The Luau held on May 20th was special in many ways. We started off by honoring Jimmy Gray for his years of dedicated support to local youths with access to surfing in the Coalition Contests among many others. Our Charter Member and Past-Treasurer, Bruce Douglass was on hand to help reminisce and remind us how very special Jimmy is. A vintage Dick Brewer Surfboard was presented to him. Jimmy’s very first Board was a Dick Brewer!
The Club’s tradition is to present awards at each Luau. Since we didn’t earn points last year, we chose to recognize our successful youth and young adult Members for their recent wins and awards beyond the Ventura Surf Club. Jimmy Gray notes that Shane Davis got 2nd and Wyatt Hoover got 4th in last month’s contest at Steamer Lane. It’s off to the WSL US Tour for Raymond Sayles who made the ¼ Finals, Malia Ilagan is in the Semis, and Luella Pace made Finals in their WSL Divisions. Luella Pace could not be reached for her list but the top five most recent wins and awards for Shayne Davis, Malia Ilagan, and Raymond Sayles are included at the bottom of this post so you can see how well they are doing while representing the Ventura Surf Club at so many events.
The final presentation was to draw the winning ticket for the donated, rare, and vintage Jacobs-Wayne Rich surfboard. The board was on display at the Ventura Surf Shop for over a year. At $20 a ticket, it took a while to reach the goal set at 150 Tickets/$3,000. Our long-time member, Donna Eyman was the lucky winner. The proceeds support Pismo Beach’s Surfing For Hope Annual Benefit and Surfing Contest held each May.
A Photo Booth was set up in the grotto at the rear of HQ with help from Trent Camera. Many guests took advantage of the fun props and opportunity to capture the moment. We had a wide variety of live music throughout the evening. We were delighted by friends and Members who played for us. Summer and friends kicked off the evening followed by the harmonies of the Ilagan Sisters. Dudley finished out the night. Pizza and more refreshments were rushed in after dinner, suggesting the evening’s lingering success. It was a fun evening spent reminiscing, meeting new people, and sharing the time with good friends.
We want to thank the team of Vince and Cynthia at the Rodeo HQ for their support and hospitality. They were a delight to work with. Our beer was generously donated by Seth at MadeWest Brewery. We had a great team working to bring the evening together. Thanks to Jeff, April, Leslie, Nancy, and Jimmy for bringing us together.
Top Five Recent Wins and Awards
Malia Ilagan
- 2nd Place C-Street Classic
- 1st Place WSA Open Women’s Longboard Season U18
- 1st place Malibu Surfing Association Classic Jr. Women’s 15-19
- 1st Place High School Scholastic Surf Series- Women’s Longboard in Team event
- 1st Place Battle Over The Line – Highest score out of every participant
Shayne Davis
- 2nd Place Menehune Boys 14 & under and Club Presidents – La Jolla Shores Invitational, and the
- Tourmaline Club Classic
- 1st Place Junior Men 14-19 C Street Longboard Classic
- 1st Place Junior Men – Big Stick Log Jam
Raymond Sayles
- 2nd place Surf Rodeo
- 1st place Men’s Open Pro – Mexico Peninsula, Rincon Classic, Santa Cruz Longboard, and the
- Logjam
- Santa Cruz Surf Magazine’s Longboarder of the Year
- Attending Santa Cruz Univ. Majoring in Marine Biology with a 4.0 GPA
