69.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Nationwide surfers catch waves on Lincoln
Soggy weather didn’t dampen Unsound Surf pro competition
Unsound Surf, a Long Beach surf shop, hosted its 11th annual Unsound Pro, a professional surfing competition at Lincoln Boulevard beach from Sept. 25 to 27.
Shop co-owner Mike Nelson, one of the competition organizers, said the event has grown exponentially, from less than a dozen surfers to 70 last weekend.
This year’s competition attracted surfers from across the East Coast, including New Jersey, Virginia and Florida, as well as from California and Costa Rica.
“The waves were a bit small,” said Nelson, but explained that despite the weekend rain, the surf was better on the final day of the event.
Two local teen surfers, Balaram Stack and T.J. Gumiela, competed for the Unsound Pro Junior title, with Stack coming out in fourth place at the end of the weekend. Virginia Beach’s Mike Dunphy took the title.
Last year’s champion, Jeremy Johnston of Florida, dominated the men’s pro final, beating New Jersey’s Brendan Buckley and Sam Hammer, who finished second and third respectively. Virginia Beach’s Phillip Goold caught one great wave, but struggled to come across another for the backup score he so badly needed.
Film crews were on hand to film the event, which will be aired on NBC’s World of Adventure Sports on Oct. 31 and MSG network's Transit Chapters also in October.
