ESKA - The Eastern Surf Kayaking Association

A bunch of the crew celebrating a great day of surfing.

All photos in this post by Spencer Cooke of RapidTransitVideo.com
I forgot to thank PAULA ROCK when I first posted this, she did a LOT to help organize Team Trials. Thank you Paula! Sorry I’m such a dummy!

Pelican at Hannah Park

This weekend the ESKA held the 2009 Team Trials for the US East Surf Kayak Team at Hannah Park in Jacksonville, FL.  Selection for the Men’s and Masters divisions were completed.  The US East Team will participate in the 2009 World Surf Kayak Championships in Portugal this summer.

Rolling to JAX

Friday afternoon I met up with Spencer Cooke to make the drive down to JAX.  We were both pretty excited to be able to take a surf trip together for the first time in a long while.  After postponing the Team Trials event for two weekends, it looked like finally we’d have enough surf to compete.

We arrived in the early evening, set up camp, and met up with the other competitors.

The contest site

In the morning, we headed over to the contest site, and were pleased to find contestable surf conditions.  Thigh to waist, but clean, not incredible, but enough to work with.  However, the weather report for sunday led us to make a difficult decision.  The method for the US East team selection is to hold two seperate team trials contests, combine these results, and form the team based on the total results.  Because it looked as if a nasty storm was on its way for Sunday, we made the decision to run BOTH events on Saturday…making for a lot of surfing.

Although not huge, there were some nice waves to be had.

Our judges for the event were the crew from Epic Surf Ministries.  Led by head judge Mickey Ross, these judges are ESA trained, highly experienced, and a very professional.  We’ve used them for a variety of contests in the past, and they are a lot of fun.  It is also an added bonus that they have a real interest and appreciation for surf kayaking.  We hope to participate in one of their events in the future.

Me and Patchy, together again

Gordon Rock, floater

We had a great day of competition.  Everyone was surfing at a high level, making the best of the set waves coming through periodically.

Tom May, studying the conditions.

One of the most notable stories of the weekend was the performance of Tom May.  Tom is a seasoned stand up surfer that began surf kayaking several years ago because of a knee surgery.  He has recently taken an interest in competition.  His knowlege of waves truly shine through in his surfing, he shows great patience during heats.  His style is smooth and fluid, as I heard noted from several competitors on the beach.  His skill paid off for him, as he finished 1st in EVERY heat he participated in, Mens HP and Masters HP, leading to wins in both divisions for both events.

Tom put on an impressive performance at the trials

Spencer Cooke once again showed his prowess in the IC class, finishing first in both events in the Men’s division, as well as making both Men’s HP finals.  Also Russ Buskirk was a top finisher in four categories.

Spencer in the Ninja, getting it done.

We were happy to welcome Will Rudisil, a junior who is taking an interest in surf kayaking.  He was accompanied by his parents, and he took full advantage of having lots of surf kayakers and kayaks around, practicing his skills all day.  We hope to welcome him to the US East team as a Junior soon.

Charles Salters, always rocking the creative facial hair, and "creative" boat paint jobs

It is important to note that Anthony Bell was not competing at the team trials, because he finished first in circuit rankings in both HP and IC classes, earning him a pre-qualification spot.  Even though he already made the team, he made the trip anyway to help out with the event, and support the other paddlers.  Congrats to Anthony for his 4th? straight team pre-qualification finish.

Paul Scrutton, coming in from a heat

Andy Gates

The 2009 US East Team trials were fun for all involved.  Though we were all  completely worn out after having to surf countless heats (I believe Russ Buskirk said he surfed 15 heats!), it was good to get on the water with friends and enjoy some competition.  Thank you to everyone who attended and helped out, and a big thank you to Mickey and the Epic judges, we all agreed that they were professional, consistant, and extremely focused.  Thanks again to Paula Rock for her organizational help.

Our most excellent judges.

Charles, post heat

See the top finishers overall below, followed by the top finishers from both seperate events.

