Highwater chronicles the Triple Crown at a notable milestone, the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters’ 35th anniversary. From the start, Pipeline Masters contests drew attention from national media, including the likes of the New York Times and CBS. ABC’s Wide World of Sports covered the event for nearly a decade, and a network popularity poll ranked the event only behind Olympic figure skating and ski jumping. More and more surfers journeyed forth to the North Shore, attendance grew, tourists and enthusiasts followed.

Women’s Surfing has also grown considerably over the past decade and the Triple Crown offers a women’s title, showcasing the world’s top pro female surfers concurrently with the men’s Series. The Roxy Pro at Haleiwa and the Billabong Pro offer prizes of over $120,000. These two events determine the women’s ASP World Champion and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing champion, as well as the WCT lineups for the next season’s circuit.

The Triple Crown has also grown into a major corporate party, attracting the top surf industry corporations: Van’s , Rip Curl, Billabong, Quicksilver, Roxy, Red Bull, Foster’s and virtually every action sports apparel manufacturer on earth; exemplifying the growing clout and mess of the surfing industry and it’s lure.

Round three and four of the Billabong Pro Tahiti are underway in Teahupoo today. Andy Irons, Dane Reynolds, CJ Hobgood, and  Pat Gudauskas took their heats with authority in the first few hours of the second round with near perfect tube rides and filthy snaps in 3-4 foot rippable Teahupoo. The swell is holding up for now with high hopes for another contest day tomorrow.

If you haven’t checked the live web feed of the contest at www.billabongpro.com, dont wait another second. This is one of the most epic contests on the ASP World Tour so don’t miss out. This years contest is going off as surfers are using the whole face of the wave pulling next generation snaps and massive airs in addition to the classic Teahupoo stand-up barrels.

Here’s the surf forecast for Tahiti over the next few days:

Wednesday, Sept 1- Small mix of old SSW leftovers in the morning, with a new SSW swell building in the afternoon and a touch of new SW swell also building. Surf is in the 2’ up to 3’ range (chest-head high on sets). Moderate+ E trade winds.

Thursday, Sept 2- Small mix of decreasing SSW swell and slow building SW swell with continued 2-3’ surf (chest-head high sets). Moderate to strong E/ESE trade winds.

Friday, Sept 3- Decreasing S and SW swell mix with swell in the 2’ range, occasionally up to 3’ (waist-shoulder high mostly, occasionally up to head high). Moderate to strong ESE trade winds.

Look ahead for updated post with results. Enjoy watching the heats.

Check out the photos taken Saturday morning in OB at the 2010 GROMFEST. The waves made for a great competition and all the local support was awesome. Look forward to an update to this post with full results and recap in the near future. Thanks for a great event.

Just wrapped up our girls fall photo shoot and we have a ton of new product available for you online! We had a couple of our delightful models alternating out tops, dresses and even jackets in the 80+ degree heat during the photo shoot. In the snapshot above Steve is letting the girls do all the work for him peering through the viewfinder capturing the new styles. Everyone was a little balmy in the heat but the photos look great and the new product from Lucy Love, Roxy, O’Neill, Hurley, Volcom, Rip Curl, element and other featured brands is now online at your finger tips. Look ahead to new wetsuits as they arrive and it is not too warm to put our models through the punishment of changing in and out of fullsuits.

Mark your calendars for Surfrider Foundation’s 19th annual Paddle for Clean Water September 12th at the OB Pier! This is an event every surfer and ocean lover alike should be stoked for.

The event kicks off with a free breakfast at 9am and features the paddle around the Ocean Beach Pier at 10am. Clif Bar is sponsoring the event as well so be ready for some tasty Clif treats on the beach. The non-competitive paddle around the pier is open to all non-motorized paddle-craft imaginable including surfboards, bodyboards, kayaks, outrigger canoes and much more.

Know Your H2O, a program designed to educate about the link between freshwater management issues and the impact it has on our oceans, waves, and beaches, will be highlighted at this years event. Water quality is a huge issue here in San Diego and Know Your H2O wants to make sure everyone has the power to help keep our oceans and beaches operational and as beautiful as ever!

