Santa Cruz natives dominate contest
Published: December 20, 2005
DON CURRY, above, teamed with Lincoln City surfer Jason Garding for the Dec. 11 Nelscott Reef tow surf contest. Despite reports a white shark was sighted near the break just days before the event, surfers from California, Hawaii, Brazil and Oregon took part in the state's first-ever pro contest.photo surfersvillage.com
By JOSH KULLA
The News Guard
Last week's Nelscott Reef big wave surfing contest was more than just Oregon's first-ever professional surf contest, it was a breakout moment for the central Oregon coast's surfing scene.
With local, national and international interest generated by the west coast's first big-wave tow-in competition, it is unlikely the Lincoln City surf scene will remain the same hidden secret it once was.
But even in the localized world of surfing, this will likely be a good thing. Not only did the contest itself feature impeccable surf conditions and weather, it also provided a demonstration of what a united community can do as a group. In short, it was nearly a flawless weekend for nearly all involved, according to organizers John Forse and Roland Hoyle.
"We had an unbelievable response," said Hoyle, one of three board members of Behemoth LLC, the organization responsible for running the event. "I mean, everybody came together really well. What was really cool was the Pacific Northwest version of the Aloha spirit, both among the locals and those supporting the visitors."
Forse agreed, saying everything went pretty much as well, or better, than he had hoped.
"It was like a bunch of friends out surfing together and hooting and rooting each other on," he said. "It was absolutely great, from the contestants to the spectators, it was just a real special moment in my life. It ranks up there with the first day I was able to drop the rope and catch a wave at Nelscott."
Santa Cruz brothers Zach and Jake Wormhoudt captured first place and the $6,500 check given to the winning team, while Tyler Fox and Shane Desmond, also of Santa Cruz, took second place and the $4,000 runner-up prize. Third place went to the team of Peter Mel and Anthony Tashnick, while Mike Brummet, another Santa Cruz local, and legendary big-wave surfer Jeff Clark combined to capture fourth place.
In addition, pioneering surfer Richard Schmidt, also of Santa Cruz and one of the first mainland surfers to gain genuine acceptance with Hawaiian locals in the 1970s, was selected by his fellow contestants as the contest's most valuable driver for his role in pairing with Vince Broglio. While their team finished out of the money, Schmidt impressed the field with his deft handling of his personal watercraft.
"Richard's really respected," Hoyle said. "He was the oldest guy in the contest, a really nice guy, and he got that from the other surfers' point of view."
Entire window needed
Forse is commonly credited with "discovering" the wave at Nelscott Reef, a rock reef which sits a half-mile off-shore. There, a shallow rock shelf allows perfect A-frame waves to form when the swell gets larger than 10 feet or so. Forse first tried to paddle into the wave under his own power some 10 years ago, but no one was known to have actually surfed the wave until the winter of 2003, when several Santa Cruz surfers came to Oregon with their personal watercraft.
It was then, almost exactly two years ago, that Forse, Mel and Adam Replogle proved the wave could be ridden by towing in, and it led to a burst of publicity which eventually led to this year's contest, which has been in the works for nearly a year now.
The event was given a two-month window from Oct. 15 to Dec. 15 in which to run. And as December rolled around amid a string of abusive winter storms, organizers were beginning to wonder if they would have to cancel the event or extend the window. That is, until about four days before the contest, when forecasts began to call for a sizable swell to materialize off the coast over the coming weekend.
At that point, Forse made the call to go for it, and competitors were given 48 hours to make their way to Lincoln City. With everything hanging in the balance, Forse and others then sat back and crossed their fingers things would turn out in their favor.
And when Sunday, Dec. 11 dawned crisp and sunny, they could tell the gamble had paid off even before the first heat hit the water. A 12-foot swell with a 17-second interval was there to greet the contest, while spectators lined the cliffs above Nelscott beach and vehicles clogged S.W. Coast Avenue and the small city park providing beach access at the bottom of the hill.
"I could have been a goat just as easily as a hero," Forse said. "But the stars were with us on this one. Actually, with the swell, we were able to call it earlier than we expected. We were able to call it four days ahead of time because of a stable, high-pressure system. It was just a matter of how big it would get. It could have been a lot bigger, but it was a good first day for everyone."
No one was complaining, however, that the waves were too small.
"There were a few legitimate 30-foot faces out there, mostly in the morning," said Jason Garding, one of three Lincoln City surfers invited to the contest. "The swell peaked during that first heat."
Garding echoed Forse and Hoyle's sentiments about the contest, saying it hardly seemed like a contest at times because of the friendly nature of the event.
"It was just a really cool vibe," he said. "The whole thing was just incredible. I can't tell you how many times people have told me this is the best surf trip they've ever been on."
Garding and his partner, Don Curry, of Carmel, Calif., finished out of the running for the cash prizes handed out. But when each individual surfer's scores were tallied, Garding finished as the eighth-highest scorer of the 30 competitors. That result left Garding feeling confident that Oregon surfers can now rank themselves alongside their better-known counterparts from California and Hawaii when it comes to large waves and the special skills required by tow-in surfing in particular.
"Tow surfing is definitely a team sport," he said. "Not only with your partner, but everyone else on the water. You can't see over the back of the waves, so it helps to have those extra sets of eyes."
Behemoth board member Jim Kusz noted that not only was the event a spectacular success from an organizational standpoint, but safety was paramount throughout the competition.
"The participants were too good to be true; they were great," Kusz said. "They all loved Lincoln City; it was really the people of Lincoln City who pulled this together. Everyone pitched in and made this wacky contest go."
He added that everyone he had talked to had expressed interest in returning in the future, and said Behemoth is looking to corral some serious sponsors for next year's contest, which is already being planned.
"There's already scuttlebutt and talk, and everyone I've talked to said they would like to be invited back next year," Kusz said. "We learned some lessons this year, and, quite frankly, what we need more than anything else are sponsors, so it's not so small-town. But to be honest, that's part of the charm."
Indeed, winner Zach Wormhoudt told the Santa Cruz Sentinel afterward the relaxed atmosphere pervading Lincoln City suited him and his brother, Jake, perfectly.
"I pretty much would've paid that money to surf up there," he said of his prize winnings, which were part of a $20,000 total purse.
For more information about the contest, as well as photos and video clips, visit:
www.nelscottreef.com.
