Mother Nature Gets the Best Seat in the House for the Coldwater Classic Final
Bobby's strategy of "Tell 'em you're leaving" seemed to work pretty wellI read the results of the O’neill Cold Water classic in the dim-light of my living room this evening. My claustrophobic walls, however, lacked the atmosphere that accompanies an arena like Steamer Lane. After being down at the contest for the entire weekend—from the flat, to slightly-over-flat days of the middle rounds; to Sunday, the awakening of the winter season at the Lane—I watched some of the top surfers in the world tangle right in front of my eyes with the mist off the cold Pacific drizzling on my face, and the huge, green evergreen trees that fortress in the city of Santa Cruz massaging my back. Not a bad environment to be in.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided that she wanted to watch the final alone; without the hoards of people lining the cliff cheering on their favorite surfers, or the traffic accompanying the final day of the event. She decided it would be better to see Bobby Martinez and Matt Archbold’s clash go down under the silence of a sullen, cloudy Monday morning.
Their clash—which began in the quarterfinals—saw Martinez narrowly edging Archbold in each heat until the final, where he would once again edge out the iconic Archbold by a sliver. Both posted the only tens of the event; both shined on Sunday leading up to the final, and both recently reemerged back into the surfing community in a big way: Martinez by putting his head down and making the WCT after a tough injury; Archbold resurfacing up and down the California coast blowing chunks of water while surfing with his son Ford. So the final served a good frame for both of their recent, picture-perfect comebacks, and all I can say is welcome back.
I would love to have seen all this live—a feeling I’m sure I share with many that were teased all day Sunday by our crafty Mother Nature would—but how can we be upset? That unpredictability, that spontaneity, that I’ll-do-whatever-the-hell-I-want attitude, is exactly what keeps us all waking up every morning to pay her a visit. So congratulations to all the finalists, maybe next year I’ll be able to see you do in the flesh, as long as Mom says it’s cool.
Archy? In The Finals? What is this, 1992?2005 O'Neill Cold Water Classic Presented By Jeep Results :
1st - Bobby Martinez: $10,000
2nd – Matt Archbold: $5,000
3rd – Cory Lopez: $3,000
4th – Tim Reyes: $2,400
Macy's California Trifecta Points Champion:
Asher Nolan: $5,000