Even if you dont plan to paddle, there will be plenty of beach activities and a 9-noon morning beach cleanup so come show your support! More info on the Paddle for Clean Water Festival can be found at:

www.surfriderSD.org or www.paddle4cleanwater.blogspot.com.

That’s right! You can now buy the newest O’Neill wetsuits online or stop by one of our retail locations to try one on and feel the stretch. Everyone I know who is an O’Neill guy or girl is in love with their wetsuits and all our employees will say the same thing. At South Coast we have a killer relationship with O’Neill and they make sure that our customer are taken care of properly with a quality product that will last. Not only will the suit hold up to your daily punishment but new technologies will keep you in the water longer than your buddy with the shivers. Although the warm water is just coming around for the year it’s never too early to plan for winter swell with the most proper suit. What better way to spend that extra summer cash than on a brand new suit.”The warmest suit on the planet for sure.” -Jordy Smith

Some people have different body types that require a different cut or fit. Good news for you is that all the new fullsuits are coming in hot from our other top brands such as Rip Curl, Billabong, Quiksilver, Patagonia and Xcel. Stay tuned in the next couple weeks to check out all the new product and wetsuits available from South Coast Surf Shops or online at southcoast.com.

While cruising through the OB South Coast Surf Shop the other week I happened to hear one of our floor managers talking with a customer about all the new men’s Reef sandals. The guy who was asking all the questions caught my attention from his reaction to trying on the Reef Leather Slap II. I can quote him exactly as saying “These are the most comfortable sandal I have ever worn.” That was no surprise to our floor manager who instantly confirmed his statement noting that many other customers had said the same about those newly redone classic sandals. This seemed to me like something I would bring to the attention of our online friends and followers.

A classic Reef sandal that has been updated to be even more comfortable. Features include leather upper with emboss details, soft padded pigskin lining and durable non marking rubber outsole. All coupled with the original slap contoured compression molded footbed with anatomical arch support. Available in-store or online.

We wanted to fill you in on the fact that our entire selection of Reef Sandals are now available online! We went into our Ocean Beach Shop and asked our helpful manager Rosie which new Reefs we should share with our online friends. She directed our attention to a couple new pairs that have been all the buzz. Reef’s In The Mood and Blingit On sandals are two different styles that each speak for themselves in terms of style.

There is no questions why the In the Mood sandals have been so popular in the earth centered hippie community of OB where just about everyone is in touch with their inner self. The beads actually change color just like that old mood ring you still wear from time to time. These shoes wont tell you your destiny but they sure will be some of the most unique sandals on the boardwalk. Who knows maybe your guy friends will actually be able to understand your feelings now?

The Reef Blingit On sandals are the beaches way of letting you still look stunning. Just because there is sand between your toes doesn’t mean you can’t look like the classiest lady on the beach. Even better for when you don’t have time to change after laying out all day but you have time to meet the dress code for happy hour at the beach! These blingin sandals will get you compliments from miles away with a shimmer bright enough to blind you might want to pick up some new shades while you’re at it!

Incase you missed it live or online we have collected some results for you from USOpenOfSurfing.com where you can find “heats on demand” as well as the rest of the results including women and junior results and stats. Also browse the gallery below for pictures from the Weezer concert and Hurley High School “Walk The Walk” fashion show.

US Open of Surfing Men’s Final Results:

1 Brett Simpson (USA) 13.97
2 Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.33

US Open of Surfing Men’s Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.00 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.80
Heat 2: Brett Simpson (USA) 13.37 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.33

US Open of Surfing Men’s Quarterfinals Results:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.66 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 16.10
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.26 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 16.07
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.94 def. Granger Larsen (HAW) 7.43
Heat 4: Brett Simpson (USA) 10.14 def. Nathaniel Curran (USA) 9.74

US Open Pro Junior Men’s Final:
1 Evan Geiselman (USA) 12.57
2 Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.54
3 Kolohe Andino (USA) 8.23
4 Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.67