Richie Collins Surfs by His Own Design : An Innovative ‘Fake 360’ on Board He Built Helps to Oust Andino
Richie Collins likes to be creative when he designs surfboards in his Costa Mesa shop, and he weaved a little of that creativity into his surfing Friday in the Op Pro Surfing Championships at the Huntington Beach Pier.
Collins, of Newport Beach, attempted a twisting new move in his 88.5 to 72 victory in the third round against Dino Andino of San Clemente. Collins, who was riding a board he built himself, advanced to today’s quarterfinals against Ted Robinson of Manhattan Beach, who defeated Vetea David of Tahiti, 86.3 to 63.5.
After scoring on a maneuver early in his third wave, Collins coasted into the surf line, where he spun three-fourths of the way around as he shot up the wave, then twisted backward and came around.
The judges awarded Collins 27 out of a possible 30 points, the highest single-wave score of the day.
Collins, who attempted the maneuver for the first time in competition, had trouble describing it.
“It’s sort of a fake 360,” he said. “I haven’t even thought of a name for it yet. I was just having some fun. It was something different. I knew I could take a chance because (Andino) didn’t have any waves up to the beach yet.”
Collins, 20, said the move made him dizzy.
“I thought I was going to faint,” he said.
Collins led from the start as Andino struggled to catch waves throughout the round.
“I finally caught one, but it was bad,” Andino said. “Then (Collins) was in my spot every time. I’m kind of bummed about it, but Richie surfed really good.”
Andino said his surfing “was out of rhythm.”
“When I paddled to the left,” he said, “a wave came in to the right. If you can’t get the waves, you can’t get radical.”
Several Australian surfers shared Andino’s opinion. Five Australians lost in Thursday’s second round, including top-seeded Barton Lynch and No. 2 seed Damien Hardman. Many complained that they couldn’t get good waves.
Tom Carroll and Rob Bain were the only Australians to reach Thursday’s third round. Bain advanced to today’s quarterfinals with a 83.1 to 65 victory against Gary Clisby of Huntington Beach, but Carroll was eliminated by Marty Thomas of Hawaii, 81.5 to 71.6.
“I got caught up in the wave conditions,” said Carroll, a two-time world champion. “They were small and inconsistent. There were plenty of waves during practice, but none came through in the heat.”
Thomas, 21, caught a wave in the final seconds of the heat to defeat Carroll for the first time in three tries. He’ll meet current world tour leader Martin Potter of England, who defeated Todd Holland of Cocoa Beach, Fla., 82.5 to 75.5.
After finishing his winning ride, Thomas jumped off his board, yelled and shook his fist at the crowd.
“I feel good about the young Americans coming up,” Thomas said. “The Australians have been a force for the last 10 years. We have to find someone to walk in the footsteps of Tom Curren. It would be great if it could be me.”
Curren, who cruised to a 95 to 67.3 victory against Brad Gerlach of Encinitas, said the local surfers have an advantage over the Australians. Curren, a two-time world champion aiming for his fourth Op Pro title, had the highest overall score of the competition for the third straight day.
“Huntington is a peculiar wave,” said Curren, who is from Santa Barbara but has been living in France for the past five months. “You have to do a lot of maneuvers in the shoreline and in the break. I have a lot of experience here and so do all the other Californians. I would like to see the Californians do well elsewhere. There’s no reason why guys like Mike Parsons and Mike Lambresi and all these guys shouldn’t be able to win overseas.”
The women’s quarterfinals also had their share of surprises. Pam Burridge of Australia, ranked second on the tour, defeated defending Op Pro champion Jorja Smith of San Clemente, 73 to 34.
Four-time world champion Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., fought off the flu and handed Wendy Botha of Australia her first loss this year. Botha, who fell on two waves, won the first three events on the world tour and leads the point standings.
“A couple of the guys on the tour have had the flu,” Zamba said. “I must have bumped into them and caught something. I was in bed for two days and couldn’t practice. I’ve been pumping a lot of vitamins.
“I’m really bummed out about this. I was really fit coming in, and I haven’t been surfing the way I should be.” Zamba will meet Michelle Donoghoe of Byron Bay, Australia, in the semifinals today. Donoghoe rallied on her final wave to defeat Australia’s Jodie Cooper, 60 to 52.
“I was lucky to get that last wave,” Donoghoe said. “I think I took it with about 10 seconds left I the heat. I knew I needed a good wave to win.”
Donoghoe, 19, said she was fortunate just to make it to California to compete. She has yet to break the top 10 on the tour and has struggled to get sponsorships and travel money.
“It’s been tough,” she said. “When I’m not on the tour I go on unemployment. I get $100 a week, live on that and surf all day.”
Businesses in Byron Bay pooled enough cash to buy Donoghoe a plane ticket to the competition.
“I hope I can finish pretty high here,” she said. “Then I can go and ask for some sponsors.”
Friday’s results
Men
Third round
Heat 1--Marty Thomas (Hawaii) def. Tom Carroll (Australia) 70.3-56. Heat 2--Martin Potter (England) def. Todd Holland (Florida) 82.5-75.5. Heat 3--Tom Curren (Santa Barbara) def. Brad Gerlach (Encinitas) 95-67.3. Heat 4--Mike Parsons (Laguna Beach) def. Mike Lambresi (Oceanside) 71.5-43.5. Heat 5--Richie Collins (Newport Beach) def. Dino Andino (San Clemente) 88.5-72. Heat 6--Ted Robinson (Manhattan Beach) def. Vetea David (Tahiti) 86.8-63.5. Heat 7--Sunny Garcia (Hawaii) def. Sean Yano (Hawaii) 76.3-70. Heat 8--Rob Bain (Australia) def. Gary Clisby (Huntington Beach) 75.8-65.
Women
Quarterfinals
Michelle Donoghoe (Australia) def. Jodie Cooper (Australia) 60-52. Frieda Zamba (Florida) def. Wendy Botha (Australia) 68-44. Pam Burridge (Australia) def. Jorja Smith (San Clemente) 73-34. Kim Merig (Carpinteria) def. Saiko Hirano (Japan) 62-37.5.