San Clemente’s ‘Greatest Show on Surf’ brings family fun — and chaos
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The water had been mellow with small surf for most of the morning near the San Clemente Pier, Saturday, July 21 — until the horn blew, signifying the start of the first dory boat competition at the Ocean Festival.
Then, it was chaos, as a set of strong waves suddenly appeared, tossing 300-pound boats around on top of one another, oars flying as the lifeguards tried to hang on tight.
One boat was hit so hard by a crashing wave the entire boat flipped over, the competitors aboard forced to turn it back upright before they could join the rest of the race.
And the crowd loved every second of it, cheering from the sand.
Welcome to the “Greatest Show on Surf,” as its been dubbed over the years, a two-day festival in San Clemente that draws lifeguards, ocean competitors and everyday athletes from around Southern California to compete in a variety of sand- and water-based events.
The first day’s festivities had something for just about everyone, including youngsters who joined the early-morning “Dolphin Dash,” running races south of the pier.
Marcus Avila advised his twin sons, Dylan and Luke, both 6, to run along the waterline, where there was wet sand pack.
Dylan led the pack of youngsters toward the finish line, despite having to trek barefoot across big piles of rocks.
“It’s such a good thing for San Clemente to put something on for the kids, let them enjoy the ocean. It’s part of the culture,” Marcus Avila said.
For lifeguards from around Southern California, the Ocean Festival is a place to showcase their skills and strengths.
Kristi Maine came from Thousand Oaks to watch her daughter Holly compete in the surf-ski event. Maine calls the surf-skis “tippy toothpicks,” because of how hard they are to balance.
“These are really hard to race, it gets gnarly,” she said. “It’s carnage.”
But the craziest events of the day were the dory races — where the lifeguards navigate a course in heavy boats popular decades ago for rescues.
“This is our Super Bowl of competition because of the crowds,” said former San Clemente State Beach lifeguard Dick DeBoer, who retired last year after more than three decades of service. “It’s just fun to show what we do in the surf with the dory and the crowd gets to cheer us on from the pier.”
It was a neck-and-neck finish for two boats, but in the end Los Angeles County lifeguards Jeff Hart and Mike O’Donnell took the win, despite a tough start.
“We had a bad start, got tied up and just played catch-up the whole rest of the way,” Hart said. “The boats start so close together, you push off and push the oars out, the oars started to get tangled up, the waves push the boats together and you can’t row. You’re caught in the surf, you can’t go anywhere when you’re caught in the surf.”
In the end, it was strategy that earned them the win.
“We rode a good course and a smart course, and stayed away from traffic,” Hart said. “It paid off for us.”
The team that generated the most cheers from the sand was the lone women’s team, Renae Jackson and Madison Feldman, both California State Lifeguards based out of Huntington Beach.
They nearly got caught in the chaos at the start, but were able to get away from the crashing boats.
“One boat was about to go into us. We had to manage based on our surroundings,” said Jackson, who just accepted a job with Los Angeles County lifeguards.
The duo navigated the waves, Feldman throwing her petite body to the back of the boat when it was in danger of flipping, Jackson balancing her weight on the other side.
As they made their way toward the finish line, the duo stalled the boat close to shore.
“We waited for the wave,” said Jackson. “It’s fun to surf it and put on a show for the crowd.”
For Bill and Barbara Langford, of San Clemente, watching the women compete against the group of men in such a physical race was the highlight of the event.
“To watch the girls, it was really exciting,” said Bill Langford. “It’s girl power.”
The action continues Sunday, with a 5K run, a 5.5-mile open ocean paddle, a one-mile ocean swim, and a SUP sprint race. On the sand, there will be a sand-sculpting competition from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The “Great Rubber Duck Race” starts at 3 p.m. on the pier.
New this year is the “Marine Raider Boat Challenge,” a race that incorporates special forces training, including flipping over inflatable Zodiac boats in the middle of the course. There will be two teams of six people competing at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
More information: oceanfestival.org