Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival 2006

The judges booth perched above the surf. Santa Cruz's waterfront pier is in the background.

Spectacular weather and good waves offered surf kayakers at the 20th Annual Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival plenty of opportunities to show their stuff in Sunday’s final heats.

Santa Cruz resident Dave Johnston took first place in the International Men’s Class.  Rusty Sage of Reno nabbed first place in the World Cup Men’s category.  All four men will receive points toward a berth in the finals in the unaugural World Cup Invitational in October in Thurso, Scotland.

Kate  Smith of Sacramento took away the first place honors in both the International and World Cup women’s classes. Woodacre resident Galen Licht  was the top World Cup Junior.  Mill Valley’s Ken King won the expert Wave Ski category. 

Rusty Sage on a topturn during the final heat on Sunday.

Santa Cruz resident Devon Pearse won the intermediate High Performance category and also had the highest overall score among intermediate and novice surfers, therefore winning a $1,000 Island Wave Ski.

The full results of the 2006 Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival follow:

World Cup Men:
• 1st Place    Rusty Sage         Reno, NV
• 2nd Place    Vince Shay         Los Osos, CA
• 3rd Place    Chris Harvey       St. Sampsons, Guernsey, U.K.
• 4th Place    Ken King           Mill Valley, CA

World Cup Women:
• 1st Place     Kate Smith         Sacramento, CA                       
• 2nd Place     Gina Troiani       San Francisco, CA
• 3rd Place     Brigitte Egan      Dublin, Ireland
• 4th Place     Ailsa McDougall    Jersey, U.K.

World Cup Women:
• 1st Place     Galen Licht        Woodacre, CA                      
• 2nd Place    David Speller    Jersey, U.K.
• 3rd Place     Jared Licht      Woodacre, CA <

International Men:
• 1st Place       Dave Johnston         Santa Cruz, CA
• 2nd Place       Dan Crandall          Lotus, CA
• 3rd Place       Buck Johnson          Prunedale, CA
• 4th Place       Ed King               Berkeley, CA

International Women:
• 1st Place      Kate Smith             Sacramento, CA
• 2nd Place      Brigitte Egan          Dublin, Ireland
• 3rd Place      Morlee Griswold        Ventura, CA
• 4th Place      Neus Padros            Santa Rosa, CA

Wave Ski Open:
• 1st Place     Ken King               Mill Valley, CA
• 2nd Place      Ed King                Berkeley, CA
• 3rd Place      Chris Russ             Canyon Country, CA
• 4th Place      Roger Adams            Ventura, CA

Expert Production Plastic Open:
• 1st Place      Demany Smith           Sacramento, CA
• 2nd Place      Darren Bason           Cornwall, England
• 3rd Place      Josha Stark            Fort Bragg, CA
• 4th Place      Jared Noceti           Sacramento, CA

Intermediate Production Plastic Men:
• 1st Place      Garrett Neier          Santa Cruz, CA
• 2nd Place      Greg Whitley           Ben Lomond, CA
• 3rd Place      Tyler Muntz            Shingle Springs, CA
• 4th Place      Matthey Fiteny         San Francisco, CA

Intermediate Production Plastic Women:
• 1st Place      K.C. Crouse            Reno, NV
• 2nd Place      Nora Laitinen          Reno, NV
• 3rd Place      Kim Campbell                       

Novice Production Plastic Open:
• 1st Place      Andrew Hill            San Jose, CA
• 2nd Place      Royce Wright           Jenner, CA
• 3rd Place      David Lemke            De Pere, WI
• 4th Place      Sara James             San Diego, CA

Intermediate High Performance Open:
• 1st Place      Devon Pearse           Santa Cruz, CA
• 2nd Place      Tyler Muntz            Shingle Springs, CA
• 3rd Place      Greg Whitley           Ben Lomond, CA
• 4th Place      Doug Hudson            Orinda, CA

Intermediate Sit-On-Top Open:
• 1st Place      Graham Meese          San Geronimo, CA
• 2nd Place      Israel Godoy          Hollister, CA
• 3rd Place      Reed Lockhart         Coos Bay, CA
• 4th Place      Jeff Aurrecoechea     Kaneohe, HI

For more information, check out the Kayak Festival link at www.asudoit.com.