Joe Surf: A great day for Alms, Bisson
History was made last week on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and certainly Huntington Beach lifeguard/filmmaker Devyn Bisson had to be smiling from her tower on the beach.
For the first time in World Surf League history, a big wave event was held for women, and Bisson may have had something to do with it. Her documentary “The Wave I Ride,” which was released earlier this year, featured female big-wave rider Paige Alms.
“I’ve always been obsessed with the role that storytelling plays in society, meaning the way that stories influence a culture, where someone who maybe doesn’t have money or power can get to have a really strong voice just by understanding how to tell a story,” Bisson told me recently.
Not long after, the first big wave contest for women was scheduled.
“That proved to me that you can tell a story makes a difference,” Bisson said.
Turns out Bisson picked the right big-wave rider on which to feature. Alms won the event, called the Pe’ahi Women’s Challenge. Twelve surfers competed in two six-women heats, with the top three in each heat surfing a six-woman final.
The conditions at Pe’ahi, also known as Jaws, did not disappoint, serving up clean 30-foot-plus waves. In fact, the pounding surf indeed made a mark. Three of the women who qualified for the final — Keala Kennelly, Emily Erickson and Laura Enever — were so beat up from surfing in the semis they could not surf in the final.
So Alms, Justine Dupont and Felicity Palmateer surfed the final with Alms winning easily, scoring a 7.83 and 6.00 on her two scoring waves.
“I still feel like that was a dream, I can’t quite believe it,” Alms, a Maui local, told worldsurfleague.com. “What a blessing to be out there with just a couple of girls, that was very special. The support feels so good and it’s so cool to have all my friends here and do this at home.”
Kennelly, who watched the final online from the hospital where she was getting her knee examined, was impressed with Alms.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t go head-to-head with her in the final,” Kennelly told surfline.com. “But she carried it for women’s surfing. I think myself and Paige and some of the other girls proved that we can handle it and are deserving of the opportunity. And we are so thankful and grateful to the WSL for giving us a shot.”
Alms won $15,000 for the victory, part of the $50,000 total prize money for the women. The men’s contest, won for the second year in a row by Maui local Billy Kemper, paid out $100,000 in prize money.
The women will get to compete again later in this season in the Titans of Mavericks contest in Northern California.
ALL EYES ON HAWAII
Huntington Beach’s Kanoa Igarashi and Brett Simpson are currently in Hawaii surfing in the Hawaiian Pro, an important World Surf League Qualifying Series (QS) event.
It’s important because it’s worth 10,000 points to the winner and the season is winding down with just two more contests on the schedule. The Hawaiian Pro is a lot more important to Simpson, who still has an outside shot at qualifying for next season’s World Championship Tour.
Simpson currently is ranked 35th on the QS, and needs to get into the top 10 in order to return to the WCT after not qualifying for the tour this season. Meanwhile, Igarashi is ranked No. 1 on the QS and has already clinched a top 10 finish and the WCT spot that comes with it.
Without the pressure, Igarashi finished third out of four surfers in his first heat and was eliminated. Simpson, though, has advanced through his first two heats, finishing in second place in both.
FALLEN SURFER IDENTIFIED
The surfer who was pulled out of the water unconscious next to the Huntington Beach Pier a couple weeks ago was identified. Dana Brown, 60, was removed from life support last week and passed away.
Brown was paddling out when he was hit by a wave and slammed into one of the pillars under the pier and held under water for several minutes before fellow surfers pulled him to shore where he was attended to by lifeguards.
According to his gofundme.com page, Brown was from Cocoa Beach, Fla. and has spent recent years traveling in his van with his father, surfing and spreading the word of God. His father passed away earlier this year.
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JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.