Here’s to a Watershed Year in the Waves and in the Economy

It’s 1993! Rockin’ Fig and I wish you folks a primo New Year and hope each of you gets an opportunity to surf some fine waves. If you can’t surf, then maybe this is the year you get out there and learn.

Figgy, any New Year’s resolutions?

Yeah. It’s to get out in the water more than I did last year.

I hope that it could be a better year for the surfing industry as a whole. That recession has done a number on a lot of the big beach clothing companies, and it’s been a rough year for surf shops too. Hopefully, the economy will kick in because Orange County employs a lot of people in the surfing industry.

With the new year comes hope that the California drought will end. Recently, several big winter storms were good signs because they dumped a lot of rain. Great for Southern California. But they produce runoff, a word that keeps smart surfers out of the water for at least two days.

Yup, there’s gonna be some high bacteria levels. With all the storms and the rains coming down, surfing next to a storm drain or a river mouth can get dangerous.

According to the San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation, the EPA has identified at least 67 toxic pollutants in urban runoff. And, speaking of dangers, didn’t some Orange County residents find used hypodermic syringes in the sand off Newport Beach recently?

They’re always finding something.

Fig, tell the folks about bad runoff areas.

Some of the experienced surfers know the signs, but if you surf after a storm, you gotta watch out for the Newport River jetty area, Seal Beach River jetty and look for bubbling or boils where storm drains are.

During stormy conditions, the waves are usually a little disorganized. And it’s heavy murk out there.

Hey, Fig. Southern California isn’t the only place with runoff problems.

Righto. In Hawaii, they have all sorts of soil runoff, and the ocean water gets red, especially near river mouths. You just really wanna watch it!

Any health tips, Fig?

What helps a little bit are Dr. Scott’s Pro Plugs for the ears, or any kind of earplug.

Cool. That will help keep the amount of bacteria-tainted water from creeping into your ear canal. I always hear surfers complain of getting earaches, infections and strep throat during the winter.

I try and take a hot shower soon after surfing, and I know surfers who pack a toothbrush and clean their teeth after surfing. If I can’t do that, I carry a traveler’s size bottle of mouthwash and gargle. The alcohol in mouthwash helps kill off anything living and helps get rid of slick upper palate, which you get after surfing in dirty water.

If you’re concerned about polluted water, Surfrider Foundation has a special environmental info line: (714) 492-8256. It also has a hot line for its Blue Water Task Force, which is testing water bacteria at surf spots from Point Conception to the Mexican border. To buy a water-testing kit, call (800) 743-SURF. They’re $25 for four testers.

Contests, 1993: Fig says some changes are in store for amateur surfers this year. The Western Surfing Assn., Christian Surfing Assn., National Scholastic Surfing Assn. and the Women’s International Surfing Assn. will all combine in 1993 to form one mega-league, the Pacific Coast League. Fig heads up to Santa Cruz on Jan. 14 to announce the first U.S. Bud Pro Tour contest for 1993.

Katin Team Challenge is back for 1993, scheduled for Huntington Beach, April 8-11. Katin spokesman Bill Sharp says the challenge began in 1977 and is one of the older professional surf contests. It’s also where our own Rockin’ Fig got his start as a public announcer! Well, dude, can you say, “Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers”?

Welcome home: Bruce Hopping and 12 Orange and San Diego county surfers are back from a three-week surf trip in Vietnam. The Kalos Kagathos Foundation in Laguna Beach, which Hopping runs, helped sponsor the trip, during which the surfers got five- to six-foot waves at China Beach. The Vietnamese government and its people were gracious hosts, says Hopping.

“The only problem was that some of our kids couldn’t cash travelers’ checks. The Bank of Hanoi was worried about the signatures,” he says. So a Frenchman Hopping invited on the trip bailed them out by loaning them money. With heavy TV coverage and the government dedicating an acre of beach property for a future training center for resort-oriented careers, the trip sounded like a success.

Rockin’ Fig is Rick Fignetti, a Huntington Beach surfer/shop owner. Times staff writer David Reyes has reported on U.S. surf teams competing in Bali and Brazil.