Large wind-battered waves and a continuous surge of whitewater turned the USA Surfing Prime event at iconic Steamer Lane turned into a track meet Saturday afternoon. It was survival of the fittest.
Over the past 18 years, the Jimmy Miller Surf Fiesta has been a fun, family day of groveling for whatever waves 45th Street in Manhattan Beach delivered on the first weekend of November. Over 200 surfers regularly compete. But this year, because of the pandemic, beach gatherings were banned.
Undeterred, contest organizers unleashed their competitors to surf anywhere in the world and to video their surf sessions for the judges to view.
The Cherry family surfed 45th Street because they live there. Team Boogie surfed 45th because the beachbreak lends itself to Boogie boarders. But other teams saw the expanded contest boundaries as an opportunity to surf the best waves in the world.