Quiksilver Pro N.Y. in Long Beach not wiped out

After the wave surge created by Hurricane Irene decimated the National Boulevard beach on Sunday morning — and slammed Lifeguard Headquarters against the boardwalk — Quiksilver representatives assessed the damage to its event site, where on Monday crews resumed work on the festival and competition that is still scheduled for Sept. 1-15.

As Irene approached as a category 1 hurricane, construction of the Quiksilver event site — which had been weeks in the making — was halted on Friday and Saturday, as crews worked to dismantle the entire structure just a week before the largest surf competition in history — with pro surfers like Kelly Slater vying for a piece of the $1 million prize purse — hits Long Beach on Sept. 1.

“There is obviously serious erosion to the beach. We have our event teams on the ground, working with the city as they assess damage and cleanup needs,” Quiksilver spokeswoman Jodi Wilmot told the Herald on Sunday. “There has been no talk of canceling the event at this time.”

The Allegria hotel, a partner in the event which is accommodating many of the 34 professional surfers competing on the Association of Surfing Professionals tour, was hit with more than two feet of water in its lower levels and lobby area on Sunday. Spokeswoman Laura Vivonetto said that there are no plans to postpone the Quiksilver event due to flood damage at the hotel. On Sunday evening, Quiksilver officially announced that the event was moving forward, and expressed confidence that construction of both the surf and festival sites would be completed on schedule.

The world's top surfers are currently competing in the 5th stop on the ASP World Tour in Tahiti, and are not expected in New York before Sept. 2. The first three days of the holding period — Sept. 1-3, were set aside for a local trials event, sponsored by Unsound surf shop in Long Beach, to determine the second wildcard entrant to the main event. The professionals are not scheduled to compete before Sept. 4.