Nelscott Classic Surf Contest: Great Conditions and 25+ Foot Waves

Special multi-media report includes contest results, a video photo essay, photo spread and a slideshow presentation.

2009 Nelscott Classic Surf Contest in Lincoln City, Oregon. Photos by Dexter Phoenix, Video by Tim King Salem-News.com

(LINCOLN CITY, Ore.) - The Nelscott Reef in Lincoln City was going off Thursday, once again providing 25+ foot waves for the annual surf contest known as the Nelscott Reef Tow-In Classic, the fifth annual event.

Competitors like Russel Smith of Santa Cruz, say the event was another ideal day for the top ranked professional surfers in the world who travel here each year to compete, "Oh today's been great you know, not too much wind, the water's not terribly cold and yeah, it's going really well."

Organizer John Forse and his team works hard crunching data to predict the best day for the biggest and most quality waves that break over this reef located a mile offshore.

In its fifth year, the contest was no disappointment, once again drawing surfers from all over the world, including places like Australia, South Africa, California and of course Hawaii.

The video report is below, and we also have included the list of winners and competitors.

It was an amazing day to say the least, the beach culture of Lincoln City mixed with the international cast of stars will no doubt be a memorable event for all.

Tow In Winners:

Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft

Anthony Tashnick (Paddle)

Congratulations to this year's winners

Ross Clarke -Jones (Kingfish)

This year's Teams:

Ross Clarke Jones (Red Bull, Quiksilver)

Tom Carroll (Quiksilver)

Luiz Jardini (Natural Art, X-treme Radical, Water Classics Surfboards, Red Nose)

Scott Eggers (Dick Brewer Surfboards and Aqua Surf Shops)

Greg Long (Billabong)

Mike Parsons (Billabong, Von Zipper)

Jeremy Rasmussen (Nelscott Reef Surf Shop)

Tom Miller (Nelscott Reef Surf Shop)

Jeff Kafka (Neptune surfboards, Cabrinha Kiteboarding, Skyline Adventure Lodge)

Travis Payne (Nor-Cal)

Al Mennie (West Wetsuits)

Andrew Cotton (West Wetsuits)

Matt Esnard (Schmucker Fisheries)

Morgan Sollar (Schmucker Fisheries)

Tyler Smith (Screwball Surfboards)

Russel Smith (Screwball Surfboards)

Makua Rothman

Ikaika Kalama

Kealii Mamala (SoBe)

Garrett McNamara (Injured)

Chad Jackson (Dahui)

Tim West (Nor Cal Surf Shop, Isurus Wetsuits, Liquid Militia)

Ion Banner (Nor Cal Surf Shop, Isurus Wetsuits, Liquid Militia)

Peter Mel (Quiksilver)

Jamie Mitchell (Quiksilver)

Shane Desmond (Nordic Naturals)

Tyler Fox (Nordic Naturals)

Jamie Sterling (Red Bull)

Mark Visser (Red Bull)

Ace Cool (Star Trek)

Ron Barron (Star Trek)

For those who do not surf, what you might appreciate is that the names listed above are some of the biggest names in the world of pro surfing.

They are part of an industry that never used to exist in the U.S., though the sport has more than demonstrated that it is here to stay, and grow.

Congratulations to John and Adam for a fantastic event, once again. We, like these competitors and more, are already looking forward to 2010.

Photos of the 2009 Nelscott Classic by Dexter Phoenix Salem-News.com:

Here is Tim King's special Video Photo Essay or "Natural Sound Package" on the 2009 Nelscott Classic Surf Contest:

Video lost by unreliable provider (Youtube)
Produced by Tim King

Dexter Phoenix has worked as a staff and freelance photographer since the mid-1990's and has a wealth of professional experiences on his resume. We welcome his presence to our staff and Salem-News.com.

This native of Great Britian moved to Los Angeles in 2007, where he photographed general news, general Interests, sports, freelance model photo work, and also stock images. In his career Dexter has had photos published : World wide, in many magazines and newspapers and online. Throughout the course of his career he has experience with technology of all imaginable types. In his career as a photographer Dexter has covered stories in Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, France, Mexico, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Somalia, Tunisia, Algeria. Angola, Iran, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Colombia, United States. Email inquiries about photo purchase to Dexter at the above address.

You can email Dexter Phoenix, Salem-News.com Photographer/Reporter, at innocent_p0stcard@hotmail.com