Pro surfer and commentator Jodie Nelson is about to embark on a major  journey in an effort to help raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.  The Southern California local will attempt a historic mission to become the first woman to stand up paddle 38.9 miles from Avalon in Catalina to Dana Point Harbor.

The grueling mission has only been accomplished by a few men, one of them being legendary waterman Laird Hamilton.  With a goal of raising $50,000 to benefit The Keep A Breast Foundation and Boarding For Breast Cancer, Nelson will tackle the feat, coined “Paddle With Purpose” during the annual Catalina Challenge race.

Nelson’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, her aunt is a cancer survivor and one of her closest friends is currently battling the deadly disease.  “I’m tired of sitting around, feeling like there is nothing I can do,” says Nelson.  I know that paddling almost 40 miles isn’t going to heal my friend or cure cancer, but I know that I can make a stand against this terrible disease that affects so many people.  And I am determined to raise money towards research, education and prevention!” 

Jodie Nelson completed the Catalina Challenge race in 2009 as a relay with another woman.

Pro surfer Jodie Nelson to attempt grueling paddle is a post from: OC Beach Blog

Nearly fifty pro and amateur extreme athletes from around the globe are expected to compete in the big event.  Some of the surfers include:  Christian Fletcher from San Clemente, Laguna Beach’s Mike Morrissey and Nathan Carroll from Hawaii.

Skaters include: Omar Hassan from Newport Beach, Huntington Beach’s Tosh Townend and female skater Lyn-z Adams Hawkins who is the only girl competitor in this year’s event.

Some of the notable name snowboarders are Todd Richards from Encinitas, William “BJ” Linne from South Lake Tahoe and New Zealand’s Kristian Phillipp.

The one week long competition will start with the surfing at Seaside Reef in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Saturday, March 13 through Tuesday, March 16, followed by the snowboarding which happens at Northstar Lake Tahoe, Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19.  Then to wrap up the event the competitors will head to Reno, Nevada for the skateboarding which takes place at Grand Sierra Resort on Saturday, March 20.  For more info. check out ultimateboarder.com.

When: March 16-20, 2010

Where: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada

Ultimate Boarder Championship is a post from: OC Beach Blog

The 39-year old San Clemente local started doing huge airs in the early 80’s and that grabbed the attention of just about everyone in the surf industry except the contest judges who really didn’t know how to score these futuristic maneuvers.

ChristianFletchersurf.com includes: photos, videos, a blog, a Q&A with his mom and a place to purchase CF items.

Christian Fletcher launches website is a post from: OC Beach Blog

Surfers from Orange County – and from San Clemente in particular – own the state of California in scholastic surfing for 2010.

At the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s annual state tournament on the south side of the Huntington Beach pier last weekend, O.C. surfers captured 11 or the 12 available state titles – with eight of those going to San Clemente surfers.

The NSSA contest starts off with 40 teams, and 21 of the top teams made it to the State Championships in Surf City. In June, the National Championships will be held at the same spot. Waves in the 2-to-4 foot range came in, with sets up to 5 foot for the final day.

San Clemente High captured its second straight NSSA state team title. Shorecliffs Middle School of San Clemente took its fifth straight NSSA state title. San Clemente High also took the state JV title.

Doug van Mierlo, a San Clemente High grad now at San Diego State, won the college men’s title.

Scott Brandenburg, a San Clemente High grad now at Saddleback College, took the longboard title. Chloe Buckley of Mira Costa College was the women’s champion.

In high school surfing, Christian Saenz of Huntington Beach High was the men’s winner, Taylor Pitz of Laguna Beach High the women’s winner and Jeff Newell of Edison High the longboard winner.

For Saenz, the change of venue from Church to the south side of the Huntington Beach pier was a good thing.

“I’m so stoked to have the Nationals on south side,” he told contest organizer Janice Aragon. “It’s just comfortable for me in front of a hometown crowd. It’s just good to have that vibe. It pumps up my confidence to perform and I love this wave.”

