Rip Curl Pro surf contest

So there is another Rip Curl Pro surf contest at Jobos this weekend. It's not nearly as big as the one at Middles in 2010. It's kind of a Triple-A league event. There are a few topline surfers here but it's mostly minor leagues.

That's okay though. It means more surfers and especially more families which means there is a better chance we'll get some business out of the event. (The big Rip Curl event in 2010 actually cost us business but that's another story.)

My big question is: Why Jobos? Why not Middles? Okay, I'll grant you there is more existing infrastructure for the event at Jobos. They didn't have to build the big scaffold tower at Jobos. They are using the old Costa Bar as the headquarters and judging platform.

For everyone else, Jobos is a logistical nightmare. Parking is extremely limited which means the road will be parked shut. Early this morning, the first day of the event with no swell to speak of, the road was already jammed.

And I'm afraid it's only going to get worse as the day and the event wear on. I'm guessing tomorrow the police will wind up closing the road through Jobos.

The one logistical saving grace is there are no waves today. The little dark ridge in the picture below is what's passing for a wave. I hate to think about what the area would be like if there were real waves.

We produced, competed  and performed at kite festivals in the States for many years. Every time I see a surf competition with no waves I think back to our kite festivals with no wind. What do you do? In the case of the kite events, we had a "fly-or-die" rule. As a competitor or performer, you went out and did the best you could with what you had. Looks like the surfers have something similar.

There are supposed to be waves coming - big ones! - starting late Monday when the swell from that big blizzard that dumped two feet of snow on the Northeast gets here. If it gets as big as they are predicting that will create it's own problems. Jobos as a surf break doesn't handle big waves all that well. Once the waves get overhead or bigger it becomes nearly unsurfable. It will be interesting to see what happens as the conditions change.

I'm not photographing the surfers and the competition per se. I will however KAP the event over the next few days. Watch for those photos here.