November 23rd, 2023

Somewhere in Nicaragua

This adjacent beach peak is colloquially known as “french fries”. After seeing this sneaky one roll through, I’m convinced it could also be referred to as “chicken nuggets”.

That’s enough wave porn, let’s crack into the surf action! My brother John didn’t come out with a first this year, but still surfed phenomenal (IMO). Check the size of this left bomb from the Open LB first round.

A big drop will only get you so many points. Gotta fatten up that score by laying down some powah on rail.

This was a rather critical end section float John stuck. I liked this move a lot, as I appreciate how difficult it is to pull these moves on larger gear.

Dario was on fire today in his Longboard heats. I think it may have been the best I’ve ever seen Dario surf. I didn’t think it was possible to get so low on rail with so much speed.

Derek Thomas pulled at least two (if memory serves me right) first places. It’s easy to see why when you’ve got style on a whole ‘nother level like this guy.

Exuding confidence with this soul arch.

Johnny with a quick lip line tag from the longboard heats.

Woah! He found a barrel! It’s a shame he didn’t find the exit. This probably would’ve put him in better shape during his LB heats.

Brad Kelley doing his best to thread the needle on this inside double-up.

Lesther on his usual daily routine of cracking lips. I bet he cracked a few Toñas today too.

A big plume of spray and he’s inverted! This was a critical move.

Koji surfed solid all day today. Just consistent and powerful.

In many cases, if you can keep some speed and power through your turns and consistently pull off combo’s, then you’ll come out on top in a heat with finite time.

Rights and lefts, no waves were safe from Koji.

You get it now right? Koji really was rock solid today.

Defending champ Hayden Bell with a nice backside hook. This year Kai DeLorenzo won the Open Men’s SB in his home-court / backyard.

Johnny! You gotta send the barrel section brah!

“Bring it around town.” – Spongebob

Lance and Dario splitting a beautiful peak. Good sportsmanship gents 🙂

John cruising on rail. I got you this year in Expression (Wavestorm) Division haha.

That closes today’s surf action, but now I want to share some of the smiling faces and special moments from the beach during today’s comp. You can see we drew quite the crowd. I mean it’s a once in a year sort of thing y’all!

Big smiles and shakas! I was glad to see so many of the Iguana residents participating in the contest. I’m pretty sure Pauli got first place in one of the ladies divisions. Nicely done!

Dani Cruche also surfed his tail off today. I think he was the only contestant to make a barrel today during his heat! Luca gets double the spotlight haha.

Jen Whatley, the judges, sponsors / donators, Dan, Mic commentators, Hayden’s sound system, and my cousin Caleb + Uncle Brett all made the contest possible. Without these key roles we wouldn’t have had a contest today. Especially my cousin who tabulated the scores all day long. A true hero! Next year we would be stoked to welcome more people open to judging and corralling surfers in upcoming heats.

We couldn’t have asked for a fairer day to run the comp. The ladies were tactically soaking up the sun. Not too much, not too little. There’s a fine line between tan and sunburn haha.

Lance had the best exit ride of the day. He surfed in every division possible and smiled all the way through. I bet he sleeps well tonight!

Rowan won his first surf comp in Nica today. Congrats little man. All the water time this month has been paying off! What a cool kid to go congratulate his dad after the heat. A family that surfs together stays together!

Carlitos and Rowan caught over 100 waves each bodysurfing after their head to head showdown earlier in the morning. They both surfed very well and got showcase their skills. It was cool to see them chilling together after the heat.

The man who set it all up, Dan-o! It takes a lot of personal initiative to set-up and organize the contest, so props to the big fella for that. All in all things went fairly smoothly this year at the comp. For future reference, I think more man power in the judges tent and herding the incoming and outgoing surfers before and after heats will further improve our special Annual contest. I hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the contest photos!