LINCOLN CITY, Oregon, March 13th, 2018, The holding period for the
10 Barrel Brewing Nelscott Reef Pro/Am closed at midnight on
February 28th. Although the season did not provide contestable
conditions, November brought some of the best surfers in the world to
Oregon for a super session.
The holding period for the Nelscott Reef Pro/Am ran from October
1st through February 28th. Organizers were looking for
conditions that would produce 30’+ waves with favorable winds and
visibility.
“Conditions are the one thing we can not control”, said event
Director, Adam Wagner. We look for a solid swell with little to no wind
that will last for at least 6 hours, enough time to hold a contest. This
year was tough, and we only saw a few smaller windows of time.
November provided the only opportunity big enough to show off the
power of Nelscott Reef, and although the forecast was not consistent
enough to call the contest, the swell was enjoyed by 20 world
renowned surfers.
“We wanted to make sure that our sponsors were well represented and the athletes that came up for the swell were greeted with true
Oregon hospitality, so we hosted everyone and ran a free surf supersession”, said event organizer, Gabe Smith.
Two houses were rented on the cliff, where organizers served
everyone breakfast and provided an open forum to coordinate safety
efforts for the day. The group discussed the best way to get everyone
out to the reef and ensure each of them got time in the lineup. Safety
was the top concern before a single rider hit the water.
Some of the top names in big wave surfing participated in the 10 Barrel Supersession, including Nelscott veterans Jamie Sterling, Ben
Wilkenson, Kohl Christenson, Nic Lamb, Yuri Soledad, Kealii Mamala, Axi Muniain, Mikey O’shaughnessy, and this year’s women’s Big Wave World Tour Champion Paige Alms.
10 Barrel Brewing’s 2017 Nelscott Pro Am Lincoln City local chargers, Ollie Richardson, Tony Perez, Tyler Muth and Tyler Cunningham also showed their knowledge of the reef, scoring some of the best rides of the day.
However, Kai Lenny was the stand out of the session on his inaugural visit to Lincoln City. Kai managed to navigate the longest barrel in Nelscott history, with 6 seconds under the lip. After a long day of surfing waves in the 30’+ range, Kai finished the day by taking his hydrofoil out for the last hour of sunlight.
“The supersession was one of the most fun days on the reef I can
remember”, said Wagner, who has run events at Nelscott Reef for the
past decade. “The conditions were challenging, with shifting peaks
and massive cleanup sets, but everyone caught waves, and made it
back safely. It brought out the best in everyone, showing the deep
roots of community amongst the top athletes in the sport and the
locals.”
Demand was so high to earn a slot in the contest that earlier in the
season, organizers looked to social media to help determine the
alternates. The campaign ran for 1 week and was based on the
athletes with the most votes through the event website. Organizers
were blown away by the response with over 30,000 total votes cast
from 144 different countries across the globe. This represents the
largest reach to date of interest and influence of Nelscott Reef.
Nelscott Reef is the best big wave break in the Pacific Northwest, and its unique location 1/2 mile off the coast, makes it one of the most accessible. Athletes launch right from the beach and spectators can watch from the beach or on top of the cliffs in Lincoln City.
Special thanks go out to this years sponsors. 10 Barrel Brewing, the event title sponsor, along with presenting sponsors Roby’s Furniture, towsurfer.com, XAG, and Delphi Cinema. We also want to thank Meredith Lodging, Oceans Apart Hawaiian food for the amazing dinner, and ‘D’ Sands Motel. Together they all provided the support that enabled organizers to host the Supersession and bring some of the biggest names in big wave surfing to Lincoln City.
Nelscott’s resident photographer, Richard Hallman, was in the
water all day capturing amazing shots of the action. On the cliffs we had Lydia Montré, Jon Monroe, and Gary Peterson shooting also. BD Arial
and Delphi Cinema and team captured the day on film. A full edit of the
Supersession is in production and will be released in the coming
weeks. Visit the video and photo album pages, to see the albums and videos from the 10 barrel session.
Title Sponsor: 10 Barrel Brewing
Presenting Sponsors: Roby’s Furniture, towsurfer.com, XAG, Delphi
Cinema, ‘D’ Sands Motel
Supporting Sponsors: StayCovered, Oregrown, Bark, Inn at
Lincoln City, Dive N’ Surf, Hydro Flask, Big Sur Bar, Yaquina Cab, Olivia Beach
Participating Sponsors: Quatic, Azhiaziam, Cleanline Surf Shop,
Salmon River Contractors, Bower’s Trucking, Zuhg Surf Shop, Lamont
General Contractors, A Vista D’Amar, The Coho, Tammy Ehrenfelt- Coldwell Banker, Irie Sessions Apparel, Naked Winery, Irie Sessions Apparel, Sector 9, Viso, Meredith Lodging, Anchor Storage, Henkels Law, JKI Realty, Rack Attack, Moment Surf Co, Gerber Tire and Oceans Apart Hawaiian food.