Yesterday saw another action-packed day of heats, as the surf continued to roll into Belmar's 18th Street beach.
After the stormy conditions of Thursday gave way to clean lines on Friday, many were worried that the swell would drop off as the round of 96 got under way yesterday.
However, consistent chest- to head-high waves continued to push through all tides. The punchy peaks were actually more frequent than Friday, making for higher wave counts and more excitement for the crowd.
"Today was another day of consistent four- to five-foot waves," said Scott Goodwin, the always-colorful event emcee.
"It's been unbelievable. Two years in a row, this contest has gotten phenomenal surf. The judges are from around the world, and they're totally impressed with the conditions we've had," Goodwin said.
This event is a World Qualifying Series contest. Top surfers from around the world compete in WQS events, in order to qualify for the World Championship Tour. More New Jersey favorites fell today to tough surfers from California, Florida and South Africa.
A particularly interesting heat in the fifth round pitted Matt Keenan against his protege, Andrew Gesler. Both surfers are from Ocean City, and Keenan, 29, has mentored Gesler, 19, for years. Gesler took second in the heat to advance, beating Keenan by only .25 points.
Gesler and Dean Randazzo, of Somers Point, are the remaining New Jersey surfers, as Sam Hammer, Randy Townsend, Pat Emery, Luke Ditella and Nick Blunda fell yesterday, after putting forth respectable showings in early rounds.
The remaining Jersey surfers will face the likes of Brian Hewitson of Florida, Tim Reyes and Pat Gudaukas, both of California. Gudaukas posted the highest heat score of the day, gashing a front-side lip and nailing a reverse, and later in the heat, busting a two-handed rail grab.
Hewitson and Reyes both found their way out of Belmar barrels in the afternoon. Reyes, whose barrel in last year's event still remains in the memory of many spectators, pulled into a pit off the south jetty. His red jersey was visible for a flash, before the wave completely engulfed him. To the delight of the fans, Reyes emerged from the barrel a second later.
"I have a lot of practice in this type of dumpy beach break," Reyes said. "Especially from traveling a lot, you learn to navigate yourself out of those barrels."
Randazzo's moment came in an early heat, as he took off on a heavy wave that was barely makable, turned upward and tore the top off the frothy close-out.
Heats start today at 8 a.m., with similar surf predicted, and Randazzo surfing in Heat 1.
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