2005-11-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

Oct. 18- Santa Cruz

Departure day has finally come. I somewhat hastily have thrown everything together that I think I need, then started stuffing it in any place available in my two bags. One piece of luggage is a 10’ coffin bag made for surfboards that I have my boat in. I am able to stuff a lot in and around the kayak to protect it from the exquisite care of the airline baggage handlers. Everything else goes into a giant Patagonia roller bag.

Kate and Demany Smith came down the day before to do some last minute training with me. The swell was really starting to fire up the last few days and we got some of the best waves ever at Davenport Landing, a point break that we often frequent just north of Santa Cruz. I needed every last opportunity I had to get used to the kayak I was taking to Costa Rica. The ICY Mako from Johnson Designs is a 9’11” beast with no fins. I usually surf an 8’2” boat with a thruster fin set-up, so I have been getting used to a whole new game.

After a fabulous dinner at the Judesters, Kate, D, Jude and I load up in D’s new Dodge diesel and head to the airport for a 1:30 a.m. departure. We get Jude psyched up on driving the big truck home, as it was quite a sight to see her climbing up in the thing. We thought maybe we needed a small stepladder for her. We ran into an old paddling friend at the airport who had a layover in S.F., so of course Jude offered her a place to stay for the night and a ride to the train in the morning. We said our goodbyes and dragged our stuff into the terminal to begin the smooth talking process with the agents and convince them that we really only had surfboards in our monster baggage, not kayaks. Most of the airlines allow surfboards, but have a policy against kayaks for some reason. I have learned through my years of airline travel with kayaks that you never ever mention the word kayak in an airport. After a little haggling and $50 we were off to the gate for departure.

Oct. 19- Costa Rica

The overnight flight put us into San Jose, Costa Rica at about 10 a.m. after a plane change in San Salvador, El Salvador. We managed to get some sleep thanks to a couple good homemade duty free cocktails on the plane. We passed uneventfully through Immigration and Customs, and headed to the car rental offices to do some more haggling. It never fails to amaze me how sleazy rental car guys are in Central America. They always have this shitty little grin that says “No problem Mr. Stevens, we would be happy to screw you out of some more money if we can find a way”, and they usually manage to do so in some way or another. They are like car salesmen. The bottom line is we need the car, and they have the car, so you wind up just signing your life away on empty credit card slips, and they give you the keys.

Having done the drive between the airport and Jaco several times, the three of us maneuver the horrific potholes and torrential rains in our little 4x4s and arrive in Jaco less than 2 hours later. A little searching through town and we find the Hotel Jaco Fiesta, where most of the 150+ athletes are staying for the next two weeks. 4 pools, a swim up bar, restaurant and bar, and a lot of staff in a hotel right on the beach makes me think that this place is appropriately named Fiesta!

The weather remained pretty bad throughout the day. I was also pretty haggard from the journey, so I decided not to paddle. Of course the event organizers planned a welcome party for everyone that night at a local restaurant, so we celebrated being in Costa Rica and the excitement of the upcoming event. It was great to catch up with many old friends from around the globe, and reunite with fellow teammates.

We started to the next day with a team meeting at Playa Esterillos Oeste where the event was to take place. The team rented a condo on the beach near the event so we would have a place to use the bathroom, shower, cool off in the pool, have access to a kitchen for hydration and food, and a meeting place to discuss strategy, team issues, and address questions about the event. I passed out some of the last minute team gear to everyone, then geared up and went out to start figuring out the break were I was to compete for the next 9 days.

Oct. 21.

Melissa flew in Friday morning, so I thought I would go get here at the airport. I got a bit of a late start out of Jaco, so she had to wait. When I pulled up, she informed me that she had found a couple of hot women that were coming with us. Jessica Marsan is an old friend from Colorado that had flown in the night before. Rhiannnan Woodman is an old friend from surf kayaking that arrived about the same time as Melissa and ran into her in the Immigration line. What was I to do but load them up and head out?

Toca, one of the main event organizers, planned an absolutely spectacular opening ceremony to kick off the event. A group of children from the school at Esterillos came to demonstrate various traditional dances, as well as a group of professional dancers from Punta Renas. The traditional outfits were amazing and the children did a fantastic job. With 16 countries represented in the contest, there we well over 200 people in attendance. After a bit more celebration, we called it an early night as the event was to begin at 6:30 the next morning.

Oct. 22- Event Starts

The event began with the individual portion of the contest. Everyone surfed through one 20min. heat. Top two in each heat advanced to the next round. As the next few days unfolded, the pressure was intense as just about all the competitors are some of the best in the world. The competition in the heats was incredible as competitors got knocked out two at a time. Every heat was “stacked” with top-level paddle surfers. Competing in two different boat categories, I advanced to the second round in one, and continued to the third round in the Open division, winning several heats to be in the Top 16 men in the world before getting knocked out in the quarter-finals. I was pretty stoked to make it this far in a world event, and knew that I was surfing very well. US West team paddlers were really looking good as we had several paddlers advance to the finals. Our chances of regaining the world title were looking good before the team event began.

Oct. 25.

