For those who might be interested, there is an excellent Surf Camp experience being organized in Rhode Island in October, check it out:
Rhode Island Surf Camp 08' Join us for a week of surf kayaking adventure featuring world class instruction,oceanfront accommodations, delicious meals and good company.
We will be staying in a beautiful home that overlooks three distinct breaks in Little Compton,RI. Our search for great surf will also take us to Newport,Matunick,and Westport.When we are not surfing you'll have plenty of time for relaxing,bike riding,kite flying or lounging on the beach.
Dates:October 11th-18th Cost $1299.00 includes meals and lodging
ESKA News: OBX a no-go, but the Tsunami Smash will be a World Cup Qualifyer
Unfortunately the waves didn't cooperate at last weekends OBX event in Kill Devil Hills. This is the first time in 10 years that an OBX contest has been cancelled due to lack of waves, out of 15 or so contests we've had over the past decade, thats not bad odds.
Sorry to those who drove a long way for the event. We always like seeing Tom May from Florida, and Robert Fisher came down from all the way up in Mass. to compete in his first surf kayak contest. Hopefully they'll make it to another event soon.
Thank you to Doug Banjak and Kitty Hawk Kites for hosting the event, we're going to try to make it up possibly in the fall.
In other news, the Tsunami Smash in Topsail Island NC has been selected to be the US East World Cup Qualifyer.
We had planned on doing a World Cup event later in the summer, but it would have to be in August (at the latest, a poor time for surf) and after discussing with WC organizer Rusty Sage, we decided the best thing to do is to count the Tsunami Smash as the qualifyer for the east coast.
We hope several people will come out to compete for an invite to the World Cup finals! Those competing in the Men's, Women's, and Junior's High Performance classes will be eligible to qualify. Qualifying positions will be determined based on placement, number of competitors, and other factors.
Check out the info below for the Tsunami Smash, sponsored by Tsunami Waveski, organized by Gordon and Paula Rock on May 17th:
The Tsunami Smash!!!
Kayak and Waveski surfing competition
May 17, Surf City, NC, Broadway Street access 8:00 A.M.
An ESKA sanctioned event
Definitions...
HP: any decked craft under 9' that uses a spray skirt to keep water out of the boat
IC: 3 meter minimum displacement hull craft as defined by the world kayak surfing association
Waveski: High performance sit-on-top surf craft under 12 feet long, using a lap belt or thigh straps to keep the rider attached to the craft. (No age or gender divisions)
K1: plastic production kayak designed for use in the river (playboats etc…no age or gender divisions)
SOT: Plastic production (commonly available to the public) sit on top kayak
Beginner: Has been paddle surfing less than 1 year, SOT and plastic sit-in kayaks only, no waveskis
JR: under 18 years of age on contest day. Senior: over 18 and under 40 years of age on contest day
Master's: 40-49 years of age, Grand Masters 50 years of age or over.
WIDE OPEN
Helmets, US Coast Guard approved PFDs, and signed assumption of risk waivers are required for all competitors.
FAQ: Can I use my plastic SOT in waveski? Yes. Waveski in Beginner? No
Can I use my IC boat in HP? No. HP boat in IC? No
Can I use my k1 boat in hp? yes.
Can I use my SOT or Waveski in HP? No.
I'm experienced in river kayaking but new to surfing, Can I enter as a beginner? Yes.
Organizer reserves the right to combine or cancel divisions with fewer than 3 entrants
Please check all categories that you wish to enter.
Total number of categories entered____ Amount paid________________-
ACA #_________________________ Non ACA members please include an additional $5 for insurance
Contest fee is $30 per contestant, and $5 for each additional category, The wide Open Division is an additional $10 with all entry fees for this division going to the Wide Open division winner.
Make check or money order payable to Gordon Rock. 982 Hoover Rd. Hampstead, NC 28443
E-mail entries to
The Event permit is for the beach only, not the ocean. I can ask swimmers and other surfers to not enter the scoring zone, but will have no authority to enforce it. Please don't hit the tourists. Our ESA judges are very experienced, their decisions are final.
Competitors are encouraged, but not required to attend the competitor’s meeting at Flamin Amy’s Burrito Barn on the 4000 block of Oleander Dr. in Wilmington. May 16 at 7:00. Heats for the wave ski and Wide Open divisions will be randomly drawn here, the rest of the field will be announced on contest day
Further questions should be directed to Gordon Rock at 910-228-7625
: surf what you brung, any of the aforementioned craft. The entry fee for this category is an additional $10, with 100% payout from this category to the winner of this categoryRoadtoad22@charter.net Entries accepted up to May 12
We're kicking off the spring circuit in a few weeks in OBX NC, in the Kill Devil Hills area with the Kitty Hawk Kites contest:
May 3 - 6th Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Surf Kayak Competition – 1st St. Beach Access, Kill Devil Hills, NC presented by Kitty Hawk Kites. The water of the sound and the Atlantic await the best sea kayakers on the coast as they show what they've got! You won't want to miss this one...come watch these high adrenaline water sports. In addition Kitty Hawk Kites will have the latest kayaks to demo. Proceeds of the registration of this event will go to benefit a local environmental charity. 877-FLY-THIS or 252-441-4124. www.kittyhawk.com
Also coming up is the ESKA Topsail Island event presented by Tsunami Waveski's and hosted by Gordon and Paula Rock:
Tsunami Smash, Surf city, NC May 17 - Wilmington NC area. Contact roadtoad22 AT charter.net for more info
We will also be holding some events this fall, including Folly Beach, SC presented by Charleston County Parks and Rec, Hatteras, NC, Tybee Island, GA, and Wrightsville Beach, NC. More info on those events soon.