Christian Saenz, of Huntington Beach, took home the win for the high school men's division. Photo by Fred Swegles.

This was a first–time entry for the University of Southern California, which just re-formed its surf team after a long hiatus. Many of the surfers are from beach cities like Newport and San Clemente.

“For our first year up, we’re in the top half of all the teams,” said team captain Mark Lathrum. “We’re a super-young team, so we have room to grow. We have the talent, it’s just a matter of getting contest experience.”

The NSSA is a non-profit organization that focuses on helping young surfers develop the skills of competitive surfing. It has been around for more than 30 years and requires surfers to maintain good academic standing to participate. NSSA holds more than 80 events on the west coast, east coast and Hawaii.

- OC Register reporter Fred Swegles contributed to this article.

OC surfers dominate at NSSA State contest in HB is a post from: OC Beach Blog

One of the most well-known shapers of today just signed a deal with a major surfboard manufacturer.  Stretch Surfboards from Santa Cruz has teamed up with Surftech, the maker of composite construction surfboards to distribute Stretch’s boards worldwide.

Stretch was named shaper of the year in 2006 by Surfing Magazine and really became popular once innovative surf star Nathan Fletcher started riding his boards.  The San Clemente native’s popular quad-fin bat tail design was very instrumental in bringing back the 80’s four fin setup over the last few years.

 ”Our ability to meet worldwide demand for boards has been limited.  With our factory located just down the street from Surftech headquarters and seeing their success, the choice to partner with them was obvious.  Now the entire Stretch boards line can be found in shops around the world”, said William “Stretch” Riedel, Owner-Shaper of Stretch Surfboards.

Besides surfboards, Stretch is also making tow-in boards, SUPs, kite boards and wakesurfboards.  To check out all of his latest shapes, go to Stretchboards.com or Surftech.com.

Stretch Surfboards teams up with Surftech is a post from: OC Beach Blog

The 5th Annual Vans Pier Classic presented by Jack’s Surfboards will be happening on the southside of the Huntington Beach Pier.

A few hundred pro surfers will battle it out in the 2-star Men’s WQS contest, while several amateurs from around the country will be competing in the Ezekiel Pro Junior which runs in conjunction with the Vans Pier Classic.

Last year’s Vans Pier Classic winner was San Clemente’s Mike Losness while Malibu’s Dillon Perillo took home the win in the Ezekiel Pro Junior.

For more info. or to watch the live action, check out aspworldtour.com or vanssurf.com.

When: Wednesday, March 24 through Sunday, March 28, 2010 8 a.m to 4 p.m each day

Where: Southside of the Huntington Beach Pier

Vans Pier Classic coming to HB this month is a post from: OC Beach Blog

Two Orange County surfers – Brett Simpson and Patrick Gudauskas – were pitted against the world’s best surfers during the first ASP World Tour event of the year, but couldn’t pull off underdog wins against the likes of Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater. 

The two were the last remaining of four local surfers at the Quiksilver Pro trying to make their mark against the world’s best 45 surfers. 

Slater, 38, started off strong in his heat against Gudauskas, slashing his way to big points on several waves through the heat. He posted a 7.77 and 7.60, for a total heat score of 15.37. 

As the clock ticked down, Gudauskas had a hard time in the messy surf posting any significant scores, seeming out of rhythm. He had a combined score of 7.56. 

“I feel like I could have put up a better fight,” Gudauskas said. “It was rough out there. It was a learning experience.” 

  

Pat Gudauskas in Round 2 of the Quiksilver Pro. Photo courtesy of ASP

  

Earlier in the day, Huntington Beach’s Brett Simpson went up against current World Champ Mick Fanning. 

Though Simpson had a fairy-tale win against Fanning at last year’s Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, the rookie on the World Tour was no match for Fanning at the Aussie’s home break. 