We will be announcing the roster for the US East Team soon. —Joey Hall

Russ Buskirk, Matt Lewis, Gordon Rock

Andy and Virginia

Top Combined Results:
Men HP
1 Tom May
2 Spencer Cooke
3 Gordon Rock
4 Russ Buskirk

Men IC
1 Spencer Cooke
2 Joey Hall
3 Russ Buskirk
4 Charles Salters

Masters HP
1 Tom May
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Charles Salters
4 Paul Scrutton

Masters IC
1 Russ Buskirk
2 Charles Salters
3 Paul Scrutton

Top Results, Team Trials Event 1
Men HP
1 Tom May
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Spencer Cooke
4 Gordon Rock

Men IC
1 Spencer Cooke
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Charles Salters
4 Joey Hall

Masters HP
1 Tom May
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Charles Salters
4 Paul Scrutton

Top Results, Team Trials Event 2
Men HP
1 Tom May
2 Spencer Cooke
3 Joey Hall
4 Gordon Rock

Men IC
1 Spencer Cooke
2 Joey Hall
3 Charles Salters
4 Russ Buskirk

Masters HP
1 Tom May
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Charles Salters
4 Paul Scrutton

There were waves this year for the Folly Beach surf kayak competition, and the competitors had a great time.
Deb Mitchum won herself a brand new Mega Kayak courtesy of Mega and Savannah Canoe & Kayak! (photos by N. Law)

Congratulations to Nigel Law for his first win in the Mens HP division, and congrats to all the new competitors who attended the event.

As always, thank you to Charleston County Parks and Rec and Wendy Wicke for hosting the event, and to Nigel Law for providing assistance and sponsorship.

Here are  some results:

HP Expert Men:

1^st:  Nigel Law

2^nd: Colm Acuff

3^rd: Brent Fields

HP Expert Women:

1^st: Cathy Ey

2^nd: Deb Mitchum

HP Jr’s.:

1^st: Will Rudisill

Open (Co-Ed):

1^st: Nick Scoville

2^nd: Colm Acuff

3^rd: Ben Stone

HP Masters

1^st: Nigel Law

2^nd: Brent Fields

3^rd: Cathy Ey

K-1 Beg/Int

1^st: Zachary Hughes

2^nd: Nigel Law

3^rd: Kevin Hughes

IC Masters:

1^st: Brent Fields

2^nd: Deb Mitchum

Buck Johnson, Mark Pastick and many other volunteers put on an excellent National Championship event at Davenport in California.

Congrats are in order to the following folks with US East connections:
Devon Barker  Womens IC 1st place
Alexander Stubbs Men HP Semi-Finalist
Erik Miller Men HP Semi-finalist
Charles Salters Men HP 4th place

Here is a photo of Mr Salters in action.

Big ups to Honarary Eastie Buck Johnson for putting on a great event.

Remember, a free Mega HDP surf kayak will be given away at the event!

See Charles Salters’ Surf City Smackdown Photos HERE

The Surf City Smackdown, organized by Gordon and Paula Rock,  took place on Topsail Island, NC this past weekend.  We had great weather, great competitors, and even greater waves.  We were thankful to have waist to shoulder sets rolling in throughout the day, with some nice clean lines to be had for those who were patient.

The event lived up to its name, as there were also smack-downs aplenty, as the inside became a cauldron at various times.


Antnee Bell

I can’t remember a contest where so many competitors brought their “A” game, everyone was surfing at a high level, pushing their style.

We were stoked to have some of the Florida crew up for the event, Tom May and Chris Gotshall, and they both had a good day making several finals.  Tom seemed to win EVERY 2nd place available at the event, as well as a hard earned first in one of the Masters divisions.

“Mr. Smooth” Tom May

Also in attendance was Steve Riordan of Georgia.  Steve had many good rides throughout the day on his ski, showing finesse and skill.

