NELSCOTT NASTINESS: Oregon Tow In Comp, Cold and Bold

Big, bold, and cold: THE NELSCOTT REEF TOW IN CLASSIC.

The third annual Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic was held this weekend in perfect conditions off the Oregon Coast. Waves as high as 40 feet slammed the Oregon coast under sunny skies and windless conditions.

Behemoth LLC, the contest organizers made the call last week to run the contest on Friday January 11, based on favorable forecasts from Friday and again on Sunday. John Forse, quickly becoming known for his ability to call the contest on the perfect day, made the right call.

“When we woke up on Friday, the ocean was small and very windy, basically a worse case scenario”, said Forse. “Everyone was antsy, and we told them to hang tough it is going to get good.”

And he was right on. By 1PM, the wind had died and the ocean had come up. By the time the event started at 1:45, the waves were well over 35 feet and still getting larger.

“One set came through that was easily 50 to 60 feet on the faces”, said Shawn Alladio, the head of the K-38 safety crew. There was only enough time in the afternoon to hold the first round of heats, with the rest of the event on hold until Sunday morning. Right on cue, the ocean came alive at first light on Sunday, along with the rarely seen Oregon winter sun. For the second day, the contest was blessed with solid 40-foot waves and no wind. Also adding to the excitement of the second day was the sighting of an unwelcome spectator, a great white shark, in the lineup. Luckily, he was just watching.

Making it to the finals this year were 2 Brazilian teams, Yuri Soledade/Rodrigo Resende, and Eraldo Gueiros/ Everaldo Pato. Also in the finals were the teams of Adam Replogle/Alistair Craft, Osh Bartlett/Tyler Fox, and Homer Henard/Matt Nelscott Reef Goes Off in 40 foot perfection Rockhold. It was a close finals, especially after Yuri Soledade’s crazy barrel on a monster scored a 9.5. But it wasn’t enough to hold off the years of experience Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft have at Nelscott. The results are as follows:

First Place (44.75) $7500.00 Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft

Second Place (44.58) $5000.00 Yuri Soledade and Rodrigo Resende

Third Place (41.45) $2500.00 Eraldo Gueiros and Everaldo Pato

Fourth Place (39.77) $1500.00 Osh Bartlett and Tyler Fox

Fifth Place (38.63) $1000.00 Homer Henard and Matt Rockhold

It was a busy weekend for big wave events. Nelscott was called for Friday, Mavericks was called for Saturday, and The Eddie Aikau was on hold for Sunday, all forecasted with large swell. In the end, Forse called it right, with Oregon receiving the perfect combination of wind, weather, and the largest waves of the weekend. Organizers would like to thank the Chinook Winds Casino, Fringe Clothing, Liquid Militia, Banquet, The Westshore Motel, The Anchor Inn, Tao Productions, Nelscott Reef Surf Shop, Roots Brewery, K38 Rescue, Oregon Sports Authority, Tanger Outlet Mall, Legacy Films, and all the others that helped out with the event.

Photos of the event are available on the web page at www.nelscottreef.org. The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is the only tow in contest on the North American continent and Oregon’s only professional surf event. It is also the only tow in contest to be certified carbon free by Carbonfund.org.