Happy new year everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and can now exhale after the visiting inlaws (or outlaws) have left.

Real quickly, I'd like to thank everyone who made the trip to the Doheny "Gathering of the Tribes." The weekend was filled with good surf and great vibes. The Doheny Longboard Surfing Association put on a great Coalition contest in traditional classic DLSA style. You could not have asked for better weather, or surf conditions.

One note about our gracious host club, DLSA: As you may know, many DLSA member have been instrumental in fighting the 241 Toll Road. This project threatens not only the multiple Trestles surf spots, but also the San Mateo Campground and all other environs of the San Mateo watershed. With the governor's public endorsement of the project last week, we need to ensure this debacle does not happen. I'll have more info at February's club meeting.

For the next year I've proposed a few changes to PBSC's events schedule, pending proper approval of course. Our next meeting will be held Wednesday, February 6th, at 7:00 pm, at RT's Longboard Grill, 1466 Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach.

Travis Long
President 2008

Doheny's 2008 edition SHINES, though dimly on pb

By Richard Steadham

This year's event was originally scheduled for the weekend of January 6-7, but as the date drew nearer, so did forecasts of substantial rain hammering the coast from Point Conception south to Baja. With news like that swirling the airwaves just days before the event, the Doheny club made the decision to move the event back one week to January 12-13. It was the best decision they could have ever made. Blue skies (except for the occasional fog bank rolling through), great waves and friendly vibes set the tone for the postponed weekend meet.

Noticeably absent from our roster for this contest were reliable and talented competitiors such as: Quintin Macklin, Kathy Austin, Derek Lodico, Jane Mold, Matt Dalton, Eve Allerton, Barney Sullivan, Bob Greene, Joe Rigby and the Saili sisters, Mele and Makela (whew!). With talent like that missing from our ranks, the remaining PB team knew they had a lot riding on their collective shoulders in order to keep us in the hunt for hardware. Alas, by the end of the second day, the loss of riders proved to be too much to overcome, as the club could only manage a 9th place overall, out of 18 Coalition clubs participating. For comparison, last year we came in third.

Saturday's First Rounds

With two venues operating simultaneously, judges had their work cut out for them scoring a north and south competition area. Of our team riders there to compete, the first out in the water in the south venue was Josh Hall (20-29 division). With favorable conditions and a solid performance, we knew he would advance when the scores were posted. Not so. The dreaded 4th place was all he could manage. Fourth is so maddening because you're just so close to making it—but don't. When you finish 5th or 6th, you were clearly outclassed in your heat, at least that's the way the judges' saw it, which is why in the heat taking place in the north, Alex Greene (15-19 division) surfed what we believed was a fine round. We were disheartened to learn later of his 5th place score. Also surfing in the same division a heat later was the elusive Max Ullman who found a way to advance by finishing 3rd.

Next up were the Legends (60-69) surfing in an unlikely timeslot, mid-morning. Usually, contest planners like to put these guys out there in wind-blown, afternoon conditions. Taking advantage of this opportunity was our legend, Bobby Challenger. Six waves were the maximum any competitor could ride, yet Bobby caught only two, one of which he was disqualified on after finding himself in the way of another rider on the same wave with better position. This took him from what would have been a 1st place finish to 3rd. The important thing was that he was able to advance, even though one of his waves was discounted. Just goes to show what a great score he had on his only other wave that counted!

Team captain and newly elected president Travis Long paddled out next in the Mens 30-39 heat and surfed his way into 2nd place by the time it was over. With his new title comes plenty of heats to surf in now: longboard, shortboard, tandem AND president. You can't keep him out of the water anymore! Wouldn't it be nice to be young like that again.

With a scarcity of women riders available to surf for us this contest, it was great that Keri Endich succombed to our cajoling and paddled out to represent us in the Jr. Womens Shortboard division. She had planned to just come and watch her boyfriend, Alex Greene compete, but overcame her initial reluctance and paddled out anyway. She surfed a fine round, coming in 3rd in a very competitive field. Our constant pressure had paid off.

Pete Robson was up next in the Masters' division (40-49) and needed no pressure to make him want to surf. He found five waves to his liking in the heat and wound up with a 3rd place also. Same division, one heat later, Matt Melin battled only one other competitor in his round and settled for 2nd place, knowing he was still moving ahead.

As the morning drew on, it was time for the Legends to go out again and compete in a Quarter Final round. This time, the aptly named Bobby Challenger was up to the challenge (sorry, I couldn't help myself) and surfed to a 1st place finish. As good as this round was for him though, it had a downside: he injured his left foot on the rocks at the end of one of his rides, which would affect his performance in the Legends Final later in the afternoon. If you're familiar with Church's, you know that rocky bottom yourself from painful experience. Later in the Legends final, Bobby's injury hampered him so much that he had to settle for 6th place. From the club's standpoint however, it still meant we had a finalist, and a trophy.

