I begin my journey in July when I finally commit to attending the contest. I begin by calling Steve Pullara, the contest organizer and asking all about the contest, how to get there, when to arrive etc. Steve was very helpful and told me everything I needed to know. (I will pass this information along to you in the form of a guide to attending the contest next week) I book my plane ticket and I am ready to go.

Friday Aug 11th - I get up at 5:30 AM and jam over to LAX where the airport is already packed. I make my flight due to the wonders of the "late arrival" line. Once on the plane I run into Keith Peery who coincidentally has the same flight. We chat a bit but I don't get to sit next to him. Instead I get to sit next to the loudest two year old kid I have ever heard in my life who is apparently hyper-sensitive to everything. Seven hours and 4 Advil's later we arrive in Jacksonville, FL. There is a rumor going around that Zap rented a shuttle to get all the pros from the airport to Vilano. Keith and I are supposed to wait for the rest of the traveling pros who arrive in a half hour and should know what's up. A half hour later 9 more guys arrive. No one knows anything about a shuttle but Mrs Evers is supposed to be on the way to pick some people up in her mini-van. She arrives promptly with a baby in the passenger seat and all eleven of us pile into the back of the van with our gear.

We head straight to the beach which takes well over an hour and a half. As we pull up on the beach we see tons of skimmers and huge sprays. The waves turn out to be very good and most west coasters were experiencing the best east coast conditions they had ever seen. The first thing I see at the beach in Vilano is Mike Nickerson getting a sick 15 yard liner and Brad Evers busting a pop shuvit on the shoulder. It was something I got used to seeing over the course of the weekend. Everyone is relieved to get in the water and ride some good waves.

Steve holds a pre contest meeting as the sun fades on the beach and Mrs Evers takes us back to her house where we are offered food and beer. Not wanting to impose (too much), we commandeer Brad's car and with the help of Jus Martel and Bernie, get a ride to Steve's house. At Steve's we all chill and watch skim movies while we wait for pizza to arrive. After eating laughing and drinking Bill, George and a few others head over to Mike's house to crash while the rest of us crash on Steve's floor and furniture.

Saturday - The contest starts at 7:30 in the morning to make use of the high tide that occurs early and late in the day. Everyone is groggy but we all manage to get out and skim in the early morning hours. It is all low stress as this event is double elimination where the first place rider advances to the quarter finals and all the other riders skim again to try and get into the quarters. After the morning heats the pros lounge around being tired from jet lag and the late night beforehand. We are all happy that we got the choice waves though. The amateurs have to skim at lower tides and in the middle of the day. Luckily it is cloudy which keeps the heat in check. I go experience some local cuisine (gator tail) with friends more because of the restaurants AC than my own hunger. And yes, the gator tail was good. Come afternoon the tide begins to creep back up and the wave quality improves. Some guys grab surfboards and charge the shorebreak while others are happy to be skimming again. The pro heats run again at around 5 PM in good conditions, probably the best of the contest.

After my heat (which I did really bad in) I head over to the south side of the contest area to free skim. As I walk up a 5 foot Aliso style A frame approaches and no one seems to want it. After that wave my spirits are lifted and I am happy to be free skimming as the pro heats are finishing up. The waves continue to get better and better but there is a storm on the horizon and everyone knows it is coming our way. The contest is halted as the wind picks up to 30 mph within 2 minutes. Everyone bails except for Steve and his wife Diane. Blair Cherico, Erik Christensen and myself go back to Steve's house but after 15 or so minutes of waiting in the rain we realize he is not coming. We head back to the beach where the wind has died down and the waves have picked up. Steve wants to run the pro heats in the 6 foot sets but everyone has already scattered. Bill, Brad, Erik, Mike, myself, and a few others enjoy near perfect, uncrowded, rain soaked waves until dark.

I skim for so long that I miss my ride back but Steve is happy to give me a lift. We stop by his parents hotel room where I get to sample his mothers cookies which top off the skim session. When we finally arrive back at his house everyone is already showered up and ready to head over to Brad's house for two video premiers. The house is packed and there is enough pizza for everyone as Brad shows his new video. It serves as a solid warmup to the Vilano Beach premier of the new Bryan Brothers video "Chapter 11 Goin' for Broke". Both videos are great and everyone has a good time (except for the girl passed out in the backyard). We head back to Steve's and Mike's to get some sleep.

Sunday - Since I got knocked out of the competition Saturday I enjoy snickering as some of the riders complain as they rise at 7AM. I wake up at 10:20 and catch a ride down to the beach. It is sunny today so it is hot. As I arrive at the beach they are just starting the pro semi finals. I take pictures and enjoy watching some great skimboarding. The tide is dropping fast so as soon as the semi final results are finalized, the pro finals are on (20 minutes later). The waves were still rideable but were probably the worst waves of the contest as far as the pros were concerned. Bill Bryan was answering his call as he slid out to little 2 foot peaks and rode them all the way back to shore. Keith was pulling out his trick book to impress the judges while Erik and George kept it simple with some clean wraps and airs. Erik seemed to be skimming particularly well and many people on the beach thought he was going to take second place. Judging can be an funny thing sometimes however and this time the cards just weren't in his favor. After the contest was over the waves never really picked up again. Even though the tide was getting high it was nothing like the day before. The swell lasted just long enough for the contest and then it was gone. After the contest most everyone bailed. A few people stuck around for a little while to help take everything down but for the most part Steve and his wife Diane did everything themselves. It was amazing to see how much work they go through to put on such a great event and we all owe them our gratitude for what they have done for the sport.

Sunday night we all (somehow) found ourselves at a brewery in St. Augustine. Everyone was in party mode as we dominated a good portion of the establishment. Afterwards we all caravanned over to a local reggae bar where the party continued until the bar closed around 1 AM. Afterwards we moved on to Tom Quiggs' house where we all had a good time and the party began to thin out. A few of us went back to Steve's at 3:30 AM to get some sleep. I wasn't as lucky as my friends however. My flight left at eight which meant I needed to leave the house at 5:30 AM. After packing up my stuff and arranging for a shuttle to the airport I was able to grab 20 minutes of sleep before beginning my (nightmarish) travel to New York City, which is where I am now. Tomorrow I catch a bus to Delaware for the Dewey Contest so I am going to go enjoy the East Village while I am here...