Heat at Cold Water

The focal point of the California coastline for pro surfing was up north in the chilly waters of Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz last week.

The four-star, Assn. of Surfing Professionalsrated, $75,000 O’Neill Cold Water Classic lived up to its name with 50-degree water. The first solid northwest swell hit by the weekend for the finals, throwing 8- to 10-foot-plus waves for the final days. The fog was pretty thick, causing the finals to be delayed till last Monday. There were gray skies, some wind blowing and stormy conditions to go with that pumping surf.

The final was a mixture of big names, as one of the most decorated amateur surfers, Santa Barbara’s Bobby Martinez, was the man of the hour. Martinez was on a roll, scoring a perfect 10 in his semi, slashing some mean ones and pulling an 8.5 score in the final, ripping up another right with his vicious backside attack to nail the win and $10,000.

The win and points look like they will push Martinez onto the elite World Championship Tour next season.

Second was veteran Matt “Archie” Archbold, who ripped up the surf scene in the early ‘90s and was doing it again with a vengeance at the Lane. Archie also had a mid-8-point ride in the 35-minute final and was in contention for a win till the end when Martinez got one more good scoring wave.

Score one for the old guys and $5,000 for the timeless vet.

Pulling into third was East Coaster and WCT star Corey Lopez. Lopez also had some big exchanges in the good-sized surf, hammering some turns.

Fourth was another CTer, Huntington Beach’s Timmy Reyes. Reyes had a tough time in the early going, busting his leash and having to swim in to retrieve and save his board. Reyes jammed back out in the macking surf, with no leash, and he later lost his board again. It eventually got worked on the rocks off the point, ending his chances of a victory. Reyes did have some great heats and is earning more respect at every event he’s in.

Losing out in the semis were local surfer Jason “Rat Boy” Collins, known for his big airs; Puerto Rico’s Dylan Graves; and Portugal’s Tiago Pires.

Going down in the quarters were Cardiff’s Rob Machado, who won lots of heats; a previous winner, the Eastside’s Kieren Horn; local boy Josh Mulcoy; and up-and-coming pro Alex Gray.

Some of the later rounds of the Cold Water were held at Waddell Creek to the north, as the contest was on wheels, looking for the best surf. The H.B. contingency was in full force. Making it to round seven was Shaun Ward, a finalist a couple years ago; to round six was “the Rad Man” Brett Simpson, who I hear just signed a six-figure deal with Hurley International; and San Clemente’s Pat Gudauskas.

Round five casualties were “Big” Willie Safreed; Mike “Hoiso” Hoisington, who shapes his own boards; and Indo Boy Justin Swartz.

Losing out in round four were Lost’s H.B. ripper Ryan Carlson and Huntington High’s Ian Ekberg, just back from the ankle injury and surfing well again.

At least there was surf this year, ‘cause last year there wasn’t -- that’s the good note.

Farther north, the big wave spot Mavericks broke the first part of the week, and the big boys were busting out the big-wave guns the first time this winter. I heard former Mav’s winner Anthony Tasnick was getting some bombs! And the boys were charging.

That’s it for now. Fig over and out.

* RICK FIGNETTI is a nine-time West Coast champion, has announced the U.S. Open of Surfing the last 12 years and has been the KROQ-FM surfologist for the last 18 years, doing morning surf reports. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.

20051027gzcyauke(LA)