Surf’s Up, Way Up, for East Coast Competition

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. —  Under an ominous sky, red flags fluttered on lifeguard stands up and down the broad beach. Red flags mean no swimming, but for more than 50 surfers catching the waves those flags might as well have been invisible.

With one day to go before the opening of the East Coast Surfing Championships, the waves churned up Wednesday by Hurricane Bonnie’s advancing fury were too tempting to pass up. Surfers being surfers, the big waves were no cause for panic here, more than 100 miles from the central North Carolina coast, which was being pounded by the storm.

George Lopez of Newport Beach, Calif., dragged his white board out of the water and walked onto the beach. “I was here last year for the ECSC and there were no waves. This is as good as it gets,” he said as he brushed the water from his face. “If there are waves like this I’ll be pretty happy.”

More than 700 competitors from around the world are registered for this, the oldest continuous surfing competition in the nation. Paul West, competition director of the U.S. Surfing Federation and chairman of this four-day event, said he will double up on some of the competitions if others are canceled because of the hurricane. No hurricane has ever caused the event’s complete cancellation, he said.

“Most of our competitors have never witnessed a hurricane,” said West, a native of this area. “I think they will be surprised when it passes at how beautiful it can get when the sun comes back out.”

One lifeguard, who was getting on his bike for a lunch break, expressed little concern about the practicing surfers. “I was a surfer before I was a lifeguard. They know what they are doing out there.”

This is a very popular summer resort and Wednesday morning there were still plenty of folks frolicking through town and wandering along the beach, watching the surfers. But as the day wore on, the town grew quieter as many people sought higher ground.

Others were looking forward to the sporting event. Eddie Layton, 26, a local cook watching the scene, expected a lively competition. “The waves here are usually waist high,” he said. “But this year they will be head high; that should give us some good judging as far as maneuvers.”

Ken Ashburn, 25, a factory worker from Buffalo, N.Y., drove 12 hours to surf in the competition. Upon his arrival Tuesday he was surprised to find his campground reservations canceled. All campgrounds in the area were evacuated because of Bonnie.

So, Ashburn spent his first night here in a blue Ford Tempo with three surfboards and a pile of camping gear. That didn’t lessen his enthusiasm for the sport, the pretty girls, the good music.

‘It’s better here than Lake Erie. You can only surf there sometime,” Ashburn said. “The waves here will be really big for the next few days.”