Vacationing New Jersey surfer Dalton Johnson turned 18 and gifted himself a first place finish at the January 3rd Red Stripe BVI Surfing Series event. Held at Apple Bay the contest featured 2-4 ft waves and onshore wind conditions. Twenty surfers from the US, St Thomas, St John, Puerto Rico and Tortola competed in Open and Junior divisions.
Johnson was pressured in the final by St John surfer Galen Stamford and
David Enloe. Stamford from St John who was particularly impressive in his preceding heats was full of spit and polish in the 20-minute final but both he and Enloe from St Thomas fell to Johnson’s longer rides and better grasp of the conditions at hand.
“Today’s surf would have represented a good day back home, except I’m surfing in a board shorts here as opposed to a wetsuit,” explained the New Jersey surfer. This is the second time Johnson has competed in the Red Stripe Surf Series. He won the Junior Division two years ago when he was also vacationing with his family. ”Today’s win was all the better as it’s my birthday,” he added.
Stamford took 2nd in the final with Enloe in third. Fourth went to Stefan Cortello from St John with Mike Soule also from St John in 5th. The lone BVI Surfer in the final was JC Pierce who came 6th.
Competition in the Junior Division saw David Enloe charge to easy win.
Tortola surfer Sean Anderson took 2nd while Puerto Rican competitor Christian Rivera scored 3rd.
The January 2nd event was the 2nd of the 5-stop Red Stripe Surf Series. Event #1 was held on December 12th. Minimal surf conditions saw all but the Grommet division cancelled.
The 2005 Red Stripe Surf Series is sponsored by Red Stripe, Highland Spring water, HIHO, Cane Garden Bay Surfboards, Caribbean Surf Company, Trident Trust, Sea Urchin, Tool Town & Von Zipper.
More info at www.go-hiho.com
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