2012 USBA Scion Jenks Pro: Lay Days

2012 USBA Scion Jenks Pro: Lay Days

Dom and Stacy from the Scion street team on the beach in Pt. Pleasant, NJ for the start of the 2012 USBA Scion Jenks Pro.

(Saturday 1 Sept. 2012)
  September first kicked off the start of the competition waiting period for the 2012 USBA Scion Jenks Pro.  Dom and the Scion street team set up tents at the contest site and down by Jenks Club and did promos all day on the beach.

  During the afternoon, Bubbakoo's Burrito's presented a Taco eating contest.  The set-up went like this: eight contestants were each given a tray of 10 soft tacos (beef, lettuce and cheese on each), a bottle of water, and a bottle of O.N.E. coconut water with five minutes to eat as many tacos as possible.  These guys dove in head first, literally, and put on quite an entertaining display.  in the end it was Yigel (the big guy with the sunglasses on, pictured above) who came away the winner.  By eating seven and a half tacos in five minutes, he walked away with a free $100 Bubbakoo's gift card and t-shirt (as well as a very full stomach)!

(Sunday 2 Sept. 2012)
  The Scion street team was back on the beach doing promos from 9-5.  Swell started to fill in, so a bunch of the competitors hit the water for a practice session. I decided to take a break from work to hit the water and ended up pulling a really fun two and a half hour session...stoked!

  By the time I wrapped up and left the beach, it was after 7pm.  I had been given four tickets for the Lakewood Blueclaws baseball game that I wanted to go to, but it would have been too late by the time i went home and got cleaned up.  A bunch of us decided we were going to go up to PNC Bank Arts Center to go promote Jenks Beach Fest and see the Rock The Bells hip hop festival, but holiday traffic had the Garden State Parkway looking like a parking lot.  So, we bailed on that.  Our third option for the night ended up being the best idea.  A handful of us headed to Manasquan and went to local surf legend Carl Danish's end-of-summer clam bake.  There was live music, a local surf slide show, tons of food and drinks, and lots of familiar faces to catch up with!  I was stoked to catch up with Carl (pictured above)!  I grew up riding waves with Carl at Manasquan Inlet, and borrowed his longboards on occasion to ride "The Cove."  I had such a good time at the clam bake, that I didn't really want to leave but it was a great way to end the night.

(Monday 3 Sept. 2012)
  Labor Day was grey and rainy.  I spent three hours out in the water at Jenks riding with a bunch of the competitors and the majority of the day taking care of things in preparation for the Jenks Pro.  I took Dave Kelly, Beta (Roberta Bitzer) and her Brother Gabriel to Oakley Vault (were I've been working while home in New Jersey) so that they could buy sunglasses.  Later that night, I drove up to JFK airport to pick up IBA Tour Manager Terry McKenna (Australia), IBA Head Judge Chico Garritano (Brasil), IBA Judge Dudu Pedra (Brasil), and Marshall Watson (Australia).  By the time we got back down to the Courtyard Marriott it was 1:30am.  I was so tired, I stayed at the hotel for the night.

(Tuesday 4 Sept. 2012)
  It was another grey and rainy day.  The swell had picked up at Jenks but it was breaking right on the beach and was just super-heavy, breakneck shorebreak closeouts.  A few guys paddled out to take it on, and just about all of them were taking a beating out there.  It just didn't look fun.  I drove over the bridge to Manasquan Inlet and ended up paddling out with DK, Mash, and Jeff Hubbard.  A lot of the competitors for the Jenks Pro ended up out in the water at Manasquan Inlet and, unsurprisingly, a bunch of the local surfers had their panties in a bunch over it.  I enjoyed being back out in the water at my old homebreak and seeing some old familiar faces.  As for the donkeys that were blatantly dropping in on people...whatever.  I had a really fun session...right up until I lost my board...gone...permanently...vanished without a trace.  I was riding without a leash and wiped out on my last wave.  When I cam up, I didn't see my board and figured it had washed up onto the beach.  When, I got onto the beach there was no sign of it.  i walked out onto the jetty to see if I could find it wedged in the rocks somewhere.  Nothing.  I was so bummed.  The inlet jetty has had a reputation for claiming surfboards and bodyboards over the years (the currents push down and wedge boards in the submerged jetty rocks).  In 24 years of riding Manasquan Inlet, I had never lost a board like that.  What a Buzzkill ending to a good session.  Oh well, I'll chalk it up as a sacrifice to the surf gods. :)

  Be sure to check back tomorrow for Day 1 and Day 2 of competition from the Jenks Pro and be sure to go to www.usbatour.com/live to watch the live webcast for day 2 action.  Heats are scheduled to start running at 7am.  See you then...YEEEWWW!!!