Miguel Feliciano travels to Hawai'i every year to experience the famous waves.

Yesterday, he earned a winning experience in the Ke Kaha Nalu Hanana 'O Ehukai Bodysurfing Experience contest at Ehukai Beach.

"I come to Hawai'i every year to surf the winter season," said Feliciano, who is from Puerto Rico. "I love the waves in Hawai'i. It doesn't matter if its bodyboarding, longboarding or bodysurfing. I try to be a waterman and do all of them."

Feliciano, 29, is a professional bodyboarder. He did not fare well in the Pipeline Pro bodyboarding contest last month, but made up for it with the bodysurfing victory yesterday.

"I lost in my first heat in the bodyboarding contest," he said. "I was still here (in Hawai'i) so I decided to do this contest, too."

Feliciano said his first attempt at bodysurfing was around 10 years ago in Hawai'i.

"My first time bodysurfing was at Sandy Beach," he said. "After that, I loved it."

Yesterday, Feliciano incorporated several bodyboarding maneuvers into his bodysurfing arsenal, including a difficult move he calls an "air-rollo."

"I'm always thinking about new moves," he said. "It really depends on what the wave gives you."

More than 40 bodysurfers competed yesterday. Waves were in the 2- to 4-foot range, and it offered a rare opportunity for the bodysurfers to ride the famous North Shore waves.

"You expect Pipeline to be big and barreling, so this is kind of small," Feliciano said. "But it's still a great event. There's a lot of waves for everybody."

The contest featured a no-elimination format. Each competitor got to surf in two separate 30-minute heats.

Each bodysurfer's top four waves counted toward the final score.

Feliciano finished with a four-wave score of 69.5 (out of 80).

Kai Santos of Hawai'i Kai placed second with a total of 68.5.

"Everyone gets the same amount of surf time," Santos said. "So it's as fair a format as you can get. And it's just such a relaxed, family environment. It's gotta be up there as the No. 1 bodysurfing event in Hawai'i."

Larry Russo placed third, followed by David Hubbard and Chris Baker. Mark Cunningham, who won the contest last year, placed sixth, and Brian Phillips was seventh. The top seven finishers each received $100.

Hubbard is also a professional bodyboarder who enjoys bodysurfing as a form of training. He took an early flight from Kaua'i yesterday morning to enter the contest.

"I did this contest for the first time last year," he said. "I had so much fun, I was dead set on doing it again. There's just a different vibe. The bodyboarding contests are a lot more cut-throat and serious. This contest is about enjoying the waves and having fun."

The contest is run by the North Shore Lifeguard Association, and around a dozen lifeguards participated.

"This is kind of like a payback day for us," said Rick Williams, who is the contest director and a lifeguard at Ehukai Beach. "We worked hard all winter, making rescues, taking care of the public. This is like our one day to play and have these waves to ourselves with our peers."

In addition to the bodysurfing contest, there was also a mock rescue race. The team of Mitch DeGeus and Mike McGill split $500 for winning the race.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Miguel Feliciano. 2, Kai Santos. 3, Larry Russo. 4, David Hubbard. 5, Chris Baker. 6, Mark Cunningham. 7, Brian Phillips. 8, Kyle Foyle. 9, David Gochrof. 10, Todd Sells. 11, Steve Hong. 12, Kaiwi Berry. 13, Chris Kalima. 14, Guy Pere. 15, Pete Johnson.