For the first time in over two decades, the ESA managed to run five consecutive surfing contests during the middle of the summer, with not only no postponements, but with actual ridable waves. The string of success began with the Annual New England Longboard Championships, which was held in clean waist high surf at Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts. The venue moved to Second Beach in Middletown, Rhode Island for the next four events, and each one featured solid waist to chest high waves. Veteran surfer, Peter Razza, ESA Newport surf prognosticator, made the call for every contest, predicting ridable surf. "Our beaches our situated better to catch those summer wind swells," said Peter. "It might be flat everywhere in New England, and we are surfing fun stuff at both Second Beach in Middletown and First Beach in Newport."
Jayden Parry. Photo: Lisa Haase.
As has been the case all summer, the kids put on the best show, as they ripped up the Middletown beach break, despite dealing with some very heavy seaweed laden shorebreak. The main event offered the best surfing, when Narragansett's Jayden Parry battled Nantasket's Jamie Kelly for the title. Parry began the heat with two long right peaks that came his way on the far end of the contest area. Kelly, a goofy-foot, moved to the opposite end of the contest zone, waiting for the perfect left. By the time two left peaks come through, Jayden had nailed yet another perfect right slide, this one the biggest of all three. It was a close one, but Parry pulled off the win by a whisker at the buzzer.
Sophia Martino continues to dazzle the judges with her wave selection and stylistic moves. She put all the boys to shame in the Menehune Longboard Final heat, after dominating the preliminary rounds. Her winning waves were all backside, and the high pointer was a solid waist high peeler that she nose rode both switch foot and backside. She switched to a short board to win the Girls Under 14 Final and take a 4th in the Open Shortboard division.
Kaeley O'Connell. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Newcomer, Tristan Aitkenhead pumped his way to a big win in the hotly contested Boys Under 14 Final, edging out Ryan O'Connell for the title. Dylan Moran continues to dominate the Menehune category, as he easily won both the shortboard and SUP Open Finals. Another new female ripper was Kaeley O'Connell, who pulled off some nice cutbacks and lip bashes to win both the Girls Under 16 Final and the Junior Women's Longboard Final.
Tristan Aitkenhead. Photo: Lisa Haase.
South Shore's Jamie Kelly tuned up the East Coast Championships in September, taking both the short and long versions of the Men's events, while another champion headed for the Easterns was 2017 Northeast Regionals winner Pat Redmond. Pat dazzled the spectators with his usual championship form, as he won the Open Bodyboard category.
Jamie Kelly. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Competition heats up in the next few weeks, beginning on September 16, with the Annual "Catch A Curl" ESA event for groms only! This popular contest, held at the Town of Westerly Town Beach, will offer a large array of merchandise prizes for the winners, sponsored by the New England Science and Sailing Institute. On September 23, The Annual Battle of the Beach will take place at Matunuck Point, which will feature both long and short board events for all ages. This event will also offer a huge selection of prizes, including over one dozen new surfboards.
Ray Way. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Ray Way. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Final Results of ESA New England Summer Series Contest #4, held at Second Beach, in Middletown, Rhode Island on August 20, 2017 in 2-3 foot surf.
Menehunes-1.Dylan Moran 2.Ian Aitkenhead 3.Ryan O'Connell 4.Tiago Freitas 5.Gabe Donegan
Boys Under 14-Tristan Aitkenhead 2.Sean O'Connell 3.Jack Grzebien 4.Mason Soboleski 5.Henri Boneau 6.Ian Aitkenhead 7.Dylan Moran 8.Jackson Cocivern 9.Jaiden O'Connell
Boys Under 16-1.Jayden Parry
Girls Under 14-1.Sophia Martino 2.Sydney Aitkenhead
Girls Under 16-1.Kaeley O'Connell
Men-1.Jamie Kelly
Masters-1.Ray Way 2.Andre Freitas
Grand Legends-1.Peter Pan 2.Kitty Pechet
Menehune Longboard-1.Sophia Martino 2.Sean O'Connell 3.Gabe Donegan 4.Dylan Moran 5.Jaiden O'Connell 6.Ryan O'Connell 7.Henri Boneau
Junior Women Longboard-1.Kaeley O'Connell
Junior Men Longboard-1.Jayden Parry
Men Longboard-1.Jamie Kelly
Masters Longboard-1.Ray Way
Legends Longboard-1.Peter Pan
Open SUP-1.Dylan Moran 2.Peter Pan
Menehune Bodyboard-1.Jack Grzebien 2.Henri Boneau 3.Dylan Moran
Open Bodyboard-1.Pat Redmond 2.Peter Pan
Open Shortboard-1.Jayden Parry 2.Jamie Kelly 3.Tristan Aitkenhead 4.Sophia Martino 5.Jaiden O'Connell 6.Mason Soboleski 7.Sydney Aitkenhead 8.Dylan Moran 9.Kealey O'Connell 10.Ryan O'Connell 11.Sean O'Connell 12.Jack Grzebien
Dylan Moran. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Jaiden O'Connell. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Tristan Aitkenhead. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Jack Grzebien. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Big swells were predicted and they arrived just in time for the 6th Annual “Catch A Curl” contest, held in the tricky Westerly Town Beach shore pound, not too far from Taylor Swift’s estate in Watch Hill. Contestants had no choice but to commit and go for it, hoping to find an elusive section that did not launch them into the shallow sand bars. While it was quite entertaining for the judges and spectators to watch, some of the wipe-outs proved to be quite spectacular.
