The 2009 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic and Big Wave Paddle In ran in perfect conditions on Thursday.
Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft pull off a repeat win for the tow-in event.
Ross Clarke-Jones wins the Kingfish Title and Anthony Tashnick wins the Liquid Militia Paddle In Exhibition.
The event started just after 8 AM and ran all day, finishing up around 6 PM. Surfers traveled from around the world to compete, coming from as far as Australia and Ireland.
Conditions were perfect, with solid 30’+ surf and no wind all day.
The competition was high quality as the waves were.
Making it to the tow-in finals were the teams of Adam Replogle/Alistair Craft, Ross Clarke-Jones/Ian Walsh, Ikaika Kalama/Kainoa Havanio, and Jeff Kafka/Travis Payne.
Separated by only 2/10ths of point, Replogle/Craft pull off the win over Jones/Walsh.
New this year was the Kingfish Title, awarded to the surfer with the best-combined scores of tow-in and paddle-in.
Ross Clarke-Jones beat out Tyler Fox by just 2/10ths of a point. Third place went to Chad Jackson.
The Liquid Militia Paddle In Exhibition saw some great paddle in surfing at Nelscott Reef.
Earning third place was Chris Bertish.
Second place went to Keallii Mamala, and Anthony Tashnick took first.
This is the earliest in the season that the event has been called. Holding the contest this early allowed for some extra hours of daylight, which was much needed.
Finishing, just before sunset, the event went off without a hitch thanks to the hard work of all the volunteers, judges, safety crew, and sponsors.
The after-party was held at the Elks Lodge with food donated from various local restaurants and beer provided by Kona Brewery.
The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is now in its fifth year. It operates on a three-month holding period, October 1 through December 31st, and unofficially marks the opening of the North Pacific big wave season.
The contest has amazingly been held each year it has operated, boasting a better record than any big wave event in history.