After six QS runner-up finishes, Carlsbad, California’s Reid Van Wagoner has finally won a WSL QS event.
Van Wagoner started Finals Day (in Puerto Rico) with a strong Quarterfinal appearance before overtaking Alana Lopez in the Semifinals and another East Coast standout, Lanea Mons, in the Final. A tough Final, Van Wagoner’s 6.50 separated her from Mons and held firm for the victory.
Van Wagoner is now in the number 1 QS spot in the North America rankings.
On December 10, 2023 Carlsbad’s own Jack Van Wagoner won the 2023 Surfing For Hope Longboard Classic in pristine, two-to-three foot conditions at Morro Rock over a heavily-contested field. This marks Van Wagoner’s maiden World Surf League win, pushing him right to the top of the North America rankings.
“I’m super stoked, I definitely want to give my mom a shout out since she said she wanted me to win for her birthday so I delivered, happy birthday mom (laughs),” said Van Wagoner. “All the boys were ripping. Richie’s 10 in the Semifinals was insane. I can’t believe it and I’m just so stoked. “
The men’s Final got underway with reigning North America Longboard Regional victor Richie Cravey (USA) taking on 2023 standouts Chase Lieder (USA) and Jack Van Wagoner (USA) along with event threat Noah Shimabukuro (USA). Van Wagoner took the best of the opening exchange, earning a 7.50 and backing it up quickly to gain an early advantage. But, Lieder, Cravey, and Shimabukuru all were right behind him with a solid score of their own. Cravey’s sensational form carried into the Final to take the lead from Van Wagoner. But, the dying minutes provided Van Wagoner one last opportunity to strike and he capitalized to earn a near-perfect 9.25 for his maiden WSL victory.
Congrats, Jack. We’re all stoked, too! And we know this will not be the last time you get chaired up the beach!
Hundreds of surfers, family, and friends of Carlsbad big wave surfer Adam “Biff” D’Esposito gathered at Off Shore to remember his life in a paddle out on Wednesday October 3, 2018. NBC 7 was there to capture it for the evening news:
Surfers locked hands forming what looked like a drifting wreath around Adam’s father’s boat in the same waters Adam learned to surf in as a child.. . The family says it’s hard to believe the thrill-seeking surfer would drown in the relatively calm waves of Baja California, Mexico.. .After sharing stories, they tossed flowers into the water to remember the 39-year-old father. His 6-year-old daughter Annabelle was there to witness the love. “I felt like that was really special that we could bring his daughter to where he learned how to surf and she could feel the power of all of his friends and where he grew up and know his spirit lives on,” Adam’s sister Mary said.
Our thoughts are with the entire D’Esposito family.
Family and friends are searching for 39-year-old Carlsbad native, Adam Francis D’Esposito. The surfer went missing for over two weeks and was last seen in Mexico.
According to his sister, Briana D’Espositio, the well-liked nomadic surfer, who had friends spanning the globe, was last spotted south of the border in the town of Baja Malibu. It’s a spot Adam had been frequenting since he was a teenager. . . It is believed Adam had driven a silver 2001 Volvo station wagon into Mexico; however, he was later spotted shirtless and barefoot running alongside a highway.
Anyone with information should call 760/805-5520 or 409/565-1050.
The California Surf Museum in Oceanside, California is bringing some surf royalty to Carlsbad when they hold their 10th Annual Gala at Carlsbad’s Cape Rey Hilton on October 28, 2017. The event will honor Gerry “Mr. Pipeline” Lopez, Jericho Poppler, and Reef co-founder and International Surfing Association President Fernando Aguirre. If these names ring any bells, and you’d like to spend an evening with them and other surfing greats without leaving Carlsbad, then click the link to purchase some tickets. Tickets are $150 each and include dinner, entertainment, and the chance to bid on amazing surf items in silent and live auctions, all in support of the Surf Museum.
The Ponto Troll Crew caught some fun South Carlsbad wave action (plus, some travel surf) in Sunny Side Up a surf film produced and directed by Parker Schmidt. Check it.
Bringing the entire community together for a day of family fun, organizers Ulises Thomas and Phil Antonopoulos created the event as a tribute to local professional surfer Banning Capps. A portion of the proceeds raised will benefit the Banning Capps Scholarship Fund, as well as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad.
Tomorrow, June 10, 2015, 11-time World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater will call out SeaWorld during the company’s online annual meeting by submitting a question on behalf of PETA. Here’s the question he is submitting:
My name is Kelly Slater, and I’m here on behalf of PETA. The veil has been lifted on SeaWorld. All the ads in the world won’t change what the public now knows to be true: that the company imprisons highly intelligent, emotionally complex, social animals in tiny, barren concrete tanks, which leads to aggression and disease. SeaWorld is experiencing declining attendance and revenue, and dozens of companies, including Southwest Airlines, Panama Jack, and Mattel, have recently ended partnerships with SeaWorld. As a professional surfer, I’m lucky and privileged to be able to spend the majority of my time in the ocean—it’s the place where I feel most at home, and thus, I feel an obligation to protect that which I have a voice in influencing. Please, tell us, when will SeaWorld allow the animals it holds captive to return to their home—the ocean—by retiring them to a seaside sanctuary? And wouldn’t this at least be viewed, if nothing else, as a public relations win for you? By righting the wrongs you have committed in the name of corporate profit for so many years, you may actually be able to recoup some of the respect that has been lost in the eyes of the public and work toward an end to the problem of animal suffering. Thank you.
Wonder what their answer will be? Hopefully, it is soon.
Pictured (L to R back row): State Beach Locals Isaac Penrod, O.B. Juncal, Phil Antonopoulos, Terry Ennis, Ulises Thomas, Slater Thomas with Club CEO Brad Holland and a few new Club friends.
“Reuniting local surfers from Carlsbad is a major part of this event, but it’s geared toward everyone,” Event Coordinator Ulises Thomas said. “It doesn’t matter it’s your first surf contest or you’re the average Joe from Wisconsin, you’re gonna have fun and experience the California lifestyle.”
For the official word from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Michael Massie, 54, reportedly died “while sitting on a Carlsbad beach” on Wednesday afternoon, April 10, 2013, according to a story in the UT San Diego.
Witnesses saw the Carlsbad man sit in the sand after riding his board near Terramar Beach, just south of the Encina power plant. He then leaned over into a strange position, and slid into the water, Ellano said. . . He was dragged back to the shore, and witnesses called 911. Massie was taken to Tri-City Medical Center, where he died at 7:03 p.m., shortly after he arrived at the hospital.
Massie reportedly died of “natural causes related to cardiovascular disease.” Our thoughts are with Massie’s family and friends.
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Family and friends are searching for 39-year-old Carlsbad native, Adam Francis D’Esposito. The surfer went missing for over two weeks and was last seen in Mexico.
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