Steve Riordan…apparently some call him “The Animal”

And we were happy to welcome Ray from Wilmington to his first ESKA event.  Ray (and I’m sorry Ray, I’ve missplaced your last name) hasn’t been surfing very long, but he is already advancing quickly.  We were all really impressed with his wave selection, and how well he surfs his Cobra Strike sit-on-top.  We hope he’ll come back to another ESKA event soon.

Murky Water dominated the Men’s HP final, with all 4 spots being MW Reactions.  Pretty cool, especially considering Murky Water donated $250 gift certificates to the event raffle.  Antnee Bell added another win to his long resume, and also won the Men’s IC event.

The final heats of the day were the “Surf What U Brought” aka “Battle Royale” heats which pit all of the surf craft (Ski, Sit-on-top, long and short kayak) against each other to see who is the master of all.  The level of surfing in this division was awesome, especially considering the fact that many of the competitors had already surfed countless heats during the day.  The fact that the prize for this division was cash money might of been something of a motivator?!  In the end, Russ “I didn’t get in until 3am last night please take pity on me”  Buskirk, fresh off his performance at the World Cup in France, was the winner.

Russ loves winning money!

Afterwards we went to the Rock’s compound for a shrimp boil and long winded stories about surf kayaking.

Thank you to Gordon and Paula Rock without whom this event would not happen, the excellent Judges, Herring Sports, Murky Water Kayak, and Double Wide Skateshop.


Charles Salters in his new boat

The next ESKA event is the Folly Beach Surf Kayak Competition October 17-18 2008, where a new Mega Surf Kayak is up for grabs.

Here are the Surf City Smackdown results:

Mast IC
1. Russ Buskirk
2. Tom May
3. Charles Salters
4. Chris Gotshall

Mast HP
1. Tom May
2. Charles Salters
3. Russ Buskirk

Grand Masters IC:
1. Russ Buskirk
2. Tom May
3. Chris Gotshall

Men IC
1. Antnee Bell
2. Tom May
3. Russ Buskirk
4. Chris Gotshall

Men HP
1. Antnee Bell
2. Tom May
3. Gordon Rock
4. Russ Buskirk

Waveski
1. Gordon Rock
2. Steve Riordan
3. Antnee Bell
4. Charles Salters

Battle Royale:
1. Russ Buskirk $$$$$
2. Antnee Bell
3. Gordon Rock
4. Steve Riordan

Gordon Rock on his ski

–Joey

We were bummed to have to postpone the big Battle for Hatteras event because of TS Hannah, we’ll be rescheduling that event soon.

Nationals is happening on the West coast this year on October 25-26 at Davenport, CA
Please consider attending!
More info

In the meantime, there are some east coast ESKA events coming up that you should check out:

Sept 27th 2008
Surf City Smash
Surf City/Topsail Island
North Carolina
Contact:
Gordon Rock
roadtoad22 AT charter DOT net

October 17-18 2008
Folly Beach Surf Kayak Competition
Folly Beach
South Carolina
Organized by Charleston County Parks and Rec
Sponsored by Mega Kayaks, Savannah Canoe and Kayak, and Kokatat
*a New Mega Surf Kayak is going to be given away at this event.
More Info

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

Contact Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures (508) 240-1211

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.

Women’s IC___ Women’s HP___ Jr.IC___ JR.HP___ Master’s IC___ Master’s HP ____

Senior men HP___ Senior men IC___ Grandmaster HP___ Grandmaster IC___ Beginner___ Waveski___ K1___ WIDE OPEN___

Please note that there is no SOT specific class, as we are leaving this category open to beginners

For those entering multiple categories, we will try to avoid Back to back heats, but make no guarantees.

Name__________________________ Address___________________________________

Telephone number___________________ E-mail address__________________________

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

Upcoming ESKA events

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!

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 4^th and 3^rd 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 6^th 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…..1^st Basque, 2^nd Northern Ireland, 3^rd Jersey, and 4^th England.

In the individual event we had many successes. Several US East paddlers made the 2^nd 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
4^th 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 3^rd 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 1^st 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 2^nd 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!