OC Register’s Fred Swegles was down at Trestles Tuesday morning, and got some great snapshots of surfers from Newport to San Clemente competing. Here’s a bit of what he wrote:
“Even when the surf is virtually flat at most beaches, as it was this morning, you can usually count on finding something surfable at Trestles.
And so it was with day one of the 2009 South Coast League Surfing Finals today at Upper Trestles, a popular surf break that tends to squeeze the most out of any swell…”
There’s a few surf companies holding warehouse sales this week, where you can score some really sweet deals on stuff for the holidays (or yourself, of course). Here’s the latest:
Hurley Warehouse Sale:
Hurley extended its sale and will continue offering 50 to 70 percent off at its Irvine warehouse starting Wednesday through the weekend. I stopped in last weekend and shot these photos of what people can expect to find. There were really good deals - T-shirts for $10, wetsuits for $10, hoodies for $25, etc.
So if you want to check it out, the sale doors open about noon and close at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday it runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Address: 2323 Main Street
Irvine, California 92614
(Corner of Main St & Von Karman)
O’Neill Lost Rusty Metal Mulisha Warehouse Sale:
This one kicks off at 11 a.m. on Thursday and runs to about 7 p.m. at the O’Neill/Lost headquarters in Irvine. Same hours on Friday, doors open at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and closes about 5 p.m.
Address: 17 Pasteur
Irvine CA 92618
Body Glove Warehouse Sale
If you don’t mind heading out of town, Body Glove will have a warehouse sale in Torrance starting Wednesday (for VIP), and open to the public through the weekend. They’ll have reduced prices on Body Glove’s watersports clothing and accessories. Click here for more info or call (310) 320-7873.
RVCA Holiday Warehouse Sale
This is a bit further out, but check out the RVCA sale on Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Costa Mesa.
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Props out to Capo Beach longboarder Joe Aaron, who can be found gracing the cover of the upcoming issue of Pacific Longboarder Magazine.
Aaron is one of the young surfers currently on the World Qualifying Series longboard division. Aaron - who was named the OC Register’s 2009 OC Longboarder of the Year, can also be found at many local surf events showcasing his paintings. His sponsors include Jed Noll Surfboards, Smartwater.
Grab the magazine if you see it on the stands! Find out more about Joe Aaron at joemotion.com.
Surfline forecaster Kevin Wallis gives us a look at what the waves will look like for the rest of the week:
A ridge of high pressure centered well off the California coast will extend into the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday and Thursday. As a result, we’ll see pleasant weather in the afternoons with beach temps reaching the mid 60s, although there is a chance for patchy fog in the mornings. Similar weather conditions look likely through Friday, before we see a slight chance of rain develop for the very beginning of the weekend with a trough of low pressure moving over Northern and Central California.
Our surf will remain quite small for most of the day on Wednesday, with just a tiny mix of southwest and southeast swells from the Southern Hemisphere. Most breaks will see 1-2 foot surf for a good chunk of the day, while top southerly exposed beaches see waves occasionally running up to 3 feet. A new west-northwest swell will start to build late Wednesday, but looks much stronger for Thursday. By Thursday look for many breaks to see 2-4 foot surf, while top breaks hit 5 foot plus faces. The west-northwest swell fades on Friday, but we will see some new southwest swell, so the surf will remain fun and peaky.
Going into the weekend, we could potentially see a larger west-northwest swell build in, although our wind/weather conditions early in the weekend may be less than ideal for surfing, before cleaning up later in the weekend. Keep an eye on Surfline.com for all the latest details on this next run of swell!
The North Shore of Oahu is about to kick into high gear and that means one of the worlds most prestigious surf contests official waiting period is about to begin.
The Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational In Memory of Eddie Aikau takes place at Waimea Bay which is one of the most famous surf spots on the seven mile stretch of coast.
However, the special event hasn’t happened since December of 2004, when Kauai’s Bruce Irons took the win.
The contest requires the surf to be at least 25 feet Hawaiian scale which is about 30 to 40 feet on the face of the wave, but mother nature hasn’t produced that amount of swell in the last five years.
Some of this years invitees include: 9-time World Champion Kelly Slater, Andy and Bruce Irons, Sunny Garcia, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Michael Ho, Shane Dorian and San Clemente’s Greg Long.
The 2009/2010 Eddie Aikau event is celebrating the 25th anniversary this winter. The opening ceremony takes place on Thursday December 3rd. The official waiting period for the contest runs until February 28, 2010.
For more info. and a full list of this years invitees and alternates, go to quiksilver.com/eddie.
San Clemente’s Kolohe Andino took home a big win at Salt Creek this past Saturday at the 2009 Rip Curl GromSearch National Final.
The final event in the national series brought together some of the best young surfers from around the nation, with Kolohe earning an all-expenses paid trip to Bells Beach in Australia in April to go up against the best from around the globe.
Kolohe posted a heat total of 15.36 in the final, where he went up against - and beat out - Newport’s Taylor Thorne.
Andino is no stranger to winning and has had a stellar year - in June, he took home national titles in three divisions during the National Scholastic Surfing Championship.
The Rip Curl contest is meant to groom young talent to face similar conditions to those they would see in the World Championship Tour, on which undoubtedly we’ll see some of these young surfers in the near future.
O.C.’s Lakey Peterson also did really well, placing second in the finals for girls younger than 16.
It’s the 10th year the event has been held, and through the years several now well-known names have been among the winners, including surfers such as Stephanie Gilmore, Mason Ho (who beat Jordy Smith to become the first non-Australian Rip Curl GromSearch Champion in 2005), Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons and Alana Blanchard, according to the Web site.
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The holidays are just around the corner and I know many surfers are hoping that Santa will bring them a new board. So if you’re in the market for some new equipment and want to save some serious cash, then check this out.
Fury Surf, a surfboard and surf accessories company is offering some screaming deals. All their surfboard packages come with a surfboard, a travel bag, a leash and a traction pad. Typically, all that product would cost someone at your local surf shop at least $500 or more.
So due to the tough economic times, this company is offering a few different packages. A shortboard setup will cost $299.00, a fish package will run you $350.00 and a longboard setup will cost $395.00.
All Fury Surfboards are hand shaped and made of Australian foam blanks with American made fibreglass. Every board comes with FCS removeable fin systems and an airbrush. For more info. check out furysurf.com.
As each person released a white dove into the sky near the ocean, Bob Marley’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” played in the background.
It was the song playing on Gary Edgar’s iPod when he died on Wednesday in a hospital after a sudden bout with lung cancer. He was 45.
Friends and family came together on the shore in Newport Beach this morning to say goodbye to Gary Edgar, and more than a hundred went into the water for a traditional “paddleout,” where surfers form a circle, hold hands and remember their loved one.
“We’re just amazed and shocked at the support we have from all our friends,” Ron Edgar said. “This is indeed a sad day for all of us. … Personally, he was my guardian angel.”
Read more about the tribute here.
Surfboard with a picture of Gary Edgar and covered with flowers is shown during a paddleout memorial for Edgar, a pro surfer from the 80s who died of lung cancer at age 45. PHOTOS BY CARLOS DELGADO, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
People watch from the shore during a paddleout memorial for Gary Edgar, a pro surfer from the 80s who died of lung cancer at age 45, in Newport Beach, Calif., on Sunday
Local surfers recognized Surfline wire news