Thanks, hope to see you all at these events. And remember, no matter what skill level you are, you will have fun at our contests, we have beginner/intermediate classes for those looking to just get started, and it is a great chance to come out and meet some of the US East team and learn more about surf kayaking!
US East finishes 6th. Congrats to World Champion Ross Fulcher and the other US East Finalists!
We're proud of our repeat World Champion Old Guy Ross Fulcher!
And here are the American Champs Buck, Ross, and Rusty. Sounds like the cast of a western. We noticed that 20% of all World Surf Kayak Champions appear to prefer a mustache.
US East finishes 6th. Congrats to World Champion Ross Fulcher and the other US East Finalists!
Well the 2007 World Surf Kayaking Championships are officially over. Here is a run down of what happened over the final days.
The US East team hung in with the pack throughout. We were consistantly in the 4th and 3rd spots over the first two rounds of the event. We won or got second in some crucial heats, and all of our team members were going for big drops and giving it their all. This contest was particularly difficult because there were 9 full teams from all over the world, a first for the World Championships. We got a chance to surf Mundaka for the second round of the team event, which was a great experience for everyone. In the end we finished in 6th place, 3 points behind the US West in 5th. All in all we surfed respectibly and were glad to get a chance to compete against the World's best. Congrats to the finalists.....1st Basque, 2nd Northern Ireland, 3rd Jersey, and 4th England.
In the individual event we had many successes. Several US East paddlers made the 2nd round, Quarter finals, or Semi finals. We had 3 paddlers in the finals, Erik Miller in the Masters Short Boat, Ross Fulcher in Grand Masters Long Boat, and Devon Barker in Womens Short Boat. Erik Miller surfed wonderfully throughout the event, earning valuable points for the US East team and moving right through the individual rounds with his signature end moves and great wave control. He surfed valiantly on a beautiful sunday final with the sun shining and the waves peeling at Bakio. He finished 4th overall and we're all very proud of him.
Devon Barker, World Champion at the 2005 Worlds in Costa Rica, showed her skill in the much improved Women's short boat class, making it all the way to the Short boat final. The level of surfing among the women has gotten so much more competitive, and it is inspiring to see. Devon had a tough final, with big closing waves, and she managed to surf to a 3rd place finish, something to be proud of.
And Ross Fulcher, double World Champion at the 2005 event, showed us all that old guys still rule. He surfed his way to the Grand Masters Long Boat final. The final was exciting to watch, with these old timers taking some scary late drops to prove that they deserve as much respect as the rest of the field. Ross showed his east coast experience, dropping on a big face, making a nice bottom turn, and hitting a really dynamic tail slash off the lip in the brutal closeout. He finished 1st place, making him a 3 time World Champion. Way to go Ross! (And he says he's retiring.....riiiiggghttt) Also of note was “honorary” Eastie Buck Johnson, finishing 2nd in the GM Long Boat class and becoming Champion in the Master's Long Boat class....all with a “Hurricane e” on his boat, placed there by an unidentified US East paddler. Congrats Buck.
Thanks to the whole US East team for working hard, we're already setting our sights on Portugal in 2009. Also thank you to all of our families, friends, and sponsors back home for their support. The US East Team is sponsored by: Gath, Surf the Earth, Sea Specs, Bass Pro, Werner, Astral, and Great Outdoor Provision Company and Salt Marsh Kayak Co.
And thanks to Paula and Gordon Rock for doing an excellent job as Manager/Captain/Etc!
US East Surf Kayak Team is headed to the World Championships
The US East Surf Kayak Team is headed to the 2007 World Surf Kayaking Championships in Mundaka, in the Basque Country region of Spain.
The team is defending its 3rd place finish at the 2005 World Championships, and hopes to do even better this time around.
The contest runs from October 18th through the 28th.
Visit the US East website and blog, managed by Andy Gates at www.useastsurfkayakteam.blogspot.com Information about each Team member will be added soon, and check back for updates throughout the competition (depending on the web access we have over there)
Also visit www.wska.org for more info on the 2007 Worlds
The ESKA crew sporting awesome hats donated by Salt Marsh Kayak Co.
Gordon and Paula Rock put on another great event this year, and even ordered up some waves. The Wrightsville Beach Rally was once again held at Shell Island in Wrightsville Beach NC. We had some nice waist high clean waves with the occasional bigger set from time to time. We had a full day of competition, running a complete "surf what you brung" competition after the main comp had finished.
Spencer Cooke and Russ Buskirk had the biggest days, taking home most of the top finishes.
A huge thank you to Gordon and Paula for doing a great job once again on event organization.
Here are the results:
K-1 1. Spencer Cooke 2. Joey Hall 3. Philip Aschilman 4. David C
Mens IC 1. Spencer Cooke 2. Anthony Bell 3.Joey Hall 4. Russ Buskirk
Mens HP 1. Russ Buskirk 2.Spencer Cooke 3.Gordon Rock 4. Joey Hall
Masters IC 1. Russ Buskirk 2.Charles Salters 3.Ross Fulcher 4. Pete Titus
Masters HP 1.Ross Flucher 2. Den Latham 3. Russ Buskirk 4.Pete Titus 5. Charles Salters
Waveski 1.Anthony Bell 2.Philip Aschliman 3. Paula Rock 4. Charles Salters 5. Russ Buskirk
Senior Open - Co-ed 1. Ross Fulcher 2. Anthony Bell 3. Russ Buskirk 4. Gordon Rock
"Psycho" Pete Titus, picking up an award The HP finalists
The Wrightsville Beach Rally organized by Gordon and Paula Rock will be held the weekend of September 15th 2007 in Wrightsville Beach NC. We hope to see many old and new faces at this event, it is currently the only ESKA event scheduled this fall, due mostly to the fact that the World Championships will be happening in October.
More info on the WB Rally is available here, please get your entries in!
