Competition? No, Camaraderie at Rincon Invitational

"What a stoke and a privilege to share good waves at the cove at Rincon with only seven friends for an hour," said Jeff Knox, a longtime Imperial Beach surfer and retired elementary school teacher.

Jeff was at Rincon to surf with the WILDCOAST team in what is arguably the world's most unusual surfing "competition."

This year more than 200 surfers representing 22 surfing organizations were blessed with two days of consistently fun waves and a great weekend of camaraderie and hospitality and the 6th Annual Sharing the Stoke Rincon Invitational.

"We designed the event to recognize surfers for their public service efforts," said event committee chair Glen Henning. "It is not about commerce or competition. It is about community."

According to Henning, "Each team had the famed point at Rincon to themselves for an hour. The Black Surfers Collective rode 143 waves. The Best Day Foundation had two or more surfers on over 70 percent of their waves. The Barbara Surf Club logged an astounding 247 rides. The surfers from the Third World Surf Company had up to eight riders linking hands."

Josh Hall of the Pacific Beach Surf Club directed his totally stoked team into the "Wave of the Day Award."

"They had their entire 10-person team all riding on three different waves," said Henning.

Probably no one is more stoked on sharing the wealth of the ocean than Josh, a surfboard shaper and student of legend and stokemaster Skip Frye. Hall, a longtime visitor to the surf coast of Spain, invited a couple of Spanish friends to join the PB Surf Club team at Rincon.

Josh even let me borrow his 12' single fin pintail which I managed to maneuver on a few of my early waves. But I couldn't figure out how to ride far back enough on the tail to avoid wiping out. So I ran the board back to the beach, thanked Josh, and ended our session on my 6'0" Stu Kenson "Pleasure Pig."

I shared all of my waves with teammates. But my best ride was a long ride with my two sons Israel and Daniel. At one point Daniel hopped on Israel's surfboard.

When the boys are off to college in a few years I'll think back fondly to that wave. For a surf dad, sharing a wave with your kids is as good as it gets.

"There's so much competition for waves these days, and amateur and pro contests are a constant presence," Henning said. "So we think it is important to keep alive a version of surfing that's all about sharing. And ironically, we end up getting really good waves, and a lot of them."

Results 6th Annual Sharing the Stoke Rincon Invitational, March 16-17, 2013

Saturday

Total Waves

1. Sunset Cliffs Surfing Association
2. Malibu Surfing Association
3. Great Lakes Surf Crew

Total Shared Waves

1. Third World Surf Co.
2. Coast Law Group
3. Surfrider Advisory Board

Sharing Surfers

1. Best Day Foundation
2. Pacific Beach Surf Shop
3. Huntington Beach Longboard Crew

Wave of the Day: Project Save Our Surf

Spirit of Surfing Award: Ventura Surf Club

Sunday

Total Waves

1. Black Surfers Collective
2. Santa Barbara Seals Surf School
3. Wildcoast

Total Shared Waves

1. Doheny Bob's Surf Crew
2. California Adaptive Surf Team
3. Oceanside Longboard Surf Club

Sharing Surfers

1. Santa Barbara Surf Club
2. San Diego Surf Ladies
3. Surf Happens Surf Kids

Wave of the Day: Pacific Beach Surf Club

Spirit of Surfing Award: Childhood Enhancement Foundation

Serge Dedina is executive director of WiLDCOAST, an international conservation team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife. He is the author of Wild Sea and Saving the Gray Whale.