14 Thursday, February 9, 2017
Coastal View News • Carpinteria, California
2017 Rincon Classic runs with good surf under gray skies
In a winter characterized by back-to-back rainstorms, picking the right weekend to run the venerable Rincon Classic surf contest was even more challenging than usual for event director Chris Keet of Surf Happens. “With only four more weeks in the waiting period and a long-range forecast for more rain and not much surf,” Keet explained last Friday on the eve of the competition, “we had to call it ‘on’ for the swell this weekend (Feb. 4 and 5).” Running 19 years in its present configuration, the Classic has enjoyed superb conditions for the past four years with big, clean surf, dolphins in the line up and sparkling days of sun. This year, however, a slow-clearing front kept skies moody and dark for most of the day Saturday, the waves coming in like slate-gray walls of water as the contest kicked off at 6:45 a.m. The surf was forecast to drop somewhat on Sunday, so Saturday’s competition was given over to running the Mens, Masters, Legends, Grand Masters and Pro divisions. Kilian Garland took first place for his sixth Rincon Classic win, and Catherine Clark won the Women’s division on Sunday. A number of remarkable rides, hundreds of yards in length, with multiple, high-speed turns put Garland in a class of his own during the final. But one of Dane Reynolds’ waves in an earlier heat provided spectators yet another example of his otherworldly ability: driving straight down the face of a smooth six-footer, Reynolds swooped back up in a continuously arcing turn until the fins of his surfboard broke free, causing him to slide backwards as he re-gathered his balance and let his board come around in avalanching foam. And that’s what keeps the fans coming down to watch the Classic year after year. ––ChristianB eamish
DuBoCK.
A tent city comes to Rincon for two days each year with the Rincon Classic surf competition—the scaffolding provides judges an elevated view of the surfing, and the commentary between event organizer Chris Keet and well-loved surfer Chris Brown of San Barbara gives spectators on-going information on point totals, local surf lore and humorou “surfer-bro” observations.
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Oliver Parker rises with sun on a golden Sunday morning ride in the Mens Longboard Division.
Shaya Alexander feels the post-heat stoke.
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At 70-years-old, Andy Neumann proves that surfing is indeed the Fountain of Youth.
The tha
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Rincon is made for surfing with style and flow. Jacob Nesheim, styling and flowing.