Longboarders rule the day at San Onofre State Beach
I'll be in north San Diego County on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to catch a few waves, but you can believe I won't look nearly as stylish as Tom Witt, pictured above, a San Clemente surfer who posted a second-round triumph today over Brazilian Danilo Rodrigo during the ASP Oxbow World Longboard Tour, in progress through the weekend at San Onofre State Beach.
In today’s action, in 1- to 3-foot surf, local trialists Steve Newton and and Joe Aaron posted upsets to advance to the third round. Another San Onofre local, Tom Lloy, compiled the highest heat total of the day -- a two-wave score of 16.00 out of a possible 20 -- to eliminate Hawaii's Rusty Keaulana.
"I just kind of waited for the right ones," Lloy said. "I knew that Rusty was going to sit outside with priority, so I just wanted to pick a couple off to put the pressure on him and it worked out."
The event is the last of two contests on the ASP WLT, with the series’ top-ranked surfer at event's conclusion becoming ASP World Longboard Champion. Friday's round 3 is set to start at 7:30 a.m.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Tom Witt rides the nose to a heat triumph and advances to the third round of the Oxbow World Longboard Tour in progress at San Onofre State Beach. Credit: ASP Morris/Covered Images.
