Surf City Smackdown Report – Sept 27 2008

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