Friends surf for fun, funds at Jimmy Miller Surf Fiesta

by Kevin Cody photos by Steve Gaffney @stevegaffney Local surfers formed five-member teams to compete for bragging rights, and to raise funds for the Jimmy Miller Foundation last Saturday, in El Porto. Many of the participants were friends of Jimmy Miller, the foundation’s namesake, who succumbed to mental illness 20 years ago. Miller was a […]
Queen of the South Bay displays growth in female surfing

by Brianna Smith Photos by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com) Nearly 200 women and young girls competed in the first annual Queen of the South Bay surf contest on Saturday, June 11 in El Porto. Among the competitors were U.S. National Team members, and novices who had never previously competed. The novices were seeded in their own […]
Tour de Pier: riding for love, joy and a cure

by Brianna Smith photos by Steve Gaffney The 12th annual Tour de Pier took place Sunday, May 19 as a fundraiser for cancer research. Over 300 stationary bikes were located on the Strand in front of the Manhattan Beach Pier, and thousands of participants came to ride them. The event combines intensive workouts that cycling […]
Big Wave Challenge

Photos by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com) by Kevin Cody The South Bay Boardriders Big Wave Challenge for the largest wave ridden in the 2023-24 winter season had plenty of worthy entries. Photographer Steve Gaffney’s photos from the last week in December are among the contenders. The swell invited comparison to the swells that flooded the Hermosa […]
Women fearless in SB Boardriders/El Porto shorepound

photos by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com) Photos made the surf look good at the South Bay Boardriders/El Porto Surf Shop contest two weeks ago in El Porto, but only because the level of surfing in the Boardrider contests keeps improving. Nowhere is this more evident than in the women’s divisions. In the Women’s Open division, competitors […]
Jimmy Miller Surf Fiesta puts fun back to contests

Photos by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com) and Chris Miller The Jimmy Miller Surf Fiesta, arguably the South Bay’s most fun surf contest, and inarguably the most innovative, emerged from the pandemic last Saturday at 42nd Street in Manhattan Beach. Teams are composed of five surfers, of varying levels. Each team member must catch at least one […]
Afternoon session at the SB Boardriders/Jack’s Showdown surf in El Porto

Even when the tide dropped and the wind shifted onshore, the SB Boardriders/Jack’s Showdown contest on Dec. 8 in El Porto still provided showcase opportunities for the nearly 200 contestants, as seen in these afternoon photos by Steve Gaffney.