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San Clemente, Calif., April 24, 2007 — Day one of the Jeep® Body Glove Surfbout, the first stop of the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep, commenced today as an international field of top-notch competitors tore apart the clean three- to four-foot waves at Lower Trestles. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) four-star event saw the opening rounds of competition steamroll through 24 heats today as beachgoers and online viewers were treated to some of the most explosive surfing of the season.
Jeremy Johnston (New Smyrna Beach, FL) put fellow Surfbout competitors on notice this afternoon in securing the day’s high heat total of a 17.07 out of a possible 20. The fiery goofy-footer tore apart the glassy lefthanders with an impressive blend of power gouges and fin-free snaps. “It’s just epic and glassy right now,” Johnston said. You can go either way you want. There are wedgey lefts and rights everywhere. It seemed like every wave that came to me lined up perfect and I could just tee off on them.”
Although highly touted as an amateur, Johnston has been uncharacteristically absent from the competitive stage in recent years. Following a solid start to the 2007 ASP North America season, and under a healthy new sponsorship, Johnston’s performance today puts the young Floridian one step closer to regaining his spot as a top contender amongst his peers. “I’ve just really been working on getting my equipment dialed and my sponsors in order,” Johnston said. “Now that they are, I feel like I can focus on my surfing and everything has been coming together. I didn’t have a sponsor for two years so I’m just now getting back into competitive surfing. I plan on doing all the domestic events this year and then bumping it up to the international ones next year.”
Cory Arrambide (Ventura, CA), who will also be competing in the Oakley Pro Junior beginning Friday, took the day’s honors with the highest single wave score of a 9.57 out of a possible 10 for a series of blistering turns on his backhand. The young goofy-footer reveled in the improving afternoon conditions and will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming rounds.
“The waves really cleaned up on the afternoon high tide,” Arrambide said. “Everything feels really good – board, body, etc. I’m competing in both the Pro Junior and the Surfbout so consistency and endurance will be a big thing for me this week.”
Jeremy Sherwin (Encinitas, CA) proved the most consistent surfer of the day for his high heat scores in both rounds one and two. The stylish natural-footer tore apart the morning and afternoon sets locking in a 15.66 followed by a 14.26.
“It’s pretty tricky conditions out here at Lowers on the low tide today,” Sherwin said. “It looks really fun, but you have to know which waves to grab. That being said, there are still some really good sets. I feel really lucky as I’ve been in rhythm today. I have a fair bit of experience out there and I have some good boards under my feet so everything is coming together.”
As the first event of the 2007 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep (an ASP North America Specialty Series), the winner of the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout will be crowned following the finals on Saturday and will also take the ratings lead in the three-event series. From Lowers, the Macy’s California Trifecta will then venture to Newport Beach, in September, for the Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep before culminating in Santa Cruz, in October, for the Cold Water Classic presented Jeep. An all-new 2007 Jeep Patriot in addition to a potential cash bonus of over $30,000 will be presented to the Series winner at the final event.
Running in conjunction with the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout, the ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior will begin Friday with the round of 32 where young up-and-comer Eric Geisselman will be defending his title and trying to continue his winning streak.
Jeep Body Glove Surfbout Action will recommence tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. with heat nine of round two. All action will be webcast LIVE with streaming video and scoring at www.surfbout.com
For more information and complete results, log onto www.surfbout.com
FUEL TV will telecast highlights from the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout beginning May 5th on The Weekly Update. For FUEL TV airdates and show times, check www.fuel.tv
The 2007 Jeep Body Glove Surfbout is happy to once again have support from Macy’s, Oakley, Ocean Minded, the San Clemente Times, FUEL TV, and PRIMEDIA’s Action Sports Group (ASG), publisher of SURFER, SURFING and WaveWatch.
WAVEWATCH FORECAST 4/25/07 SWELL - The North swell is fading from 2.5 ft @ 13 secs (3 ft faces) mixed with Southwest swell at 2 ft @ 14 secs (2.5 ft faces). WIND - Southwest wind @ 5 kts in the morning turning more westerly in the afternoon to 10 kts. TIDE - A 4 ft high tide @ 5:15 AM will be dropping to a 1.3 ft low tide @ 12:20 PM then heading back up to a 4.5 ft high tide near sunset.
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