Fans Soak Up Surfing and Rays : Beach: The heat and sun help pull extra spectators to Huntington Beach for the Op Pro championships.

Ryan Mason sat cross-legged in the sand, watching some of the top surfers in the world tame the waves Saturday at Huntington Beach.

As the sun beat down on his bleached-blond hair, Mason glanced at the cover of his program for the 14th annual Op Pro Surfing Championships, wrinkled from his grip.

“I’ve only got two autographs, but it’s still early,” the 13-year-old Long Beach boy said. “I’m not leaving until I get them all.”

Mason was among 5,000 beach-goers who basked in the sun as they witnessed the men’s quarterfinals and women’s championships on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

The two-week competition, a qualifying event for the U.S. Open of Surfing, attracts more than 400 professional and amateur surfers. The tour concludes today with the men’s finals.

Held at Huntington Beach each year, the competition draws loyal fans such as Barry Murphy, 15, of Irvine, who turned red as a lobster in the broiling sun.

“Man, it hurts,” Murphy said, his nose and shoulders bearing the brunt of the sun’s rays. “But the best guys in the world are here. I’m here till the very end.”

Even those who don’t surf found the event entertaining.

Sara Button, 12, of Huntington Beach squealed with delight as a surfer disappeared beneath the water after a large wave knocked him off balance. The surfer emerged seconds later, still on his board.

“This is my first time watching expert surfers, and it’s fun,” she said, clapping.

With temperatures on the sand in the mid-70s--as opposed to around 90 inland--and waves in the water at a competitive high, many unknowing beach-goers became eager spectators.

“I got here intent on getting a nice golden tan and reading some magazines,” said 16-year Shelly Branham of Garden Grove. “Instead, I saw the surfing contest. This is much better than reading my Cosmo. The surfers here are real, not pictures.”

“Now this is the life,” said a smiling Allie Lane, 17, of Anaheim. “We have the sun, the water and of course, the surfers in their wet suits. It’s a chance to get a nice tan with entertainment.”

A majority of the fans watched the competition from bleachers set directly on the beach or towels plopped near the shore. But hundreds of others lined up side by side on the Pier, watching the surfers ride the waves about 30 feet below.

“This is a pretty cool angle,” said Tommy Schoenberger, 26, of Tustin. “After watching them from the beach, you might try a different perspective. You can’t see the height of the waves as well, but it’s still a pretty neat view. Besides, the breeze blows right by and it feels great.”

Christian Millar, 21, of Costa Mesa, a self-proclaimed “surfer dude,” critiqued more than the competitors.

“These waves here have some really good form,” Millar said. “You can get some really nice movement from them.”

For Joanne Lofton, 32, Huntington Beach is where everyone should be. After all, she was born and raised about a mile from the beach and watches the competition at least one day each year.

“This,” she said, stretching her arms out toward the ocean, “is what it’s all about. Huntington Beach has the waves and great surfs are our identity. That’s what we’re known for.”