By Brad Evers

Florida has avoided the tropical storms of the Atlantic this season, until now. With off-shore winds and generous swell the week before the contest, the winds switched onshore a few days before and blew out the great conditions. Luckily, though, there were some fun waves to be had Friday. It was waist-high skim and head-high surf leaving the best of both worlds to be had. The “Crossover” skimmers were loving the Vilano surf barrels and the group of out-of-town skimmers were seeing what the skim gets like when it’s gnarly. The skim waves were a little too far out, but many pro’s and amateurs were able to get some good rides and pull in to an occasional barrel. The wind died a little as the contest started Friday night with a few preliminary rounds. Saturday morning the waves were a little smaller and more skimmable; it was choppy but there were some knee-to-waist high liners and wraps. The pros were on hand to make the best of it. Notable amateur riders such as Lance Richardson who blasted a few barrel rolls off of almost no waves, Monique Richter who landed a few 360 shuvits in her heats, and Mikel Evers, whose “best wave” of the contest with a technical wrap on a choppy peak, enlivened the crowd and showed promise for the rest of the riders.

Sunday’s weather was much nicer with lighter winds blowing out of the southeast and now almost no surf, leaving all the waves to be had by the skimmers.  It was about 1-2’, light chop, but some workable right hand liners. While every final on Sunday was too close to call, none was more tight the pro final, with George Bryan, Jason Wilson, Drew Daniello, and Brad Evers fighting for the title. These guys made it through some tough prelims, quarters, and semi-finals to be on top and it showed in their skimming.  While Jason was hitting the lip and sticking his tailslides, Drew was wrapping the waves with style. George managed to pull off a “backside hit - frontside bigspin – tuck” combo, bringing the crowd to their feet. But throughout the heat, Brad was making the unmakeable sections and finding the liners hidden beneath the whitewater. For 10 minutes, the crowd was watching each skimmer’s every move and the style they did it with. As anticipation grew during the awards ceremony, the nerves of those four riders must have been on edge waiting for those results. Ultimately, Jason took 4^th, Drew won 3^rd, George got 2^nd, and Brad won for the first time in 5 years of competing pro at Vilano.

Once again, the wind prevailed, as did the fun. There was decent skim waves for those who journeyed great distances and there was good surf for the crossover skimmers who wanted a taste of Vilano’s infamous powerful shorebreak barrels. The contest went smoothly and thanks to Steve and Diane Pullara, every piece of the puzzle was put into place, providing a seamless contest and a great weekend.

FINAL RESULTS

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