Cape Going Off!

by Mr Christian on August 23, 2006

On The Edge
By Peter Pan

This has been our best summer in over a decade with surf just about every day. Those were the words of ESA Outer Beaches Contest Coordinator and competitor, Matt Rivers, on the night before the scheduled Cape Cod Championships Round #2.  And how right he was!  While surf spots up and down the New England coastline were flat, contestants and officials were quite surprised to see a solid chest to shoulder high ground swell, with perfect offshore winds, on the morning of the contest.

Jen McGovern had driven over 3 hours in heavy Cape traffic, from Narragansett, Rhode Island, to compete.  “These are some of the best waves we’ve surfed all summer,” she said. “But that water is really cold,” said her teammate, Ashley Baron, of Charlestown, Rhode Island.  The ocean water might have been a bit brisk, but the level of surfing was hot, especially in the men’s, masters, and senior categories.

Brazilian transplant Ronaldo Lima had a chance to show his stuff, in the juicy Cape waves.  He was all over the faces, with a barrage of hard cutbacks and lip smacks, taking the toughest event of the contest, the Open Final.  He also continued his tear, taking a close second in the Men’s Open and 3rd in the Men’s Long board finals.  “It was all about finding the biggest waves with the best quality sections,” said Lima, after ripping up the Open final.  “I was patient in this contest, and just waited for the set waves.  And there were some good ones to pick from.”

Chuck and Ana Barend not only saved the day with their big contest tent and water supply to contestants, they took home an impressive share of the trophies.  The Barends, who run the Christian Surfers Association Rhode Island chapter, must be doing something right.  Chuck had a monster day, carving up and down the smooth wave faces, easily winning the Senior Men’s title.  He then went on to take seconds in the Open and Masters Long board divisions.

Former female pro surfer, Ana Barend, continued to remain undefeated in both the long and short end of the competition.  She easily won both the Senior Women’s  division and the Senior Women’s Long board finals.  The Outer Beaches female contingent put on a powerful show.  Leading the attack was Wellfleet wonder, Katie Weeks, who carved up the Women’s division, and finished 4th in the Women’s Long board final.

The Cape’s #1 female long board stylist, Miranda Kielpinski, continued to stun the judges with her advanced nose riding and cutbacks.  She not only smoked the Women’s Long board final, but then paddled out on a short board and won that final, as well.

This contest featured an array of brand new talent, including some of the hottest new surfers on the Cape.  Eastham ripper, Dave White, topped Virginia Beach transplant Max Mraz, in a tight Boys Final.  Connecticut_s top Junior contender,  Blake Olson, edged out Lexington’s Chris Belyea in the Junior Men’s contest.   He then topped veteran Luke Ryan in the Junior Long board final with some stylish nose rides.   Luke Ryan of Hull, finished in the 3rd spot.  It was Chad Bruce of Scituate, winning the Menehune division, while Eastham’s Carl Berg grabbed the Menehune Long board final.

The Cape’s top gun, Eric Dranginis of Orleans, shredded up a very hot Men’s final, and continued to catch the biggest and best set waves in the long board version, as he took both titles with ease.  Wellfleet ace Olaf Valli edged out Orleans ripper, Matt Rivers for the Master crown.  Narragansett’s Peter Pan found the set waves to take both the Legends and Legends Long board finals, while Boston’s Pat Redmond found the slotted barrels to take out Brockton’s Jesse Rodriquez in the last heat of the day.

The South New England ESA contest season continues to rock on, with the Town of Narragansett Labor Day Beach Games.  This contest will be on call for September 2nd. r The contest hotline will give contestants the update, after 6 PM on September 1.  The ESA hotline number is 401-727-2605.

Final Results of the 2006 Cape Cod Surfing Championships-Final Round, held in ideal 3-4 foot surf with light offshore winds, on August 19th, 2006 at Whitecrest Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Menehunes-1.Chad Bruce  Boys-1.Dave White  2.Max Mraz  3.Jon Keefe  4.Carl Berg  5.Mike Viprini  6.Jim Quigley  7.Kyle Algera  8.John Ryan  

Junior Men-1.Blake Olson  2.Chris Belyea  3.Luke Ryan  4.Curtis Grilli  5.Dave Brown  6.Zack Barnes  7.Sam Kinney  8.Tee Smith  

Men-1.Eric Dranginis  2.Ronaldo Lima  3.Brandon Sullivan  4.Matheus de Souza  5.Tony MacDonald  6.Brandon Silva  

Masters-1.Olaf Valli  2.Matt Rivers  3.Emerson Zeppelin  

Senior Men-1.Chuck Barend  2.Matt Richards  3.Eric Webber  4.Brandon McCray  

Legends-1.Peter Pan  

Junior Women-1.Miranda Kielpinski  2.Katie Zullo  3.Emily Cunningham  

Women-1.Katie Weeks  2.Jen McGovern  3.Ashley Baron  4.Katie Imswiler  5.Katie Ryan  

Senior Women-1.Ana Barend  

Menehune Longboard-1.Carl Berg  2.Chad Bruce  3.John Ryan  4.Kyle Algera  

Junior Longboard-1.Blake Olson  2.Luke Ryan  3.Curtis Grilli  4.Tee Smith  5.Zack Bamer  6.Dave Brown  

Men Longboard-1.Eric Dranginis  2.Olaf Valli  3.Ronaldo Lima  4.Brandon Silva  5.Matt Richards  6.Brandon Sullivan  7.Matheus de Souza  

Masters Longboard-1.Brandon McCray  2.Chuck Barend  3.Eric Webber  4.Alan Bruce  5.Jesse Rodriquez  6.Emerson Zeppelin  

Legends Longboard-1.Peter Pan 

Women Longboard-1.Maranda Kielpinski  2.Zena Bibler  3.Kate Zullo  4.Katie Weeks  5.Jen McGovern  6.Katie Ryan  7.Katie Imswiler  8.Emily Cunningham  

Senior Women Longboard-1.Ana Barend  

Open Bodyboard-1.Pat Redmond  2.Jesse Rodriquez  3.Trent Taylor  4.Katie Ryan  5.Peter Pan  

Open-1.Ronaldo Lima  2.Chuck Barend  3.Ana Barend  4.Eric Dranginis  5.Brendan McCray  6.Emerson Zeppelin  7.Carl Berg  8.Matt Richards  9.Matheus de Souza  10.Dave White  11.Luke Ryan  12.John Ryan  13.Katie Ryan