Surf Contest Season Kicks Off This Sunday!

The forecast is just perfect to kick off the First Coast ESA contest season!  Warm weather, sunshine, light winds, and small-but-rideable surf are on tap.  All ages and abilities are welcome!  C'mon out!

47-year-old Fernandina local shaper Mike Nichols,
warming up for the surf season in Fiji a couple weeks ago
Photo: Glenn Dubock

Lots of excitement around the First Coast surf scene...


*The first contest of the year is this Sunday!  Details below...
*Local Sean Poynter wins his first international pro SUP contest
*SUP division added to the contests this year.
*Surf legend Christian Fletcher stops by Pipeline Surf Shop
*Local shredder Chance Bennett gets sponsored by Ergo
*Groms warming up for the season during Spring Break... 
*Geezers warming up in Fiji

Local Sean Poynter wins his first international pro SUP contest

Surf contests in our little town of Fernandina Beach have produced some world-class competitive surfers...

Last year, Fernandina's Sean Poynter was the top ranked surfer from the U.S. mainland on the stand up paddle surfing world tour.  Last month, he won his first international pro SUP event.  Here he is competing at it in Mexico:

Poytner wins!
Photo: www.puntasayulitasurfclassic.com

While Fernandina has produced some fantastic surfers, you don't need to be a surf star to come out and have fun at the contest.

This year, for the first time ever, there will be a stand up paddle surfing division.  We will run the standup paddle surfing after the surfing heats are finished.  Sign in by 10am to compete.

Surf legend Christian Fletcher stops by Pipeline Surf Shop

Christian Fletcher basically invented the surfing aerial...  What's considered "new" today, he was already doing twenty years ago.  Take a look:

Christian Fletcher, 20 years ago.  Photo: Surfline.com

Christian and his son Greyson (a skateboarding star) just made an appearance at Pipeline Surf Shop, signing autgraphs and promoting Astrodeck.  

Photo by Pipeline Surf Shop

Thanks Christian, and Pipeline!

Local surfer Chance Bennett gets sponsored by Ergo clothing

Congrats to local shredder Chance Bennett... He's been working hard, making lemonade out of lemons in the surf all winter... Surfing an impossibly small board in impossibly small waves and making it look easy... Take a look:

Photo courtesy of Pipeline Surf Shop

His hard work has paid off, with a clothing sponsorship from Ergo.  Congrats Chance!  For more on Ergo clothing, visit www.ergophobia.com

The groms are warming up for contest season...

10-year-old Zack with some spray off his bottom turn, eying the section

And the geezers are warming up too:

47-year-old Mike Nichols, on a board he made himself, in Fiji a few weeks ago
www.CycloneSurfboards.com
Photo: Glenn Dubock

It all kicks off this Sunday!

The contest will be held at the Sadler Road beach access on Sunday, April 10th. Check in is at 7:30am, and the first heat starts at 8am.  


For more details, email the contest directors at info@firstcoastsurfing.com, or call Steve at 904-556-7785.  Again, everyone is welcome -- all ages and abilities.

See you Sunday!