Fanning started off strong in his heat, earning a 6.64 score on a wave. Simpson answered back and tried to pull off an air move, but strong winds whipped his board from under him. 

Fanning went on to ride a solid wave that earned him a 9.07 score, and the rookie couldn’t quite find a wave to make his way back into the game in the choppy, overhead surf. 

“I had to go for my moves, and I definitely made a few mistakes you can’t afford to make against these guys,” Simpson said. “I’m learning, this is my first year. If I’m bummed, it wouldn’t make this tour fun. So I’m happy, just having a good time.” 

 

The two other San Clemente surfers on the World Tour – Tanner Gudauskas and Nate Yeomans – were knocked out of the contest in Round 2. 

With new rules this year, surfers only have five events to prove their worth – 13 surfers at the bottom of the list will be cut after the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, meaning they have to start strong in these early events. If cut, there’s no chance for a comeback later in the year.  

OC surfers taken out by world champs at Quiksilver Pro is a post from: OC Beach Blog

It’ll feature Long Beach’s Tom Vadakan, Tom Laura, aka “Big Toe” and Megan “Candy” McMahon.  Then there’s a couple of music sets by Newport Beach shaper extraordinaire “Dano” who will be strumming an acoustic set and pro skater turned musician “Ray Barbee” doing his thing.

The FREE event also will include a live DJ set by DJ Geaux Geaux and refreshments will be provided by Primo Beer.  For more info. check out losdesperadosartbanditos.com.

When: Saturday, March 6th at 7 p.m til ?

Where: Shelter Surf Shop 2148 East 4th Street, Long Beach 90814

Los Desperados Banditos art and music show is a post from: OC Beach Blog

There’s no doubt the world’s best big wave surfers have been scoring plenty of monstrous waves all over the globe in the last few months.

Thanks to mother nature it’s time again for one more prestigious big wave paddle-in surf contest. 

The Todos Santos Big Wave event will kick off on Sunday, February 28th with the first heat hitting the lineup at 8 a.m.

24 invited big wave chargers will be tackling “Killers”which is a spot located at Todos Santos Island off the coast of Ensenada in Mexico.

Some of the notable names competing include: South Africa’s Grant “Twiggy” Baker, San Clemente’s Greg Long, Hawaii’s Mark Healy, Santa Cruz’s Peter Mel and San Clemente’s Nathan Fletcher.

Surfline forecasters are calling for a solid 18 to 20 foot swell for the competition.  For more info. check out todossantosevent.com. 

When:  Sunday, February 28th 8 a.m

Where:  “Killers”, Todos Santos

Todos Santos Big Wave contest kicks off on Sunday is a post from: OC Beach Blog

Marshall, a longtime member of the Blackies Surf Club and a former shaper for Harbour Surfboards, died in his Costa Mesa home. He was 67.

The paddle-out service – a tradition for surfers who gather in the water to say goodbye – will  happen at 9 a.m. on  April 8, and will be followed by a celebration of Marshall’s life at Orange Coast College where an exhibit on Rich Harbour is on display. Marshall – considered a surf historian – was instrumental in pulling together the “Harbour Chronicles” feature at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion.

Rich Harbour met Marshall in the 60s, and the then young surfer worked out of the Seal Beach shop.

“I appreciated his knowledge of the craft, and his knowledge of the world of surfing,” Harbour said. “If you had a question about who is who in surfing – he usually had the answer. He was a lot of fun to be with, just because we’re out of the same mold.”

Marshall was among the 100 founding partners and a staunch supporter of the Surfing Heritage Foundation (SHF). The surfboard shaper was also Committee Chair for the Educational Committee as well as one of SFH’s lead docents and historians, according to Surfline.com.

Blackies surf break is located just north of the Newport Pier. The ceremony starts at 9 a.m.

Paddleout date set for Mike Marshall at Blackies is a post from: OC Beach Blog