NSSA cashes in on great surf and weather

WET AND WILD WITH ROCKIN’ FIG

It’s November, and the weather has just been great. With sunny

skies and hardly any wind, the ocean has been glassy -- with the

Santa Ana-type days we had.

Those days stayed that way, with temps in the mid- to upper 70s --

maybe even 80s. Mix that in with some epic 3- to 6-foot surf over the

last weekend and smaller but clean surf last week, and you’ve got

some happy campers.

It’s kind of nice not having to travel too far to get it. All Surf

City beaches were firing. The north end, I hear, was fun -- that’s

Bolsa to the Cliffs and all the way to Goldenwest Street.

The numbered streets to the pier were going off, too. The

Southside sandbar got about as good as it gets, with a point break

type right. While all the way south to Beach Boulevard to R.J.’s at

Brookhurst Street was happening, too.

The National Scholastic Surfing Assn. took advantage of these

near-perfect conditions over the weekend in the third event of the

season on the south side of the pier. The surfing level was very

impressive in all the different divisions, as the competitors were

tearing it up.

The surf was definitely overhead to the menehunes, as Newport’s

Andrew Doheny placed fourth and Huntington Beach’s Kyle Kennelly

fifth.

Juniors saw Marty Weinstein put on quite a performance to win it,

and Tommy Steury had some nice ones to place fifth. San Clemente

shredder Travis Mellem took another victory. Dwyer school ripper Ian

Ekberg placed third, busting some moves, and Seal Beach’s Chris

Waring fourth in a tough one.

Men’s division saw Huntington Beach slasher Dan Fennell take the

big win, having a great season so far, while Todd Hutton and Erik

Trapschuh were fourth and fifth, respectively. Master blaster,

surfer, shaper Barry Deffenbaugh threw two straight-ups on one set

wave to score one in the nine zone, to help the cause, for the win.

D-baugh took out Greg Browning, a South Bay hottie who has a ton

of mag cover shots. Seal Beach ripper Chad Wells, who was surfing

insane, too, finished third, and Newport’s Darren Brillhart fourth in

an action-packed one.

Seniors saw Sean MacDonald come up with the win. Seal Beach’s Chas

Wickwire took a close second.

In the old guys, super seniors, Figster got lucky, taking it over

the current points leader Patrick Schlick with a couple lip bashes.

“P.T.” Peter Townend got some good ones, too, coming in fourth.

In longboarding, Steve Newton tore it up for the win. Local ripper

Justin Hugron placed third.

In women’s, Newport’s Erica Hosseini claimed the win with some

great rides, as former Huntington Beach High School gal shredder and

tennis pro Alison Arvizu came in second.

And in bodyboarding, points leader Darren Moody came in fifth.

This one will probably go down in the NSSA record books as having

incredible surf throughout the event. See ya.

* RICK FIGNETTI is a seven-time West Coast champion, has

announced the U.S. Open of Surfing the last nine years and has been

the KROQ-FM surfologist for the last 17 years where he’s done morning

surf reports. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.