Tiago Freites. Photo: Lisa Haase.
The big winner of the day was Jack Morron, who consistently took off on the most hopeless close-outs, flying down the line before launching either into the beach, or off the back of the board. He was outstanding in both his preliminary and final heats, easily charging to the title in the kid’s BIG KAHUNA (18 and Under Age Group)“pro” event. Aiden Faubert, who finished 2nd in the final, did grab one nice right that hollowed out into the beach, but it wasn’t enough to catch Jack. Let it be noted that big respect was given to Ella Fontenot, who was the only girl who surfed up in the advanced group, and finished a very respectable 5th.
Ella Fontenot. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Jake Caron’s last ride proved to be the ANKLE BITER (10 years and Under) winner, as he picked off an inside section that held up long enough to make a few turns. Wendy Flanagan took a couple of spectacular wipe-outs, but also nailed one heaving left barrel, to top Emily Brinton for the WAHINE GIRL (11-17 years/novice) crown. Sam Meyer battled Cal Gibson for the coveted MENEHUNE BOYS (11-17 years/novice) crown, finally edging him out on the final ride of the heat, with a hair raising right slide into the shorebreak.
Dylan Holtbakk. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Special thanks to the New England Science and Sailing Institute of Stonington, Connecticut, for sponsoring the annual event, and giving out a great selection of prizes to the top finalists. Contest organizer, Lauren O’Donnell, acknowledged the contest sponsors at the awards ceremony, which included The Eastern Surfing Association, Narragansett Surf and Skate, Avie’s, Civil, Tidal River Clothing, Parree Coast, the Town of Westerly, and the Connecticut and Rhode Island Chapters of Surfrider Foundation. All ESA members who competed were awarded 250 points for their effort.
Jack Morron. Photo: Lisa Haase.
Jack Morron. Photo: Lisa Haase.
The next big event takes place this coming Saturday at Mary’s Bar, at Matunuck Point, Rhode Island. It is the annual “Battle of the Beach,” which features thousands of dollars in prizes, including over one dozen brand new surfboards. The contest will offer several divisions of both long and shortboarding, along with a special “Twin Fin” competition. The affair will continue into the evening, with live Reggae music at the Ocean Mist Bar and Grille, located right on the contest site. Contest Director Conrad Ferla promises a great time for all entrants, and the ESA will be running the show with a veteran judging panel and tabulators. All ESA competitors will receive 250 points for participating.
Sam Mayer. Photo Lisa Haase.
Final Results of the 6th Annual “Catch A Curl” ESA Grom Contest, held in early Hurricane Jose swells at the Westerly Town Beach, in Westerly, Rhode Island, on September 16, 2017.
ANKLE BITERS-1.Jake Caron 2.Nate Frisbee 3.Cooper Mott
MENEHUNE BOYS-1.Sam Mayer 2.Tiago Freites 3.Cal Gibson
WAHINE GIRLS-1.Wendy Flanagan 2.Emily Brinton 3.Louanna Kelley 4.Lena Voss
BIG KAHUNAS-1.Jack Morron 2.Aiden Faubert 3.Rob Darling 4.Jayden Parry 5.Ella Fontenot 6.Graham Ray 7.Dillon Moran 8.Wells Michael 9.Dylan Holtbakk
Photo: Lisa Haase.
Photo: Lisa Haase.
Photo: Lisa Haase.
Photo: Lisa Haase.
Photo: Lisa Haase.
After almost one week of big, unruly surf, the ocean settled down for competitors at the ESA New England Spring Championships, held this past weekend. Surfers still had to contend with heavy offshore winds up to 40 knots, which provided a challenge for many riders. “The stiff offshore conditions made it difficult to drop down the wave faces,” said ESA Competition Director, Mario Frade. “But if you were in the right spot, there were some outstanding rides to be had.”
