Blessed with a perfect combination of warm weather, head high waves, offshore wind, and an average tidal shift, participants and spectators alike were treated to the Queen of the Coast in all her glory for the Deckers 2009 Rincon Classic presented by Surf Happens on Saturday and Sunday January 17 & 18. The 80 degree heat on land only added to the high powered action in the water as a record breaking number of contestants and spectators lined the point, eager to catch a glimpse of their friends, family members, mentors, school crushes, and some of the biggest names in the sport of surfing as they hit the cobblestone line up.
The Redbull Airshow
The high powered action in the 2009 Redbull Airshow was an all out aerial throw down as the areas top guns lifted off in search of the title. After the smoke settled, Gaviota upstart Robert Curtis came out with the victory with a narrow win over Kilian Garland. Curtis sprouted wings in the last two minutes landing a full rotation air reverse to seal his victory. Other stand outs included former two time Red Bull Airshow Champion Pete Mussio, Montecito’s Adam “The Aerial Boy” Lambert, and Spencer “Shop Lift” Regan. We would like to extend a special thank you, and kudos to Red Bull’s Caroline Connor.
Bud Light Professional Division (The Bud Light Pro)
The big name competitive playing fields included three time world champion Tom Curren, WCT shredder Dane Reynolds, big wave charger and local favorite Chris Brown, Channel Islands Surfboards team manager Brian Aresco, style master and photographer extraordinaire Joe Curren, three time Budlight Pro Champion Kilian Garland, home grown terminator Tarik Khashoggi, aerial wizard Pete Mussio, and a sizzling hot Dennis Rizzo, that’s RIZZO. Rizzo ripped his way to a fifth place finish along with gaviota native and The Wood Surfboard founder, Nole Cossart.
The list of up and comers taking it to the staples consisted of a hot stacked layer of young guns including, Andrew Bennett, Adam Lambert, Spencer Regan, Brandon Smith, Trevor Gordan, Nathan Winkles, and Robert Curtis, and Dylan Perkins among others. In the end it was three time Bud Light Pro Champ Kilian Garland who took his second straight title in the dying moments of the final taking home a cool $1,500 in cash, a solar carved The Wood surfboard, and a Go Pro Surf Hero Camera!
Oxbow Longboard Divisions
From youngsters to veterans the Oxbow Longboard divisions featured outstanding performances as the aqua pirates walked the plank. Open stand outs included Cole and Brett Robbins, DJ underwood, Daniel Graham, Alex Hauck, Wayne Rich, Andy Neumann, J.P Garcia, and Surfer Magazine’s, Scott Bass among others. These guys acquired more time on the nose than a Rhino Plastic surgeon, while illustrating a broad variety of style and repertoire. DJ Underwood pulled the metaphorical rabbit out of second place finisher Daniel Graham’s hat, nabbing a long pocket ride, to hang five spinning 360 for the winning score. In the Womens it was Chelsea Curtis who style her way to first place over the uber competitive and stylish performance of Miranda Joseph.
The Wahoo’s Expression Session
Surf Happens teamed up with Wahoo’s of Santa Barbara along with The Wood Surfboards’ Nole Cossart, and Chadd Konig, to host an Alaia surfing exhibition, the first of it’s kind in our area. Based upon expression, no scores were given, rather an evaluation by peers upon video analysis review. These guys were spinning, carving, laughing, trimming, and even pulling unintentional mud skippers. Participants included Tom Curren, Dane Reynolds, Brian Aresco, Kilian Garland, Nole Cossart, Chadd Konig, Lakey Peterson, Brandon Smith, and Trevor Gordon among others. (see results below for all attendees).
Legends on Hand
Included Matt Moore, Wayne Rich, and Andy Neumann, not to mention the grom heroics of Parker Coffin, Decker McAllister, Connor Lundy, Pat & Frank Curren, and Henry Hepp among others.
The Ladies
Four time Rincon Classic womens champ Demi Boelsterli set the field ablaze earning a unanimous decision with smooth rail work and radical tail free combos, with Rachel Harris ending up second over Surfers Without Borders co-founder Aubrey Falk, and veterans Lisa Wynn Luna (7 time winner), and Miranda Joseph. USA surf team stand out,and Wahine ripper, Lakey Peterson took down a firing Glennie Rodgers, Zoe Luna, and Katie Draegar , after completing a grab rail reverse proving that she is setting new performance levels for the girls.
The Reelcomp.com live web cast drew in thousands of couch surfers from around the globe tuning in to see the event. The most common statements about the event focused on the weather, the crowd of spectators, the beautiful girls on the beach, the kids and families, the high profile surfers participating, the waves, the kelpy lineup, and the amount of ripping going on, in no particular order. Announcers included 10 time x games announcer Brad J, surfing guru and all around nice guy Darryl Miya, surfing film afficianado Josh Pomer, Ultimate Boarder founder Tim Hoover, and the man putting the event together Chris Keet. Oh yeah, with guest announcers like Tom Curren, Kilian Garland, and a host of other SB talent, you know the crowd was entertained!
Webcast Information:
20,300 viewer impressions
6,430 viewers
500 lines of chat
50 questions for announcers
Keeping The Queen Green
For the second straight year Surf Happens teamed up with Green Project consultants (GPC) to keep the Queen clean by diverting waste from area land fills. Despite an estimated 1,100 person attendance up from 500 people in 2008, we were able to divert 76% of waste from area land fills which although down from 80% in 08 was a huge feat! GPC cited the amazing response of participants, spectators and beach goers in depositing waste into proper receptacles. The second factor was how food sponsors Red Bull,Wahoo’s, Pacific Coast Café, Pizza Guru, Caribbean Coffee, and Mad Dogs utilized the most eco friendly serving products available.
The Deckers Competitor Area
Another highlight of the event was the Decker’s Competitor Tent featuring the healing hands of Alki Wellness Center’s Chiropractor Marc Grandle, and his lovely wife, massage therapist Karen Grandle. For the third year straight contestants were treated to chiropractic adjustments and massage for the entire event. The other component to the area was the inclusion of Premier Surf Training’s Andy Schmeiss who warmed up surfers, with his surfing specific training. In addition, Indo Boards were always in motion as surfers kept the blood flowing and warmed up stance muscles.
Classic Sunday: Awards Ceremony Raised $4,500 For Local Charities
The Classic Sunday awards ceremony was held at the Santa Barbara Maritime
Museum to honor contestants as well as to raise money for local non-profits, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Hugs for Cubs (Funding Cancer Treatment For Children), and the Surf Happens Foundation.
All those on hand were treated to a fully catered dinner courtesy of Wahoo’s Fish
Taco’s, beverages & Bud Light from Pacific Beverage Company, the live reggae stylings of Cornerstone, a live and silent auction, heaps of give aways, slide show from the event and more. Tom Curren and Tony Lee even donated a brand new Trikke for the auction!
Legends on Hand
Four time Rincon Classic womens champ Demi Boelsterli set the field ablaze earning a unanimous decision with smooth rail work and radical tail free combos, with Rachel Harris ending up second over Surfers Without Borders co-founder Aubrey Falk, and veterans Lisa Wynn Luna (7 time winner), and Miranda Joseph. USA surf team stand out,and Wahine ripper, Lakey Peterson took down a firing Glennie Rodgers, Zoe Luna, and Katie Draegar , after completing a grab rail reverse proving that she is setting new performance levels for the girls. 
