1998 Sunset Beach Roxy Pro:  A Female Surfer’s Perspective.

Sunset Beach presents different faces to the Roxy challengers this Nov. 1998. Howling winds, mediocre swells. (except for the men's Rip Curl final which was 8 ft. glass and extreme surfing I rarely witness.) But this story is about the women and a taste of what they went through. 

The Friday of trials, NE trades gusting to 50+ knots, even the sailors at Backyards were getting overpowered on 2.9-3.2m sails by these gusts. And they're running heats at Sunset!  But after waiting more than a week, Thanksgiving being the only contestable day until this, what else is there to do but RUN IT! My boardsailing friend Mike Harbowy, a Backyards veteran board sailor, told me how he had NEVER needed a sail that small here.  He wondered how anybody could have even dropped in, given those conditions.

Evidently, people did, while the evening news described roof sections blowing off buildings! The women that survived got to surf again on a small but teasing Monday with a moderate NE trade. The first women’s semi presented 30 minutes of NO SETS.  Nothing over 4 ft. came through. Layne and Lynette traded off at the point, taking the zippers that closed before connecting through to the west peak, which was working, though erratic. 

Neck and neck, wave for wave, through the heat they go.  Pauline looks solid, selecting waves that present more opportunities, and zips off the bottom, slots in the pocket, top turns with power off the hook. Pauline is a stong competitor.

Layne is going fast, but just not getting the waves, as later she knew she was too close to the point.  Lynette’s last wave puts her just ahead of the champ, into 2nd place. Keala puts in a respectable showing.

Second semi, sets come!  Competitors line up further west, getting more Sunset like peaks, about 4 ft.  Trudy flashes around hard off the bottom, snappin’ off the top.  Serena and Megan picked off some larger waves with more shape and room for off the bottom off the top action, plus tubes.  Megan snags a beauty, probably the best set wave ridden. She slots at the throat of a hollow section, not quite disappearing, then banks off the top, bottom turns again before the wave fizzles - nice.  I learned later that the judges awarded a 4.5 for that wave - I had walked closer to the action and out of earshot of the announcer.

Understandably, Megan was upset.  Serena caught several set waves, kicking over the back after the first section, not knowing whether she could outrun the whitewater collapsing in front of her in the 2nd section.  From my perspective, she could have made some of them, but sometimes you don’t know until you go . . .She did complete 2 larger waves in this heat with nice bottom and top turns.

Sandy Ryan was hanging right in there, but I can’t say that I noticed her until the Final, when I got a good look at her walking up the beach with Pauline, Trudy, and Lynette processing toward the buoy paddle out spot with mates and caddies - Aussies all!

You see, I had a few distractions of my own during the semis.  My 3 kids,plus Mike and Lucita Harbowy’s two kids were all running around crazy, climbing trees, sling-shotting each other, fussing about the rain, being hungry, etc.  After the semis, I took them all to Mike and Lucita’s house, returning to watch the final in peace.  My husband was out at Kammie’s all this time, and came in to watch the final.  I hooked up with Lynette’s mate, Francois, as I walked toward the point, where all the finalists were heading.

The lineup at lower tide had shifted way over to Boneyards.  I could see boils in the wave faces.  A photographer I spoke to at heat’s end said it was waist deep in some spots where they were surfing.  Once again I could not hear the announcer where I was standing with Francois, upwind near the point.  So we consulted, using our best judgement, on how the final developed.  I later learned that the best 3 waves averaged because of set scarcity, and nothing came through like the 2nd semi. 

So there they were - all 4 of them at the edge of Boneyards.  Quick bottom turns, race across the boil in the faces.  Pauline slots into a good looking barrel, arcs back, comes off the bottom again, working the soup . . . I’m realizing that this soup work is critical.  Case in point - Megan’s barrel in the second semi lacked the distance in the soup.  Why else the 4.5?  Sandy working her waves for the distance.  I saw her take off on one that, as she tucked in the steep face, sucked out from under her board and she just missed her board as she air dropped sideways. Didn’t seem to faze her in the least!

Lynette looking very conservative, going for length, but not as snappy as in the semi. Trudy was flashy as before, making the most of her waves.  At the horn, Francois and I don’t know how to call it -  it seemed so close.  Pauline looked so strong and confident to me, knowing how to find and use the power in the waves.  But she came in saying " I don’t think I won it."  Lynette got some length, but seemed to be guarding herself. Sandy was going fast and maneuvering all the way to the fizzle. I couldn’t call it.

So Francois and I fall in behind the finalists and photographers to hear the official ruling. Keala, the rookie awardee, congratulates the winner before the announcer does. Little Sandy Ryan takes the big check home to her boys - she’s glad it’s over!

Layne, as she receives her 2nd Triple Crown, asks that next year be 10’ and "Off the Point!"