This was evident in the premier division, the Open Shortboard, when local hotshot, Lily Gartner put the boys to shame, topping a stacked heat of New England’s best. She did it on her second wave of the final heat, tearing up a left peak that shot her almost across the entire south parking lot. Jayden Parry came on strong at the end, grabbing a pitching right peak, but it was not enough to top Gartner for the title. Lily continued to have an outstanding outing, winning both the Girls Under 16 and the Junior Women’s Longboard finals.
Lily Gartner. Photo Lisa Haase.
Jayden Parry got the “Outstanding Wave of the Contest” award, when he trimmed out on a perfect right slide that reeled off for what seemed like an eternity to the judges in the Junior Longboard Final. Parry’s flawless riding got him the highest point totals of the entire event, and the win over John McGeough. Jayden also won the Junior Men’s division.
Jayden Parry. Photo Lisa Haase.
There were several other noteworthy results in various age divisions. Luke Allen won his second straight contest in the Menehune category. Jarrett Parker returned from a decade long hiatus, winning both the Masters and Men’s Longboard crowns. Newcomer Ray Way topped Chris Herbert with some nice noseriding, to win the Masters Longboard final and Noah Gartner picked off two nice right peaks to win the Boys Under 14 division and repeated that to win the Menehune Longboard title.
Jamie Kelly. Photo Lisa Haase.
The next ESA competition scheduled is the 2017 Northeast Regional Surf-Offs, to be held at Belmar, New Jersey on May 19-21. This is an invitational contest for the top finishers from 2016, and will determine invitations to the East Coast Championships at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in September. The next local surfing competition scheduled is the Annual New England Longboard Championships, at Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, on June 11th.
Chris Herbert. Photo Lisa Haase.
Final Results of the 2017 ESA New England Spring Championships, held in 2-4 foot surf at the Narragansett Town Beach on April 8th, 2017.
MENEHUNES-1.Luke Allen
BOYS UNDER 14-1.Noah Gartner
BOYS UNDER 16-1.John McGeough
JUNIOR MEN-1.Jayden Parry
GIRLS UNDER 14-1.Sophia Martino
GIRLS UNDER 16-1.Lily Gartner 2.Ella Fontenot
MEN-1.Jamie Kelly 2.Mick Jabs
MASTERS-1.Jarrett Parker 2.Chris Herbert
Grand Legends-1.Peter Pan
MENEHUNE LONGBOARD-1.Noah Gartner 2.Sophia Martino
JUNIOR LONGBOARD-1.Jayden Parry 2.John McGeough
JUNIOR WOMEN’S LONGBOARD-1.Lily Gartner
MENS LONGBOARD-1.Jarrett Parker 2.Jamie Kelly
MASTERS LONGBOARD-1.Ray Way 2.Chris Herbert
LEGENDS LONGBOARD-1.Peter Pan
OPEN BODYBOARD-1.Pat Redmond 2.Peter Pan
OPEN SUP-1.Peter Pan
OPEN SHORTBOARD-1.Lily Gartner 2.Jayden Parry 3.Jamie Kelly 4.Jarrett Parker 5.Nick Jabs 6.Noah Gartner 7.Sophia Martino
Jamie Kelly. Photo Lisa Haase.
Icy Surf For 48th Annual New England Mid-Winter Championships
It turned out to be a perfect combination of wind, weather and surf, as the oldest, continuously running winter surfing competition took place, this past weekend. This was the 48th Annual New England Mid-Winter Surfing Championships, and it happened at the same beach that the first contest did, in 1968.
Sarah Procaccini. Photo Lisa Haase.
Despite howling southwest winds, most of the waves held up, as the swell increased throughout the day. By the end of the event, there were solid overhead sets pouring through the contest zone.
The big winner of the day was Kevin Roy, who not only dominated the Open Short Board Final, but was awarded the “Hottest Wave of the Day” trophy. Roy picked off a shoulder high swell that swung off the seawall and then held up all the way across the contest zone for the highest points ride of the contest. With this single ride, he launched himself into first place and never looked back.
Kevin Roy. Photo Lisa Haase.
Top rival Andrew Marsden battled Roy for the Master’s Long Board crown, and edged him out by .05 with a long tip ride into the shore pound. Marsden also nailed two outstanding rights to top the field in the Senior Men’s Final.
Andrew Marsden. Photo Lisa Haase.
Joe Doherty Jr. charged through the big right peaks off the south parking lot, to find and win on the best waves of the Junior Men’s final, while Charlotte Robbin braved the heavy shore break to win the Girl U14 title, and the Women’s Long Board crown. Big credit due to 9-year old Isaac Gutterman, who paddled out through the rough surf to win the Menehune title.
