Some sun at the Beach ‘N Boards Fest between the rain storms that at times cleared the beach, but not the competition over the five day event. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
The waves were nothing to write home about, mostly in the waist high range with some head high waves on day one, and ending on day five with clean offshore winds and clean long lines. The event was last run in 2020 and now has added a special upgrade with the women’s QS event. This will gave competitors a platform to showcase their high-caliber talents.
Always working hard to get on to the World Tour, Michael Dunphy is a bit closer to reaching his goal. The first place finish at the Beach ‘N Boards Fest has put him in the number one spot on the World Qualifying Series and his momentum hopefully will get him all the way to the WSL tour. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
On the women’s side, Alyssa Spencer ended with a double victory, winning both the Roxy Pro and the Pro Juniors. A hard fought battle in the Pro finals beating world tour vet Sage Erickson 16.50 to 12.80, Alyssa now sits in the number one spot on the World Qualifying Series.
Da Boys getting ready for the next heat. ( L to R ) Eithan Osborne, Shea Lopez, Evan Geiselman, Tommy Coleman and Cam Richards. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
On the men’s side, the East Coast reignned supreme. Local boy Tommy Coleman won the Junior Pro and Michael Dunphy won the Quiksilver Pro. A bonus for both is that they sit in the number one spot in their divisions on the World Qualifying Series. Both had a few nail bitting heats, but in the end put it all together to grab the first spot and a nice check.
Putting up a good fight, Crosby Calapinto made it as far as the quarters where he came up against a blazing Evan Geiselman. He lost 15.15 to Evan’s 15.25. So close. PHOTO ; @tomduganphotos
There was sun, wind, and rain: thousand of spring breakers and thousands of spectators. They had food, free swag, a skate ramp, and a wakeboard pool. Lots to look at and lots of fun, but the real winners were the surf fans. The surfing was as good as it gets with the East Coast conditions. And with five days of surfing, you had a good chance of seeing some extraordinary surfing go down.
Talk about having a blast at the beach. Whats a Contest in Cocoa Beach without a little fireworks from out at The Cape Kennedy Space Center? An ULA Atlas V GOES-T rocket heads to space carrying a science package that will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans and environment. It will also map lightning activity and improve monitoring of solar activity and space weather. PHOTO: Tom Dugan @tomduganphotos
4- Levi Slawson – 10.15
Jr. Pro winner Tommy Coleman tail slides to victory in the Junior Pro Division. Tommy now sits in the number one spot of the North American Qualifying Junior Series. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
4- Ella McCaffray – 7.80
As the North American Women’s Qualifer #1 surfer, Alyssa Spencer added to her lead, winning the contest with a score of 16.50 and is hoping to get on the World Tour sooner than later. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
2- Sage Erickson – 12.80
Working to get back on tour, Sage Erickson made it to the finals and a second place finish. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Retro 80’s bikini scene in the crowd Saturday. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
A clean turn for Jeremy Carter in the Men’s Pro. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Kai Kushner made it to the semi-finals with turns like this, and just shit hot surfing. PHOTO : @tomduganphootos
World Champion CJ Hobgood was on hand representing Salty Crew all weekend. Always great to see his smiling face and stoke for everything surfing. PHOTO : @tomduganphoto
Down from the Carolinas and making a push to get on tour, Luke Gordon made it to the quarters where eventual Junior winner Tommy Coleman stopped his run for win. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Also escaping the still frigid waters of the OBNC Lukes good buddy, Bo Raynor came down to compete in trunks and let loose in the Florida sunshine with crisp, backside turns like this. PHOPTO: Tom Dugan @tomduganphotos
Make sure you always have a backup board in competition. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Kylie Pulcini and her coach Todd Holland before her heat. Kylie won her first heat but unfortunately got third in her next heat, putting her out of the event. Hopefully next year it’s first across the board. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Sunday morning saw offshore winds and a clean 3 ft swell. Unidentified in a early heat. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Evan Geiselman surfed into the semifinals. but lost out 10.75 to Michael Dunphy’s 14.25, ending his run early Sunday morning. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
To serve and protect, Cocoa Beach’s finest. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Backside snap from Sage Guinaldo for the score. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
At only 11 yrs old, Sebastian Peters ( far right ) was given a wild card into the event and was by far the youngest ever to compete in the Beach ‘N Boards Fest. You wonder how to train for surfing contest? Go up against the big boys and give it a go. Sebastian getting ready for his heat. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Alex Lima lost his quarter-final heat and Tommy Coleman won the heat. You do the math. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos
Big Winners Tommy Coleman, Mike Dunphy and Alyssa Spencer. Photo: WSL
