Kaua'i's Jeff Hubbard is climbing up the world bodyboarding rankings in, of all places, the East Coast of the United States.

Hubbard placed second in the Jenks Pro last week at Jenkinson's Inlet Beach, N.J. He will be one of the top seeds this week in the New York Pro at Long Island, N.Y.

"You know what? The waves were actually pretty good (in New Jersey) and it's looking good in New York, too," Hubbard said. "Nothing like Hawai'i, of course, but it's better than what you would expect. It was like 3 feet, with some nice peaks — good for bodyboarding."

Defending world champion Damian King of Australia edged Hubbard in the final last week.

Hubbard is the only Hawai'i bodyboarder competing full-time on the 2005 International Bodyboarding Association World Tour. He is currently ranked No. 1 on the United States tour (which is separate from the world tour), and No. 3 on the IBA World Tour.

"It gets kind of lonely, having nobody to travel with from home," he said. "But, at the same time, I've made a lot of friends with guys from other countries."

Because of its limited resources, the bodyboarding tour makes stops in some unexpected places, like New Jersey and New York. Last month, Hubbard tied for ninth place at a contest in Portugal.

"We'd love to have all our events in Tahiti and Hawai'i, but this sport can't afford it right now," he said. "So we go where the sponsors are."

The world tour will make its annual stop in Hawai'i in January. On Sept. 24 and 25, Hubbard and several other Hawai'i bodyboarders will compete in a national contest at Sandy Beach.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.