Charlotte Robbin. Photo Lisa Haase.
Aurelien Bouche drove all the way from the Great Lakes to win the Masters and finish 4th in the Open Final. Other surfers who dominated the field, winning multiple divisions included Jayden Parry, who took the Boys U16 and Junior Long Board crowns. Peter Pan won both the Grand Legends and Legends Long Board finals, and Sara Procaccini styled her way to both the Ladies and Ladies Long Board titles.
This was a great day for stand-up paddleboard surfing, as a veteran field made for a tight but entertaining heat. It was long time cruiser, Jack Egan sweeping to the title with an outstanding head high right barrel, followed by Mark Preece, riding a long left into the shorebreak, for second place.
Pat Redmond continued undefeated in the Open Bodyboard division, and the Hobie Slug Team captured the team crown, as Hobie riders won seven individual events.
The next ESA contest is scheduled for April 16th, at First Beach in Newport, Rhode Island.
Final Results for the 48th Annual New England Mid-Winter Surfing Championships, held in chest to head high surf at the Narragansett Town Beach, on February 20th, 2016. Water temperature was 33 degrees and air temperatures hovered in the 30’s with the wind chill.
Jaime Kelly. Photo Lisa Haase.
Menehunes-1.Isaac Gutterman
Boys U14-1.Jim Robbin
Girls U14-Charlotte Robbin
Boys U16-1.Jayden Parry 2.Dylan Holtbakk
Junior Men-1.Joe Doherty Jr. 2.Sean McDonald.
Men-1.Calder Stames 2.Jaime Kelly 3.Kevin Turco
Masters-1.Aurelien Bouche 2.Chris Herbert
Senior Men-1.Andrew Marsden 2.Kai Holtbakk 3.Kevin Roy
Legends-1.Claudio Paulino 2.Mark Preece
Grand Legends-1.Peter Pan 2.Kitty Pechet
Women-1.Sara Spears
Ladies-1.Sara Procaccini
Open Shortboard-1.Kevin Roy 2.Jaime Kelly 3.Andrew Marsden 4.Aurelien Bouche 5.Sean MacDonald
Menehune Longboard-1.Jim Robbin
Junior Longboard-1.Jayden Parry 2.Dylan Holtbakk 3.Joe Doherty Jr.
Men’s Longboard-1.Jaime Kelly 2.Calder Stames 3.Kevin Turco
Master Longboard-1.Andrew Marsden 2.Kevin Roy 3.Kai Holtbakk 4.Chris Herbert
Legends Longboard-1.Peter Pan 2.Mark Preece 3.Claudio Paulino 4.Kitty Pechet
Junior Women Longboard-1.Charlotte Robbin
Women Longboard-1.Sara Spears
Ladies Longboard-1.Sara Procaccini
Open SUP-1.Jack Egan 2.Mark Preece 3.Jack Martin 4.Kevin Turco 5.Peter Pan
Open Bodyboard-1.Pat Redmond 2.Dylan Holtbakk 3.Peter Pan
Kai Holtbakk. Photo Lisa Haase.
Matt Alberts' third and final wrap-up video from the LIFERS project, summarizing all the incredible things happened during WATER is now available online. You can find it here:
Additional Details
Week 1: Matt begins his adventure in New Jersey and meets up with Chris Cooper, founder of Spraying Gravy, and Brian Heritage, owner of Heritage Surf & Sport, and dives in for some end-of-summer rides along the Jersey Shore with pro surfers Sam Hammer, Dean Randazzo and Greg Mesanko
Week 2: For the second week of the trip, Matt rolls up to Manhattan to meet up with Saturdays NYC founder Morgan Collett and contemporary artist Michael Adno, and catches some waves in Long Beach with pro-surfer TJ Gumiela, UnSound Surf Shop owner Dave Juan and David Skudin of Skudin Surf
Week 3: Matt spends the third week of WATER in Montauk to catch some waves with pro surfer Leif Engstrom and meet up with Whalebone Creative owner, Jesse Joeckel, Whalebone Magazine co-founder, Pat Fallon, and Ditch Witch owner and photographer Grant Monahan.
Week 4: Matt catches the ferry to New England to hang out with owner of Water Brothers, Sid Abruzzi, photographer/filmmaker, Michael Cirelli, and Grain Surfboards co-owners, Mike LaVecchia and Brad Anderson.
The Seasons Collection Photography Book
The final result of this unique project is a photography book that tells the story of this incredible journey from Matt’s POV and is accompanied by digital and analog photos documenting the passionate lives and adventures of the action sports heroes Matt met along the way. The book will be available for purchase on TheLIFERSProject.com on 12/17 for $70.