movie, Spectacular Adventures
“The way I
see it, it’s either five more shots tonight or five grand tomorrow.” –Defending
Pro champ Jeremy Johnston, celebrating his 23rd birthday at Neptune’s on
Saturday night prior to Sunday’s final day lap
“Know him?
We actually used to fight over the same neon springsuit at Heritage’s shop.” –3rd-place
Pro finisher and South Jersey mainstay Matt Keenan, when asked if he knew Ben
Bourgeois way back when Ben lived in New Jersey as a sonogrom
“I’m
spending this on a compressor. I was gonna have to drive home with no AC!” –Gorkin,
giving new meaning to the term “a cool five grand”
“Just keep
taking one and passing them back until there’s no one left to pass them to.
This is usually how it goes whenever Ben comes home.” –Local ripper and Repmonsters.com
facilitator Mitch Baker, explaining to Mez the procession of fruity shots that
kept coming (and coming and coming...) at the event’s after-party at Bluewater Grille
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE 5TH ANNUAL REEF/ SWEETWATER PRO-AM SURF FEST
PRO
1. Aaron Cormican, $5000
2. Dylan Goodale, $2500
3. Matt Keenan, $2000
4. Jeremy Johnston, $1500
GUYS 14-UNDER
1. Cam Richards
2. Noah Schweizer
3. Weston Williams
4. Dylan Mincher
GUYS 15-OVER
1. Rob Kelly
2. Hunter Heverly
3. Cody Leutgens
4. Mason Barnes
GUYS OPEN LONGBOARD
1. Tony Silvagni
2. Ty Roach
3. Weston Williams
4. Brad Rose
GIRLS 17-UNDER
1. Haley Watson
2. Chandler Von Cannon
3. Jasset Umbel
4. Kate Easton
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
