He Wants More Than a Photo Opportunity : Surfing: Right sponsor, righteous rides haven’t translated to success yet for Encinitas’ Colin Smith.

SAN DIEGO —  Surfer Colin Smith of Encinitas has ridden every wave imaginable hundreds of times. And when he rides, 35-millimeter cameras are usually pointed in his direction.

Smith, 22, has never been a big-name rider. As professional surfing goes, he’s a minor leaguer competing only in World Qualifying Series events on the Bud Pro Surfing Tour. He has entered the $20,000 Nissan Open, which makes its sixth tour stop at Oceanside Municipal Pier today through Sunday.

But to photographers such as his close friend, Rob Keith, Smith is irresistible.

Smith is a stunt surfer. He uses tricks to add flash to his rides on California’s often small waves. He calls it “radical stuff.”

Smith is currently ranked 53rd in the world and 15th on surfing’s junior circuit, the WQS. But that suits his sponsor--Life’s A Beach--just fine. He is probably the most photographed surfer in San Diego County.

Check out the June issue of Surfer Magazine. Smith graces the cover. Keith snapped a rare reverse-angle close-up of his favorite model shooting skyward off the lip of a wave.

Life’s A Beach, a surf clothing and accessories manufacturer, considers a cover photo priceless advertising, although you can see only parts of Smith’s face and right foot in the photo. The rest is splashing salt water, the bottom of his lime green surfboard and two fins that appear to jump off the page.

“Life’s A Beach was a little bummed because you couldn’t see their logo,” said a mildly concerned Smith. “But it’s good marketing and good exposure. It’s great for me. It’s the first time I’ve been on a cover by myself. That’s important. They’re a good sponsor.”

Smith, who attended San Dieguito High, competed only one year (1990) on the Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour, and that was cut short when he tore ligaments in his left knee on a ride. Now he seems to take good and bad fortunes in stride.

His goal is to eventually crack the top five of the Professional Surfing Assn. of America qualifying tour rankings. He takes a step-by-step approach to each Bud series event, shoot for the quarterfinals, hope for the semis.

But whenever he falls short, it’s cool now. Smith doesn’t even mind skipping a day or two of surfing practice.

Smith will take photographs over press clippings. And he’s considered that fate the past six days while rolling across dry land on a “Magic Bus.”

Life’s A Beach’s latest promotion is a six-week, cross-country bus tour of the nation’s surfing community. Smith and seven other surfers boarded an old school bus, repainted in psychedelic motif, at 4 a.m. Thursday and headed east, not seeing the ocean again until Monday.

“We’ve totally lost track of time,” Smith reported Tuesday, during a stop at the B.C. Surf and Sport store in Miami. “I guess it’s been six days. Right now, the surf is literally about an inch here.

“And with this contest coming up, I was hoping to do a little surfing today. I’m dying to get in the water.”

The microscopic Atlantic surf was not a welcome sight for Smith, who, at 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds, is big for the sport and performs better as the waves are bigger.

He is glad to be returning home today for a brief tour break and some competition. After placing 13th at Santa Cruz and ninth at Pismo Beach, he faltered in the last three events at Lower Trestles, Imperial Beach and Huntington Beach.

And after ranking 11th last season, Smith is currently tied for 15th with Peter Mel of Santa Cruz with 1,830 points in the Bud series. His earnings since January: $1,400. Not placing at Lower Trestles, where he took a career-best third in 1989, was a big disappointment.

“Part of surfing is knowing when to wait for the right wave,” he said. “I’ve gotten a third and a fifth there, but it was just bad timing this year. You can be easy on yourself and say it was bad luck. Me, I’m hard on myself. I say read it better next time.”

The long, quiet treks between surf-shop autograph sessions have given Smith a chance to meditate on his future. To qualify for the ASP Tour, which takes in the top 44 surfers in the world, Smith would figure to need more than 5,000 points on the PSAA qualifying circuit. He is currently 3,170 points short of that with six events left and would probably need a couple of victories--which are 1,000 points each on the Bud tour.

“When I hurt my knee right in the middle of the World Tour, it was a pretty big deal,” he said. “The year of rehabilitation helped me be a little more patient. It made me relax and think about things a little better.

“At this point, the World Tour is not really a goal. I just want to get to the quarters and semifinals of each Bud tour event. If I do well enough to make the top 44, Life’s A Beach will sponsor me. That’s what they want me to do.

“I’m just making the best of where I am.”

Often in front of a camera.

Surfing Notes

The hottest surfer on the qualifying tour right now is Rob Machado of Cardiff, who has been surfing on Isla Natividad, a remote rock off the Baja Coast. Machado has won the last two events and is currently second to Shane Beschen of San Clemente in money and points . . . Taylor Knox and Mike Lambresi of Carlsbad currently rank eighth and 13th . . . Many of the top surfers in the world have also entered this event as a tune-up for the following week’s O.P. Pro competition in Huntington Beach: No. 6 Sonny Garcia, No. 8 Todd Holland, No.10 Richie Collins, No. 11 Gary Elkerton, No. 14 Marty Thomas and No. 15 Jeff Booth, the defending champion at Oceanside . . . Qualifying heats are today through Friday, starting at 8 a.m. The main event is Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.