U S Open of Surfing Day 4

 

 

 

 

U. S. Open of Surfing: The Day Before

I went today to see how setup for the U.S. Open of Surfing is going. They've been putting the village up for quite a while, but there is still a lot left to do before tomorrow at 7AM.

Of course, I also spent quite a while on the pier watching the surfers. Some may have been competitors, I don't know.

Festival Village

U. S. Open of Surfing July 25 (post 3)

U S Open of Surfing July 25 (Post 2)

U. S. Open of Surfing, July 25

U.S. Open of Surfing

The US Surf Open

A big event here--and one of my favorites. They're expecting 500 competitors and another 500,000 people to come watch. According to the announcer today, 250,000 of them will be on the beach Sunday.


I hope to be there as well. I love watching the surfing, and the crowds. Even when "nothing" is happening, there is something to watch. If nothing else, there is the sun on the waves.

If We Kill You, It's All Your Fault

This is by far the most thorough "contract" of this sort I've ever seen.

It's amusing in a way.

But inquiring minds (or at least this one) want to know: Just how binding is this "contract"? Does it hold if I never see it? Does it hold if it's in the wrong language? Does it actually hold in any way, shape, or form, and if so, why?

Flying

I had almost forgotten about these folk. Fortunately, the crowd led me in their direction and, again by being somewhat pushy and resolutely non-claustrophobic, I was able to get a pretty good view. I couldn't see the take-offs, unfortunately, but I saw plenty of in the air acrobatics.

I think they're crazy. I also admire them.

The U. S. Open

What with one thing and another, I actually missed most of the U. S. Open this year--nearly heretical, I know. I mean, some years I've been out of state, but this year I was a mere 2 and a half miles away and still didn't get to the beach on time most days.

However, I did manage to make it to the men's final heat today, and by dint of being slightly pushy and resolutely non-claustrophobic and by standing in the water (together with a few hundred other people), I got a pretty good view.

The surfers spend an awful lot of time bobbing about between waves (says the spoiled viewer used to watching crowds of amateurs), or at least, there's a lot when the surf isn't cooperating, which it wasn't today, but when they do catch waves, it is pretty spectacular.

The one in red1, by the way, is Tim Boal of France, who won the next-to-last heat by some tenths of a point. The guy in white is Nathaniel Curran of the U.S. I guess this one must have been close, too, because, though I couldn't hear most of what the announcer was saying (a pity, that's half the fun), I did hear him lamenting at the end that the computers were down so they couldn't figure the final score.

Ultimately, the representative from the U. S. won. That's him, there at the end, not very visible as the crowd carries him in.

1 At least, I'm pretty sure that's the right color sorting. I tried to double-check it online, and one picture shows one and one the other. So, if you can confirm or deny, I'll be quite happy. Edit: Yeah, further checks indicate this is correct. Whoever had the red pic must have been using an old one from another heat--or even another contest.