In addition to some warm clothes, Hawai'i longboard surfer Kai Sallas will be taking some winning momentum to the Oxbow World Longboard Championship next week at Anglet, France.

Sallas won the Surf City Longboard Pro-Am contest last weekend at Huntington Beach, Calif.

"The waves were really good, solid 3 to 4 feet with some barrels," Sallas said. "It was classic Huntington Beach."

Three-time former world champion Colin McPhillips, of California, placed second.

"There were a lot of good surfers in the contest," said Sallas, 26. "So it was a good win."

Sallas received $2,000 for the victory, and an additional $600 for placing third in the nose-riding division.

Earlier this month, Sallas placed fifth at a contest at Cocoa Beach, Fla., and won the noseriding division.

Sallas entered the Florida and California contests as part of his preparation for the Oxbow World Longboard Championship, which is scheduled to begin Monday.

Because there is no world tour for longboard surfing, the winner of the Oxbow event will be considered the world champion for 2007.

"I just hope the waves hold up," Sallas said.

Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s and 60s in France next week.

Sallas is one of at least 11 Hawai'i surfers expected to enter the world championship contest.

The others are: Ned Snow, Duane DeSoto, Bonga Perkins, Noah Shimabukuro, Kekoa Uemura, Keegan Edwards, Kapono Nahina, Keoki Saguibo, Dino Miranda, and Jon Kepoo.

"We have a good group going up," Sallas said. "Hopefully one of us can take it."

Australia's Josh Constable is the defending world champion and the No. 1 seed for next week's contest.

Hawai'i's Snow placed second to Constable last year.

The last Hawai'i surfer to win the world longboard title was Miranda in 1997.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.