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Wine, Waves and Beyond

By Dave “Mouse” Friesen

If you haven’t already heard about Wine, Waves and Beyond in San Luis Obispo, it is a classic four day event that includes surf movies, a longboard contest and wine events that celebrate the best of San Luis Obispo County. All Proceeds go to support the Association of Amputee surfers (ampsurf), a non- profit organization started by surfer Dana Cummins, an amputee and veteran himself. Ampsurf supports the veterans who have served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan and are coming home looking for a way to feel whole again.
This year the events started with a surf movie night. Two movies were shown at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo on May 31st. Nike’s “ Leave a Message”, an all women’s surf film that combines the hottest female surfing outside of the competition circuit, and Keith Malloys, “Come Hell or High Water”,- a film that explores the sport of body surfing and the pureness that comes from riding a wave. Keith Malloy was also in attendance at the theater.

The second event was held at the Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach on June 1st. The Barrel to Barrel as it was called had live music, a silent auction and over 35 visiting wineries and breweries.
The third event was the Firestone Brew Masters on June 2nd. It had five chefs from around the county. They created five different courses, each paired with a different Firestone brew. But, be careful, the best way to get home after the second and third events should be by cab or sober driver only.

The last event on June 3rd was completed with a longboard only surf contest. Surfers from all over the state showed up for this. Some notable surfers who showed were San Diego’s Jesse Timm, Santa Barbra’s Trae Candy and even women’s surfing legend Margo Oberg was there to support this benefit. But, the best part about this contest is that in each amateur division the winner received 250.00 bucks and a glass blown trophy by Ted Emrick. This year also had some fun surf: 3 to 4 foot with sun shining and glassy conditions most of the day. The right and left peeks provided some long rides and great surfing. Other events near by that went along with the surf contest, A classic VW car show, live music, BBQ and a volleyball exhibition were all fun to see.

The surf contest provided an exciting and friendly atmosphere so much that everyone seemed to be on a high, especially the amputee surfers. These four benefits showed the true meaning of our sport and will continue to give the men and women who served our country the stoke they needed to move forward in their lives. The four day event is a must see, so next summer mark Wine, Waves and Beyond on your calendar and we’ll see you there.

List of the 1st place winners:
Grand Masters(45+): JP Mclelland
Mens Masters(30-44): Charlie Howland
Mens Open(18-29): Joe Rickenbaugh
Jr. Men(13-17): Trae Candy
Gremmies (8-12): Nick Worrell
Women (All ages): Miranda Joseph
Adaptive Surf (All ages): Nathan Smids
Wine/Beer (All ages): Josh Beckett
SUP (All Ages): Dana McGreggor