The waves were really quite good for a surf kayaking event and after four intense days of competition, it was time for a day off and a big party. A fine event was planned by the organizers at a local restaurant/bar. Competitors put away their paddles for a night of fun. The following day was a free day so everyone pulled out the stops to let loose and share some in good global festivities. That night ended the next morning for most.

Oct. 26.

The team event began with small to medium waves that varied greatly with the change of the tide. Each team member surfed in a 20 min. heat the first day against surfers from three other teams, then again the next day against new teams. There were 8 full teams in total, with a partial team compiled of the “Rest of the World” to fill in some blank positions. Team paddlers compile points for their teams depending on the finish in each heat. 1st place- 4 pts, 2nd place- 3 pts, 3rd place- 2 pts, 4th place- 1 pt. So everyone paddled twice, and at the end each team had total number of points.

Oct. 30.

The top four teams were to advance to the finals. Points at the end of the two days were so close that Ireland and N. Ireland finished in a tie. Judges then counted the number of first place finishes, and again the two teams were tied. Judges then counted second place finishes. Ireland had one more second place finish than N. Ireland, so Ireland advanced to the finals. The top four teams at the end of two rounds were USA West, USA East, Jersey, and Ireland, respectively. Each team then started with a clean slate going into the finals. Each heat of four had a paddler from each team. As we began the day, USA East quickly pulled into the lead, with Ireland close behind. USA West got off to a slow start, but we used this to our advantage to get fired up and realize that we needed to start kicking ass. Rusty Sage turned things around for us and heat after heat we started pulling in top finishes. Gaining more points with each heat, we eventually pulled into a three-way tie for second, then a two-way tie for second. A couple more first and second place heats and we were pulling into the lead. At that point we were pretty fired up, we knew that we had what it was going to take, we never looked back, and continued to clearly dominate every heat. The competition between teams was tight thru the entire day, with Jersey, USA East, USA West and Ireland swapping places several times. USA East and Ireland continued to battle it out for second until the bitter end.

The waves by the end of the day were fantastic. The higher tide filled in nicely and the peaks of Esterillos Oeste were very distinct, with long lefts and rights to be had by every competitor. There was so much excitement throughout the day, that you couldn’t help but think that surf kayaking was really coming into it’s own. The level of skill and performance had increased exponentially from the previous worlds two years prior. There were several meetings do discuss the future of the sport, changes in rules and restrictions, future world contest venues, and the general guidelines of the world surf kayaking committee. We have a long way to go to progress our small sport, but there is a lot of energy and good ideas out there, and with the right willing people, the possibilities could be endless.

The awards ceremony was packed with people brimming with enthusiasm and anticipation. Organizers began with heartfelt thanks for the many volunteers that helped with the event, judges that came from around the globe, security guys that kept watch over the cars and our stuff at the event site, world committee members that helped pull this together, and various others that helped behind the scenes. Finally it was time to get into the awards for the individual categories. There were several US West team paddlers that took home medals in various categories. Wayne Waddington, Matt Radis, Rusty Sage, Dan Crandall, Jim Grossman, Kim Sprague, Jamie Cooper, Dick Wold, Gina Troiani, Dennis Judson, Rick Starr, and our juniors Jared and Galen Licht. Then it was time for the Team awards. No one really knew the final standings since the results of the last four heats of the day were never posted due to mad swarm of African Bees that practically cleared the event site. Jersey, finishing fourth, put in an incredibly impressive performance throughout the event, especially considering that several paddlers had to fill multiple positions on their team, meaning they had to paddle in more heats than those with full team rosters. USA East, finishing third, was the dark horse team that had us all pretty worried. They had some impressive paddlers and really had stepped up their level of competition from previous years. Previous World Champ Ireland clawed their way to a second place finish over USA East with some key finishes late in the day. USA West got their act together late in the morning and began putting the hurt on. Heat after heat we brought in a first or second, never getting a fourth the entire day. By midday we were pulling away, leaving nearly no hope by early afternoon for the other teams to regain the lead.

The US West Surf Kayak Team was once again World Champions, and it sure felt good. There was a lot of work, preparation, and training put in by team members in the months leading up to the event. I knew that we had some of the best talent in the sport if we could pull together and work as a team to dominate in the surf. The camaraderie amongst our team grew through the event and was truly impressive. Our time in Costa Rica gave us the opportunity to get to know our own teammates better, to reunite with old friends from other places, and to meet new friends from other lands. This was an experience that I will never forget, and am thankful for the opportunity to be a Captain of the world champion team.

Much thanks has to go to our sponsors - Patagonia, Optic Nerve, Keen Footwear, Astral Buoyancy, Teva, Hammer Nutrition, and Gath Helmets all kicked in incredible equipment and products for us. RoAnn Costin was the team’s sole benefactor, floating a generous monetary donation. A big thanks goes out to all the people that bought T-shirts and sweatshirts from me. Your purchases are much appreciated and really helped. And last but not least, our team managers deserve huge thanks. Mickey Stowell took the position for the second time in a row, and is probably wondering why. Morlee Griswold also was chosen to be a second team manager. These guys put in so much time before the event to get sponsors, register the team, pass along information about the event, deal with several significant bumps along the way, that I cannot even begin to thank them enough. I really appreciate their dedication to this sport and the US West Team.

World Champions Baby!!!!

US Surf Kayak Team