THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508270160
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
For a pair of professional surfers competing the 33rd annual Budweiser East Coast Surfing Championships, advancing out of early elimination heats took a back seat to some quick-thinking heroics.
During Friday's first day of professional competition on the Bud Pro Tour stop, Wes Laine and Chris Ward probably saved the life of an unidentified man who had been knocked off a SeaDoo personal watercraft.
The man was heading out of Rudee Inlet when the craft was broadsided by a wave.
Seeing the man in trouble, Ward - in the water participating in a first-round heat - paddled to him and attempted to get him to hold onto his surfboard.
``All he could keep saying was `I can't, I can't', '' said Ward of San Clemente, Calif. ``He was just getting thrashed all around, and he kept asking for help.
``He finally got ahold of (my surfboard).''
Ward then paddled the man, already cut from being knocked against the jagged rocks of the jetty, back inside the inlet.
There, Laine - a Virginia Beach pro - had already entered the water with his surfboard.
``I was waiting for my heat to begin and saw it all happen,'' said Laine, who was ranked ninth in the world in 1985 and 1986. ``I yelled for the guys to call a lifeguard and took off. I saw Chris grab him and take him inside. The guy had just been floating there, and he wasn't even trying to swim.
``When I got to him, he was in shock or something. He was just frozen. He tried to wrap his arms around one of the rocks, and it was covered with barnacles.
``He was cut up pretty good.''
Laine grabbed the man by his life jacket and pulled him onto the rocks with the help of a Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service supervisor who just had gotten to the jetty.
``It's a good thing he didn't drown,'' Laine said. ``He would have if he hadn't been wearing a life jacket. And he would have gotten hurt bad had it not been for Chris getting to him so soon.''
The man was treated by members of the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad for some bad cuts and released at the site.
Bud Surf Tour official Ian Cairns had halted the heat during the action, and Ward managed to pull out a victory when it resumed.
Laine finished second in the following heat, and both advanced to Saturday's third round.
Action Saturday wasn't nearly as dramatic, but pretty exciting nonetheless.
With blustery winds out of the east, the swell had grown - providing both professionals and amateurs with better conditions than in the opening rounds on Thursday and Friday.
``It's about 1,000 percent better,'' Cairns said. ``The wind has shifted around, and the waves are coming in nicely off the sand bar. They're pushing into the wind chop and generating some good energy.
``If this holds up, we might have some pretty good surf for tomorrow as well.''
By this morning, the 81 professionals will have been narrowed to 16, who will compete in the quarterfinals.
The top two in each four-surfer heat will advance to the semifinals. The final is set for around noon.
``We have some room to work with so that we can hopefully run the finals in some of the better conditions,'' Cairns said.
The more than 200 amateurs competing in 13 divisions were narrowed to the finals in each division.
``We'll probably be running nothing but finals on Sunday,'' said Paul West, tournament director for the Eastern Surfing Association, which governs the amateurs.
``Everything is running really smooth, and we have some better conditions.'' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER PHOTOS
During the competition, Wes Laine, above, and fellow surfer Chris
Ward paddled to help a man who had been swept off his personal
watercraft. The man was treated for cuts he got from being knocked
against the rocks.
Carlos Cabrero goes off the lip Saturday during the East Coast
Surfing Championships in Virginia Beach. Blustery east winds built
up better waves than surfers had for competition on Thursday and
Friday.
Harry Purkey watches a friend surf in the women's heat Saturday
while he waits to participate in the men's senior long board
competition. Finals are today.
by CNB