March 19, 2001
http://www.santa-cruz.com
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| Anthony Bell, top, of USA East, backs off a wave after it was claimed by Jersey’s Nigel Holland in a Men’s Team Performance heat at the World Surf Kayaking Championships at Steamer Lane on Sunday. The Jersey team, which comes from the small island in the English Channel won the overall team competition. Sentinel photo by Shmuel Thaler. |
SANTA CRUZ — He was the Ken King of the beach, but Jersey took the international team competition at the 2001 World Surf Kayaking Championships. Not New Jersey, but one of the Channel islands off the coast of France.
This was the first time since 1993 Santa Cruz has hosted the world championships, which are held bi-annually. Ireland will host the 2003 world championships.
The United States also did quite well Sunday, with the U.S. West team taking second and the U.S. East team placing third. England was fourth.
The winningest American was 41-year-old Ken King from Mill Valley. The Novato based software company employee cleaned house — winning the International Classic division, Masters International Classic division and the High Performance division. King defended his High Performance title from 1999 in Brazil.
"Hat trick," said King. "I still can’t believe it. It would be nice if it was a bit bigger, but I was able to get a lot of waves today. Wave count helps. If I can get those big waves, it keeps everyone else’s scores down."
King had the gallery holding its collective breath for a moment in the International Classic finals. Taking a wave to the shallow inside waters, King did a "blunt", digging the nose of his board in the water, but accidentally coming down body first. After a heart-stopping moment, King popped up and paddled back out. It turned out that King did damage his kayak and touched his helmet to the reef.
"It wasn’t bad," said King of the nose dip. "I’ve done worse on a river. I had the Gath helmet on, one of my sponsors."
The International Classic division differs from the High Performance division in that the waves are judged more for positioning, reading of the wave and length of ride. High performance judges are looking for maneuvers that show off a rider’s ability. The kayaks used for the International Classic division are longer and faster while the High Performance kayaks are shorter and slower, but more maneuverable.
Some of the tricks the riders performed were 360s, cutbacks, roundhouse cutbacks, endos, floaters, tube rides, 180s, backsurfing, true aerials, cartwheels, blunts and face rolls.
Taking the women’s International Classic division was San Francisco resident Gina Troiani. She also took second in the women’s High Performance division, next to Scottish winner Tracy J. Stewart. Troiani has been river kayaking for eight years and surf kayaking for a mere nine months. But, as Troiani explained, her river experience came into play in the ocean.
"Jockeying for position was my strategy," said Troiani. "Just be on the inside and be safe...I like taking my river abilities into the ocean surf. No other woman was in both finals. I’m pretty lucky."
Americans swept the Junior categories. Taking the Junior International Classic was U.S. East’s Jud Watkins of Wilmington, North Carolina. Livermore’s Jonathan Fortner won the High Performance division, defending his 1999 title.
"The waves held up, so you have a chance to do some tricks," said Fortner. "If you had the skills, you would be the one who would win. I was spinning well, doing rough cutbacks into the pile, getting spit out again, backsurfing, going down the line and gyrating."
Other locals faring well were Santa Cruz’s Dave Johnston, who took third in the men’s High Performance division — and La Selva Beach’s Rick Starr, who placed second in the men’s High Performance division and third in the International Classic.
Conditions for Sunday’s finals were in the 3-to-5 foot range — not as big as Saturday, but still better than what the contestants faced at Manresa earlier in the week. The Manresa beach break damaged many kayaks. One rider suffered a dislocated shoulder and another rider hurt some ribs.
Event host Dennis Judson, owner of Adventure Sports Unlimited of Santa Cruz, finished third in the Masters International Classic. One of Judson’s main objectives was to educate the community about surf kayaking and promote harmony in the water between surfers and kayakers. Judson even allowed board surfers to ride the waves out at the ‘point’, while the kayakers took over ‘middle peak’ and occasionally drifted over to the ‘point’.
"It’s a magnificent tool to experience the Monterey Bay," said Judson of surf kayaking. "For $400 you can get a boat, throw it on the beach and escape from the shore. You are weightless and there’s no noise. The boats just glide through the water. You’re a part of the space."
Starr had some suggestions for a beginning kayaker.
"I recommend finding a good instructor to teach you how to kayak, then find someone who knows about waves," said Starr. "There’s a lot to learn about etiquette in the ocean."
Despite Judson’s and the overall event’s hospitality, the ongoing feud between surfers and surf kayakers surfaced when a longboarder paddled over into middle peak 10 minutes before the last 20-minute heat was over.
"I definitely have animosity (towards the event)," said 28-year-old Westside surfer Morgan Raines. "Even the Cold Water Classic. If we get good publicity, it just attracts more people to the area...No matter how much money you have, what kind of car you drive, you can’t just come out here and earn respect. If someone comes out from Los Gatos, they’re not going to get very many waves."
Another interesting aspect to the contest was that there was no prize money involved. The field was made up of working class folk who saved up to attend the bi-annual world event.
"We got part-time jobs," said 17-year-old Robert Hearne of Jersey, who took third in the Junior International Classic. "We try and get sponsorships as well. You can get small donations."
With the perfect weather and consistent swell throughout the contest, Starr deemed the extravaganza a success.
"It’s a great time," said Starr. "It’s a great group of people and a great time."