Our Grand Masters (50-59), Ron Greene and Pablo Smith, had their respective heats come next. First up was Ron who found just four waves in his heat, but 1st place by the end of it. In the following heat, Pablo secured four waves also, yet wound up in 2nd on the judges' scorecard. This outcome would be reversed the next morning in the Masters Quarter Final when Pablo would take 1st and Ron 2nd. One thing that goes without saying, but I'll say it again anyway: these two guys are a consistent one-two punch for the club in most of these Coalition events. They're that good. Speaking of which, Mike Burner, surfing in his first contest for us, caught just two waves in his Men's 40 and over shortboard heat, but came in third. The remarkable thing about that is, not that he came in third, but that he's in his mid-sixties and still out-surfed three other competitors much younger than him on a shortboard no less. Yeah, the guy shreds, 'nough said. Welcome back to the club of which he was an original member of the first PB Surf Club back in 1956!

It was now early afternoon and time for Men 39 and under to show what they could do on a shortboard. Alex Greene answered the call, but finished a disappointing 5th, equalling the finish earlier that day in his longboard round. Usually advancing through his heats with ease, his place in the contest was now over and the following day could be focused on the Chargers and their run through the playoffs.

Next, feeling the pressure of only one of three PB women riders, Celia Treamer reached down and pulled out a 3rd place in her Sr. Womens round in the south venue. Like Keri earlier, she put together the right combination of waves and style to see her way through to the next level. At the same time, but on the north venue waves, Pete Robson was showing his shortboard work, but came up short with a 5th place showing matching Alex earlier. A worrisome pattern of 5th place finishes seemed to be developing when Keri Endich placed the same, but in her case it was the Women's Shortboard Final and PB's guaranteed second trophy winner.

At 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, a bank of fog rolled in and played havoc with the judges' ability to fairly score the next scheduled heats. Spectators huddled in their tents began doning the sweatshirts and coats they'd shed earlier that morning. Before too long had past, it was clear enough to send the next heats out, and for the club that was the tandem team of Travis Long and his new partner Kate Anthony (our third and final female rider). Though not surfing together as a pair for very long, they managed a 3rd place in the finals and another trophy. That made for three so far on only the first day of competition, with eight of our team members still alive and vying for more the following day.

Sunday's Advancing Rounds

Driving up to Trestles Sunday morning, the skies were clear and blue, that is until about midway through Camp Pendleton, where fog banks began appearing along the coast. A bad omen. Once there however, things didn't look so ominous, in fact, the waves had increased in size over the preceeding day and the weather outlook, downright sunny.

To start things off, sharing the same heat, and in the end the same fate were Pete Robson and Matt Melin surfing in a Masters' Quarter Final. When the votes were tallied, both had already come to the end of their day, just as it was beginning to start. Pete got the dreaded 4th and Matt 5th. Their only consolation? Neither had earned a last place finish in the judges' eyes. Taking a que from Matt, Travis Long followed in a Men's 30-39 Quarter Final and got 5th also. Our first three riders were up and then down and the coffee over at the food tent hadn't even finished percolating yet. Not an encouraging start.

As alluded to earlier, our one-two punch were up next with Ron Greene finishing 2nd in his Grand Masters' Quarter Final, followed by a 1st place finish in the next heat by Pablo Smith. They could each now take a breather before facing each other in the Semi Finals scheduled for later in the day.

To this point on Sunday morning, all of our riders had competed in the south venue, but it was now time for the ageless Mike Burner to prove his stuff once again to his younger competitors in the north venue for Shortboarders 40 and over. After a valiant effort, this time he was edged back to 4th and out of the running. Looking for a positive out of a negative, he still had what it took to beat two other younger riders, and I for one remain impressed.

Club presidents were next and it was time for Travis Long to carry the torch for the first time as ours, against the top office holders in all the other clubs. With set waves presenting head-high faces throughout the heat, he dazzled the judges on several and notched a 1st place in the round. It would take a finals round to determine the "prez with the most" though, and when he had finished that round a bit later, he took the top spot once again, proving he really was the top dog among the presidential contenders.

When it came time for Ron Greene and Pablo Smith to face off in their Grand Masters' Semi Final, neither one could put together the right combination of waves, which would have propelled them into the finals. Ron got 4th and Pablo 5th, the same results haunting our first two riders of the day, Pete and Matt, now a distant memory.

We were now left putting all our hopes into seeing Celia Treamer place good enough in her Sr. Women's Semi Final to advance to the finals. It wasn't to be. When the judges' scores were posted, she had finished back in 5th, a disappointing end to what began with such promise.

Getting back to the root of the problem: we sorely missed the bulk of our team this time and it really showed. Mixing metaphors: we've now gotten off on the wrong foot in 2008 as far as Coalition tournament standings go, but hopefully we'll be able to right the ship as the contest season progresses throughout the year. The next scheduled CSC tournament is the annual Memorial Weekend Classic sponsored by the Santa Cruz Longboard Union, which is held at the fabled Steamer Lane. If we take a skimpy crew back up there again this year like we did last, our fortunes in the competitive season will truly be off to a bleak start. Let's start planning now to make sure that doesn't happen.

Final Results

Presidents: Travis Long, 1st Place
Tandem: Travis Long and Kate Anthony, 3rd Place
Jr. Women's Shortboard: Keri Endich, 5th Place
Legends: Bobby Challenger Thomas, 6th Place
Overall Team Standing: 9th Place

Feb 6: PB Surf Club meeting; 7pm; RT's Longboard Grill; 1466 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach.

Club Calendar