Wouldn’t be a Blair Conklin video without a standing wave. Photo: Skid Kids // YouTube
Genevieve was this season’s first Category 5 hurricane. As expected, all that oceanic energy kicked up a ton of waves. In their latest video, Blair Conklin and company proved they were there to take them on.
The action started off with creating a wave at Aliso Creek. Breaching the berm in between the creek and the ocean is something the skimboarders of Orange County have taken to with increasing regularity. Though the practice has been spurred on by YouTube views and the promise of a glassy standing wave, environmental groups have cried foul, saying the skimbaorders are altering natural habitats and unnecessarily introducing pollution into the ocean. Still, the results were undeniably dramatic in this case.
That wasn’t the end of it, though. Afterwards, Conklin and company kicked off a more traditional skim session, where he was joined by a bevy of riders, including John Weber, Paul Carey, Jayce Oehlert, River Kunoa, and Austin Keen.. Surfers Kalani Robb, Tyler Stanaland, and Tommy Cantrell got in the mix as well.
“Hurricane Genevieve did not disappoint in Laguna Beach,” reads the caption. “Easily the most powerful hurricane swell we have seen so far this summer. With all the amazing waves we also had quite a bit of coastal erosion and flooding. There were even cars getting stuck in the parking lot because of how much sand had been washed up in to it.”
Hard to ask for much more from a summer session.
