VIRGINIA BEACH — It was twice as nice for Kolohe Andino’s return to the 61st Annual East Coast Surfing Championships after a 12-year hiatus.
Andino bested Levi Slawson to clinch the men’s pro title for the second time in his career. It came in choppy and varying conditions at the First Street Jetty underneath a cloudy and overcast sky.
Andino, a native of San Clemente, California, who also won in 2011 — the last time he competed in the event — and Slawson went wave for wave, snapping off sprays of water following sharp turns at the top of a cresting wave face in a 35-minute final heat, though performing consistently during the entire period proved difficult due to the infrequency of higher score-producing waves.
Both surfers also wowed the judges and crowd with quick, sweeping cutback turns and squeezed every fraction of a point from the contest area water with occasional lengthy rides into the shorebreak.
“Today was the toughest conditions by far — very challenging to judge, to read and to try and find the best wave when you’re competing,” said event director Wes Laine, who himself was a former top-10-ranked Association of Surfing Professionals competitor. He explained that the push of the wave coming from the southeast, coupled with the offshore wind coming from the northeast, naturally forced contestants to their right, into the wind and away from the jetty.
But he added that conditions were mostly favorable throughout the competition.
“This year, I think we were the luckiest we’ve ever been in 61 years,” Laine said. “Because out of a forecast that had virtually little surf, we had great waves for over a week.”
“Surprisingly it was pretty good all week,” said Andino, who represented the United States in the Summer Olympics two years ago in Tokyo. “Today was a little bit smaller but definitely contestable. I’m a die-hard surfer, and no matter where I am in the world, if it’s breaking, I surf. I wasn’t rattled or bummed about the conditions today.”
Andino’s second win comes two decades after his father, Dino, also claimed victory here.
“I try to stay not caring about my achievements at all,” said Kolohe Andino, who edged out Virginia Beach native and 2014 champion Michael Dunphy in the semifinals. “But (the announcers) said on the mic that my dad won in 2003 — so exactly 20 years ago. That’s actually more special to me.
“It’s just cool that my dad and I have won the same professional event. It’s one of the longer events going in all of surfing, so it’s got a lot of history.”
Florida pro Zoe Benedetto made the most of her second-ever ECSC appearance, besting Talia Swindal, the reigning North America Pro Junior champion, to win the women’s trophy.
“I made the semis here last year and just felt like I had more to give, so it feels nice,” said Benedetto, a resident of Stuart, Florida. She noted that the conditions were similar to her home break.
“Coming from the East Coast, I’ve surfed (waves like) that a lot,” said Benedetto, 18. “I’ve surfed that my whole childhood growing up. I just tried to pick the best possible waves that I could.”
