The finals, held on Belmar's 18th Ave. beach in front of a crowd of thousands, saw the final pulses, before the swell died completely. After Thursday, Friday and Saturday produced waves from three to seven feet, the surf for the finals dropped to an inconsistent two- to three-foot height.
Brian Hewitson, of Indialantic, Fla., who took second at last year's event, powered his way to number one this year, pocketing $5,000. Hewitson found the lone gem in the final to win the heat convincingly over Hawaii's Nathan Carroll, Michel Flores of Brazil and Somers Point's Dean Randazzo.
While surfers, directors and fans felt lucky to still have waves Saturday, the mysterious groundswell hung in for yesterday morning. Competitors primarily hugged the south jetty as the offshore winds groomed workable rights and the round of 32 began at 8 a.m.
The combination of skill level and waves made for the most high-performance surfing of the event. By the quarterfinal heats, the southeast sea breeze had kicked up, and by the finals, the dropping surf barely resembled the morning's conditions.
The first heats saw Ocean City's Andrew Gessler, one of the two remaining New Jersey surfers, fall, as well as Huntington Beach, Calif., favorites Tim Reyes and Patrick Gudauskas.
The round of 32 highlights included Hawaii's Randy Welch boosting two airs on one wave for a score of 8.5 and Australian Beau Mitchell's hyper backside attack. Patrick Gudauskas was solid throughout, with the highest average heat points in the event.
The surf looked dismal for the final. Randazzo was only able to manage a high wave of 4.85, making something of a dribbly right.
"It's great to compete in my home state," said Randazzo. "The surf in the final was disappointing, but we all have to deal with the same thing out there."
Carroll, who had to defeat red-hot Welch and Mitchell to get to the final, could only muster a 5.0. Michel Flores chose the inside waves, looking for a fast section. He caught twice the waves of the other competitors, but his 8.0 total couldn't match Hewitson.
"Hewey" was patient. When the one shoulder-high wave of the heat came through, he was in position. He dropped in on his backhand, found a pocket and obliterated the lip of the wave for a 5.75. That wave, combined with an earlier right, gave him a solid 12.75.
Hewitson has years of World Qualifying Series experience under his belt and is making a habit of solid performances in New Jersey. He was unsure if he would compete in Belmar, but with the power still out in his Florida home, he packed his daughter and wife and drove up for the event.
"I love coming up to Jersey. I was born in Neptune City and I still have a ton of family up here," said Hewitson.
"I'm a bigger guy, so I'm always hoping for solid waves during a contest, but I surfed a lot of small waves this summer at Sebastian Inlet, so I'm sure that helped in the final."
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