The 15th annual and 2016 Clean Water Classic was a memorable contest this year to say the least. Saturday conditions were rough but a jumping Saturday night bash and clean fun waves on Sunday made up for a difficult start. Follow the "more details" link for a beautiful video recap of the contest from Northfork Industries and for a quick rundown of this years event.
High winds proved problematic throughout Saturday limiting sponsor tents from popping up and forcing Surfrider volunteers to comb the beach to fill up buckets with sand to use as anchor's for the few tents that were standing. A series of gusts intensified around 12:30 leading to the day having to be called off early. Fortunately all heats were able to be rescheduled to Sunday.
The early end to Saturday setup an earlier then expected opening of the Westport Veterans of Foreign Wars event hall where the Saturday night party was located. Title sponsor 10 Barrel Brewing flipped the bill for food for all attendees provided by local joint Aloha Alabama, giving the 100 plus party-goes full stomachs and with three dollar beer on tap, some nice libations to wash it down. On hand for the raffle and silent auction were three boards, wetsuits, hotel packages, and much much more. Between the raffle and silent auction approximately six thousand dollars were raised that go back to benefitting Surfrider chapter's work in the Pacific Northwest.
The good vibrations from Saturday night continued upon arrival Sunday morning at Westhaven State Park with next to no wind and increasingly better waves. Have a look at the video below to get the best sense and visuals from Sunday, and some of Saturday, from what turned into an ideal PNW day for a competition. In the end, the 2016 Clean Water Classic raised 14k for chapter's to continue to work on and enhance their programs and campaigns in, BC, OR, and WA. Thank you to all of the competitors, sponsors, spectators, and without a doubt to the volunteers who helped put this event on. For more information such as contest winners please visit the Clean Water Classic website. To get a better look at the pictures from throughout the weekend, head to the Clean Water Classic Facebook page. For any questions related to the contest, please contact WA Field Manager Brice Boland.
https://vimeo.com/187293862