Wet ‘n’ Wild with Rockin’ Fig:Plenty of summer fun left

Summer’s winding down as we head for the big three-day Labor Day weekend blow-out bash and the beaches should be packed. Taking over the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier will be “Boardfest 2007.”

The all-gals events will feature surfing, presented by Huntington Surf and Sport, a pro-am short board with a $2,500 purse, with long board and amateur divisions too and tag team as well. Top female riders include Courtney Conlogue, hot off a semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open, Newport Beach hottie Erica Hosseini, and Redondo’s Holly Beck, a surf pro and T.V. star.  

In longboarding, last year’s defending champ is ready for action. San Diego’s Summer Romero and Ventura’s Mary Osborne are ready to mix it up with nose rides, cutbacks and more. There will also be skateboarding, with a street competition including ramps, rails and ledges, and snowboarding, with 40 tons of snow that will be brought down to the beach. A 30-foot platform will serve as the slope the riders will carve down for the rail jam comp and demo.

The Fun Zone continues with a mechanical surfboard, an obstacle coarse, sand castle building, tug of war and a hula hoop event as well. Plus a live fashion show with the latest attire, dance performers, live music, some surfing and skating clinics, and even some guest speakers. It should be fun for the whole family.

Over on the East Coast at the 45th annual East Coast Surfing Championships at Virginia Beach, rad, “Air man” Aaron Cormican made it three wins in a row. Cormican busted a couple of frontside airs to take the close win over young Brazilian Jadson Andre, for $5,000. The final was postponed right in the middle for 15 minutes because of a lightning strike, as all surfers were called out of the water during the passing storm. Things were resumed with Cormican turning on in the second half and Ventura’s Adam Virs placing in the third spot with some good waves, too.

In Europe at the six-star Rip Curl Pro Super Series in Hossegor, Aussie Shaun Cansdell took the win and Ventura’s Dane Reynolds pulled into second. The second-place finish has given Reynolds enough points to qualify for the ASP championship tour next season. Also, San Clemente’s Pat Gudauskas made it to the quarterfinals and was ripping, too.

Hurricane Dean, with winds well over 100 mph, gave the East Coast and Gulf Coast some killer surf as it went by. No doubt some photogs were capturing the action as spots that haven’t broken for years were working.

See ya at the beach to cool off after another heat wave week. Fig, over and out.