Storms, Floods and End to Testing Add Danger to Waves

What with all the rain, surfing’s window of opportunity has gotten smaller. And when the weather lets you back into the water, just be careful. Rockin’ Fig warns that high bacteria levels are with us again, having closed beaches in January, which set a rainfall record.

And on top of this, the Orange County bankruptcy--a $1.7-billion punch to county government, schools and other districts--now impacts surfers. The county has halted weekly ocean samplings at 120 spots along Orange County.

Fig: From what I hear, it looks like we better be carrying those water - test kits that Surfrider Foundation sells.

Pierce Flynn, a spokesman for Surfrider, a water-quality conservation organization, said that without water testing on a regular basis, the San Clemente-based foundation will push programs at Newport Beach and Laguna Beach high schools. Science teachers have been taking readings at 15 spots along the coast. When they get “hot” readings, that is, anything with high bacteria, they notify the county.

Be cautious about going in after heavy rains. If you’ve heard of problems through the surf grapevine or your friends about flu, skin irritations or eye, nose and ear infections , stay out.

Larry Honeybourne, water-quality program chief with the county’s Health Care Agency, said the water sampling was suspended Jan. 10 after a Board of Supervisors mandate eliminated one job and froze any new hiring.

“All of the routine surveillance monitoring along the Orange County coastline is essentially suspended indefinitely,” Honeybourne said. “In terms of emergency response, we will still respond to sewage spills.”

Bummer. That’s bad news for the surfers . . . say, where IS that Citron guy anyway? I’d like to talk to him.

Well, the former treasurer-tax collector ain’t surfing, Fig.

In January, bacteria levels from rain runoff prompted beach closures at Newport Beach at the Santa Ana river jetties, south to 54th Street and in Seal Beach at the river mouth south to the pier. In other surfing areas, there were closures at Oceanside jetties, and six miles of coastline in Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County because of a Jan. 17 sewage spill.

Other areas that have chronic pollution include Aliso Creek, Scotchman’s Cove and Doheny State Beach at the mouth of the San Juan River.

“Orange County has had a surprisingly good record for scientific sampling in the past,” Flynn said. “Now, we aren’t sure what or when the county is going to going to test anymore.”

Fig, you got any hints?

Well, you know, Surfrider says you should stay out of the water three days after big rainstorms. Other than that, I recommend ear plugs, which definitely can save you from an infection.

Play it safe and call Surfrider and ask for a Bluewater Task Force test kit. They come in packages of four for $25. The foundation’s phone is (714) 492-8170.

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Passages: Sad to learn that John Rothrock, the surfing coach at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, died Jan. 27 of a heart attack. He was 51. Rothrock helped establish the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. in 1978. The group is now an umbrella organization for amateur high school teams and several community colleges in the United States.

The Fig was coached by Rothrock, who headed a U.S. amateur surfing team that competed in France in 1980 against Australia, which until that year, had dominated amateur surfing.

We ended up winning. It was the first time a U.S. team had ever beaten the Aussies. On the team were Tom Curren and Willie Morris and it was held at Hossegor and Biarritz. Rothrock was just a really cool guy , too. He was a good coach and he worked hard with his Edison team during practices down by the Santa Ana river jetties.

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Bad break: Fig just returned Sunday from Santa Cruz for a contest in double overhead waves and water 56 degrees, which isn’t bad for Northern California. He surfed comfortably in a 2-mil wet suit with booties.

I, on the other hand, just returned from Zihuatanejo, Mexico, where the surf was a dinky 2 to 4 feet. But the water was a warm 72 degrees!

So Figgy, how was Santa Cruz?

I broke a board in a heat. I dove in the water on top of my board and I felt the tail hit a rock. Didn’t think much of it, til I got outside. It fell apart in two pieces. I had to like body surf in on one piece on top of another , jam up the cliff, get a new board, hunt for a leash and jam back into the water. I got two waves out of the heat and lost by one point.

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Contests: There’s news on the contest front for both the Assn. of Surfing Professionals (ASP) world title tour and the U.S. Bud Surf Tour, which starts this month up at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz.

Prize money for the ASP is $3.2 million this year, up from the $2.4 million in 1994. There are 12 world championship tour events instead of 10, with adds in Puerto Escondido (Mexico) and Grajagan (Indonesia.)

For the Bud Tour, Ian Cairns, the old Aussie, will direct the new tour, which is now owned by Prime Ticket. Bud Tour is tentative on Virginia this year and will not return to Malibu because of a punch-out incident between a pro surfer and a contestant’s father against another surfer at last year’s Oxbow contest.

“Lifeguards have changed their rules,” said Alisa Schwarzstein, Bud Tour spokeswoman. “They want only two-day events. Because of the Oxbow event, they’re tightening down on their rules.”

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