Stewart wins third title in row at Pipeline
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Mike Stewart doesn't need a board to prove his wizardry at riding waves.
Even without his trademark bodyboard, Stewart won the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic yesterday.
The one-day competition was completed in waves that ranged from 4 to 8 feet at the famous Banzai Pipeline.
It is the only bodysurfing contest held on O'ahu's North Shore. The only equipment competitors are allowed to use are swim fins.
"There's just a different vibe in this contest," Stewart said. "There's not that many people who bodysurf anymore, so we were all out there just happy to be in the water."
Stewart has won bodyboarding's world championship 11 times at Pipeline. His bodysurfing skills are not far behind.
Yesterday marked his third consecutive Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic title, and ninth overall.
"My background in competing has been bodyboarding, so I've always used the same approach," said Stewart, who resides at Sunset Beach. "The prerequisite in bodyboarding is to complete the most functional moves that you can on every wave, so that's what I was doing."
His strategy led to a dominating performance in the 30-minute final. He caught several of the biggest and longest waves, completing several spinning maneuvers while riding through the barreling sections.
"Some of the guys like to do more soulful moves," Stewart said. "But in a competitive scenario, you have to push it to the limit."
His top three waves received a total score of 20.0 (out of 30). Larry Russo of Honolulu was a distant second with a score of 15.0.
"Once a year, we all come out here for this contest," said Russo, 51. "We're all getting older and slower, except for Mike. We all got good rides, Mike just got the best."
Stewart is 39 and still one of the top competitors in professional bodyboarding.
He is one of the top seeds in the Rockstar Games Pipeline Pro bodyboarding contest, which is scheduled to begin today at Pipeline.
Mark Cunningham, a veteran City & County lifeguard, placed third. He won the Classic in 2000, but yesterday marked the seventh time that he has placed either second or third behind Stewart.
"It feels like that Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day,' " said Cunningham, 47. "If Mike wasn't such a great person and dear friend, he would be my absolute nemesis and enemy."
Don King placed fourth, Todd Sells fifth and Fred Asmus sixth.
No prize money was awarded, and that was no problem for the competitors.
"I paid my $95 entry fee and I felt like I got my money's worth on my first wave," Cunningham said. "To get a chance to bodysurf out at Pipeline with only five other guys out is worth every penny."
Final results
1, Mike Stewart. 2, Larry Russo. 3, Mark Cunningham. 4, Don King. 5, Todd Sells. 6, Fred Asmus. 7 (tie), James Comfort and Chris Moore. 9 (tie), Nate Buck and David Dubes. 11 (tie), Chris Baker and Kai Santos.
