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October 3, 2008
The annual Eastern Nationals blew into town with a northeaster
With Slideshow By DANIEL PULLEN  Every
year some of the best amateur surfers on the East Coast converge on
Hatteras for one week of competition. This year just happened to
coincide with a major nor’ easter.The 41st Eastern Surfing Competition Easterns will go down as a windy event. The contest ran from Sept. 21-28 with Sept. 29 as a makeup day. The first part of the contest is for the 18 and up crowd, with both men and women as contestants. The older crowd lucked out with conditions the first part of the week. The surf was not very good, but at least the wind was under 20 knots. By Tuesday afternoon, the weather was deteriorating rapidly for the adults’ award ceremonies at Natural Art Surf Shop. Tuesday evening organizers were forced to take down the scaffolding at the lighthouse because of very high winds and ocean overwash. They were still breaking it down the next morning in the howling wind and rain. Wednesday the Park Service was gracious enough to let ESA move the competition down to Ramp 55 in Hatteras, since the seas were out of control at the lighthouse. Hatteras was a little more forgiving for the younger kids, but the wind was still out of control. By Thursday the waves were more manageable, but organizers decided to not run the contest. They would just have to double up on heats during the rest of the time to make up for the lay day. Thursday evening, there were multiple events planned for the competitors. The 316 Skate Park was open to all visitors, and free pizza was given out to every one. Local kids and out-of-town kids skated for a few hours, and no one was seriously injured. Later on that evening, the Mad Crabber hosted a free movie premier with entertainment from a live band. The contest was forced to stay in Hatteras on Friday because of rough seas on the north beaches. Only on the last day of the contest were the heats able to continue at the lighthouse beach. There was very contestable surf on Saturday, and the competitors – for the first time during the contest- seemed to be pleased with the surf. This final day saw plenty of surf, but the not the epic conditions that everyone was expecting. The 41st Easterns were plagued with strong winds and rough waves, but with the flexibility of moving the contest, surfers were able to find a few rideable waves. By the end of the week, as customary, the contest was once again blessed with good surf. ‘Til next year! For more news and results on the Nationals: Click below: http://www.surfesa.org/content/view/75/26/ TO VIEW SLIDE SHOW BY DANIEL PULLEN |
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