Today was nothing short of amazing for day two of the Foster’s Belmar Pro. They ran the ASP Fins Pro Junior right through the quarterfinals. And while the kids were getting it done today, the story was the pristine swell filtering in from Tropical Storm Gabrielle. The high point coming in the middle of the day with the tide on the rise. Sets were pushing head high with perfect, grooming offshore breezes that increased throughout the day.
Jake Kelley lines up a perfect pocket on Friday morning. Photo: Stockdale.
And the west winds certainly didn’t inhibit any boosting as the kids took right to the air. Just as he was in the opening rounds of the Foster’s Mens Pro on Thursday, the top performer was Kevin Schulz of San Clemente with an 8.73.
Schulz has been to the Belmar Pro three times before and has come to love the Jersey hospitality. He claimed today was the best Belmar surf he’s ever seen.
But New Jersey was not to be toyed with today. Mikey Ciaramella from Stone Harbor, who has been surfing contests in Belmar since he was ten, had three vertical backside hacks in the pocket for a 8.67 to go to the semis. In the last heat of the day, Pat Scmidt lit it up, advancing on to the semis as well.
Saturday will be a day not to miss with a little bit of everything. The Fins Pro Jr. is already in the semis and the finals will run at about 11:30 a.m. The first heats kick off at 8 a.m. with the Mens Round of 32, then it’s right into the Juniors semis and then the start of the Longboard Pro. Womens, Legends and Masters will run also in the afternoon. That leaves a whole lot of finals for Sunday.
Photo: Stockdale
The swell is expected to drop slightly but hang around with light winds Saturday.
We’ve also got live music on the beach with Soup Salad, Predator Dub Assassins, Barry & the Penetrators, with DJ Lance-O spinning all day. Also, the official afterparty on Saturday night is at Paul’s Tavern with Murphy’s Law and the legendary Underdog!
