Huntington Beach’s Brad Ettinger  placed 2nd in his heat earlier today. HB’s Shaun Ward advanced earlier in the day, and will go up against fellow Huntington Beach local Tim Reyes in heat 14 of round of 96.

It didn’t go so well for San Clemente’s Dane Gudauskas, who came in third after only pulling in a 8.93.

However, his bro Tanner just killed it during his heat about 3:30 p.m., placing first with a 15.0 score. These events are crucial for Tanner, who is on the cusp of qualifying for the World Tour. He is in 17th place on the WQS rankings.

“I was excited, that’s the sort of surfing we want to see,” said one of the announcers.

San Clemente’s Nate Yeomans just posted first place in his heat, with a total heat score of 11.17. He sits on the 8th spot of the tour, and will likely have a spot on next year’s World Tour to surf against the best surfers in the world.

Huntington’s Brett Simpson is up duing the round of 64, as is  the last Gudauskas bro, Patrick (likely to run tomorrow).

The event - to run through Nov. 24 - is a 6-star prime, meaning major points for those on ASP’s World Qualifying Series.  There’s a lot of money on the line during the Triple Crown, with a total prize purse of $1,000,000.

Watch the action live here.

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It was a bit messy out there, with a northwest windswell in the water. But surfers on the north side of the pier made the best of the day, especially as offshore winds got strong at about 10 a.m.

Here’s some snaps of the day (and a slideshow here.)

Post from: OC Beach Blog

The ninth stop of the ASP World Championship Tour finally got underway today in Peniche, Portugal after three days without competition. 

Day one was called off due to the lack of swell, day two was too big and stormy and on day three the contest site on the beach was completely damaged due to the large surf.

So finally the world’s top 45 surfers have taken to the water at the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Searchat a backup spot called Mohle Leste which is down the beach from the main contest site Supertubos. 

The waves have dropped quite a bit in the last day, but are still offering the competitors plenty of contestable waist to head high surf.

Due to the three consecutive days of no competition, contest organizers have opted to run the new Round One elimination format which means one surfer will be going home early.

The Rip Curl Pro Searchofficial waiting period wraps up on Friday, October 30th.  To watch the live webcast, go to live.ripcurl.com.

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The water is still nice, at about 68 - 70. Here’s some snapshots he sent over:

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Here’s what Swegles wrote:

Gudauskas’ second-place showing Sunday at the $145,000 Local Motion Guaruja Pro in Brazil elevated him to fourth in the ASP’s World Qualifying Series standings. He’d been fifth.

It’s significant, since he secured his highest point score of the year, 2,188, and got to discard his low score, 1,225, from his previous best-seven results, upon which ratings are based.

 Normally the top 15 WQS surfers qualify for the ASP World Championship Tour. Gudauskas just missed last year, coming so close that he has been an injury substitution at WCT contests this year.

Read more from Swegles story here.

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Are you in the market for a new surfboard or have you ever thought about wanting to shape your own board? 

Well here’s a really cool event where you’ll find everything you’ve ever wanted to know about a surfboard.

The third annual Sacred Craft Surfboard Expo is happening next weekend in San Diego.  Some of the best shapers in the business will be on hand mowing foam, along with the manufacturers.

The legendary list of craftsman include: Rusty Preisendorfer, Pat Rawson, Robert August, Bruce Jones, Gary Linden, Bing Copeland and many more.

The Sacred Craft Surfboard Expo has something for everyone from board demo’s to seminars to artwork to music.  And as always there’s the ‘Tribute to the Masters Shape-off’ with this year’s honoree, Dick Brewer.

This year’s event is also introducing the Vintage Surfboard Antique Road Show where expert appraisers will be on hand.  So if you’re attending the event and you have some collector boards in your quiver that you might like to part with, bring them too and find out what they’re worth.

The first 100 attendees through the door will be put on a special “early bird” drawing for a chance to win a new Firewire fish surfboard.  Admission if FREE for groms 16 and under and $5 for everyone else.  For more info. on the big shindig, go to sacredcraftexpo.com.

Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar

When: Saturday, October 10th 10 a.m to 6 p.m and Sunday October 12th 10 a.m to 4 p.m

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The waves were never good enough for the pros, and forecasters are saying tomorrow may shape up to be better. Saturday will be a full day starting at 7 a.m.  - they still need to get through Round 4, then it’s down to the quarter finals.

Keep posted for updates.

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Checking out Trestles for waves

Just talked to Robert Shadley with ASP, who said the Hurley Pro contest is on hold this morning and the contest has a chance of running later today.

“We’re waiting for conditions to improve,” he said. “A call will be made later this morning on what we’re going to do.”

The next call on whether it’s a go will happen at 10 a.m.  Shadley said if conditions improve, the contest will run later today with the hopes of getting through round 4 of the contest. The finals will definitely be held Saturday, he said.

“The swell is supposed to be better tomorrow,” he said.

Check back at thehurleypro.com for updates.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Pretty much every major beach along OC’s 42-miles of coastline will have a clean up, as well as many watersheds. There’s also events at places like Upper Newport Bay and a scuba dive group headed out at the Montage to get all the stuff that’s below the ocean’s surface.

Check out this list to find a local beach in OC hosting a clean up, or go to www.coastal.ca.gov. Most cleanups start at 9 a.m. Gloves and bags are provided.

The local effort coincides with the International Coastal Cleanup Day, held on the same day, which draws about 400,000 volunteers worldwide who help keep the coast and waterways clean. Last year, people from 100 countries picked up 6.8 million pounds of trash.

If you have a few moments, check out this interactive done by the OC Register on how and why you should clean up.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

If you are headed to the coast, make sure you use extreme caution, especially Friday. A big hurricane swell sent pounding waves to the coast Thursday, and novice swimmers are being warned to be careful of big waves and rip currents through the weekend.

So if you’re looking to find out what’s going on - to either join the festivities or to avoid the crowds - here’s a glimpse of what’s happening along OC’s coast this weekend:

SIMA Surfing America USA Championships:

A surf contest that showcases some of the best amateur surfers from around the nation is going down in Huntington Beach this week, where competitors are trying to nab the USA championship title.

The 2009 SIMA Surfing America USA Championships presented by Verizon Wireless kicked off Tuesday south of the Huntington Beach pier, and runs through Sunday.

There’s 18 divisions in the contest, everything from young groms to seniors, longboarders and shortboarders.

Read more about the event here, and check out a slideshow of the first day of the contest here.

When: Starting at 8 a.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Where: Huntington Beach Pier

Battle of the Brands surf contest in HB

Come out to check some surfing athletes from top surf brands battle it out for bragging rights in Huntington Beach on Aug. 29.

Athletes from Billabong, Quiksilver, Rip Curl and O’Neill (and the zany editors from Surfer Mag, Surfing Mag, TransWorld Surf, Surfline and Fuel TV) will be going head-to-head during the 3rd annual PacSun Battle of the Brands.

When: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 29

Where: South side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

1-mile swim at Corona Del Mar this weekend

The Don Burns 1-mile scholarship swim is happening down at Corona del Mar on Saturday.

The event is held in honor of Burns, who was a lifeguard for 47 years before he died 16 years ago.

The race - which typically draws hundreds of swimmers - will be held at 10 a.m. at Big Corona Beach. Check in starts at 9:15 a.m. at tower 3, next to the jetty.

Swimmers go out to a buoy 100-yards offshore, then go down coast along the swim lines, past cliff side homes and the rocky coastline to the secluded cove of Little Corona. They then round buoys on their right shoulder, return up coast to the first buoy, and swim to an onshore finish at the starting line.

When: 10 a.m. Saturday

Where: Corona Del Mar State Beach

Catalina Classic paddleboard race

If you can head up the coast a bit, head up to Manhattan Beach to check out the Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race. There’s plenty of Orange County paddleboarders to support who do the 32-mile race.

The paddler must have completed last years race by the 9 hour cut-off time or competed in another notable paddleboard competition with a solid standing.

When: Sunday August 30, 2009

Where: Manhattan Beach to Catalina Island

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