Conditions were ideal Saturday morning for calling off the Annual Bear Back Super Bowl Weekend Surf contest. Water and air temperatures were in the chilly 50s. Skies were cloudy. The on shore wind was kicking up whitecaps. NOAA weather was describing the seas at the Hermosa pier as four to six feet and disorganized. And the lifeguards had posted a No Swimming sign because the 14th Street storm drain was dumping the previous night’s deluge into the contest zone.
Over 100 names were on the email invite, but only a dozen contestants were on the beach. Most were avoiding eye contact, shuffling their feet in the sand.
“Look at that right,” contest co-founder Greg Browning shouted in an effort to rally enthusiasm. The run off had carved a deep channel, allowing for momentary flashes of makeable waves.
But Browning’s opinion was suspect. He is a filmmaker for Body Glove, whose founders Bob and Bill Meistrell, were inspired to invent the wetsuit 50 years ago after a winter surfing bareback in Santa Cruz.
“He called off surf contest because it was cold” was not what Browning wanted whispered around the Body Glove office Monday morning.
Finally, Greg’s brother Jeff rescued the family from dishonor by picking up the contest clipboard and signing in six names for the first heat, including his brothers, but not his.
Previous year’s heats (a term whose irony escaped no one) had been the traditional 15 minutes.
But hypothermia charts show that “Loss of Dexterity,” followed by “Exhaustion, Incoherency and Unconsciousness” doesn’t set in until 10 to 15 minutes in 50 to 60 degree water.
So contest co-founder Jimmy Young decreed that this year’s heats would be 20 minutes. Anyone who left the water before the heat ended would be required to ring the Bell of Shame planted on a pole in the sand. Anyone who lasted the 20 minutes would be allowed to ring the Bell of Pride.
Young came up with the idea for the Bear Back four years ago because he never wears a wetsuit, anyway. After decades of pulling pitchers of beer at his bar, the Pitcher House, he doesn’t need a wetsuit.
As always, the surf proved to be more fun than it looked. Chio Baldocchi drank from the Bear Back Cup by scoring 17 on a scale of 1-10 for a block-long barrel ride in the second heat. “I was just trying to stay out of the wind,” he explained afterwards.
Scott Smith and Jax McCartney, winners of the first and third heats, were disqualified from the run-off for failing their hypothermia tests. Smith flunked the dexterity test, which required unhooking his bathing suit top. McCartney failed the coherency test despite his protest that it was discriminatory against Redondo High graduates. B
I like this place! I love the idea and wish there was a place like this in Astoria, Queens. I am a surfer and found a “real surfer bar” in Point Break NYC. I am kinda jealous ;0PIts filled with surfers, people who like surfers, people who like the beach and people who don’t want to live close to town. I really like this place. You know what they have these real Proctor and Channel One surfboards on the wall. It’s nice for coming any day of the week and eating a late brunch. The food was outstanding. The brunch and sides were prefect and tasty. It is a perfect “escape” from city living. It is probably one of the only places where you can get a nice frozen pina colada or margarita. The service was on hit. They came up and checked on us so many times and made sure everything was up to par. It gets very active and the bartenders keep everybody having a good time. The bartender was very accommodating. He was nice enough to make a drink, that wasn’t on the menu, for me :0) Did I mention the bartenders are nice eye candy. It was amazing to see their “das boot” which is shaped like a boot filled with beer. Don’t get me wrong, I am not drunk…it’s an actual boot shaped beer container ready to be emptied. Try it ..You will love it!! Oh. How can I forget, they even have a wheel o’ shots where you just have to spin it and have to drink whatever shot it lands on!! Now call that bar creativity at its best!!! And when I spill a tray full of shots on myself, the bartender so kindly remakes them for me? Good music, too, and the decor helped us weather an otherwise overcast and rainy day. You know that old song “Brandy”? It goes, “Brandy, you’re a fine girl, what a good wife you would be. But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea.” I believe Brandy works here. No reason, I just do. And that song happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine, so that’s a plus in my book. You can simply waltz over to this colorful and warm establishment, enjoy some drinks with friends, and walk home. The bar is right at the center, so you can walk to either side for drinks, and the bartenders are friendly and at your service. There is a variety of seating, good music, and friendly neighborhood people to make your time more enjoyable. Not pretentious, very cozy, I think Point Break is a fabulous place to spend some time with friends.