By Chris and Ken Stone
On the 13th of 18 attempts Saturday, San Diego thought it had broken the Guinness World Record for most surfers riding a single wave.
Before 11 a.m., organizers said 113 were upright at the same time at La Jolla Shores in the One Wave Challenge. That would have beaten the record of 110 surfers who rode the same wave Oct. 4, 2009, at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town, South Africa.
Review of film, however, showed they had come up 14 surfers short. Official results showed 97 surfers rode the wave to shore Saturday morning.
“We came so close,” said Ernie Hahn II, who conceived the event. “But it was an incredible experience surfing into history with the One Wave Challenge. … I’m very proud to have been part of such a great event and community experience. ”
Official Judge Eric “Bird” Huffman said another attempt would be made next year.
“This was not easy,” he said. “World records are broken through hard word, passion and dedication. We will channel that energy as we spend the next 360 days preparing for next year.”
Boys to Men co-founder Craig McClain saluted Huffman as an inspired leader and said: “We hope he returns, as our official judge, year after year.”
Hampered by high tides and rip currents, the 150 registered surfers were moved north on the beach at one point. Organizers had hoped for 200 registrants.
San Diego’s record attempt, promoted by a website and a Facebook page, was supported by the Century Club, a San Diego charity that hosts the Farmers Insurance Open golf event and raises money for the nonprofit Boys to Men, which mentors young, often fatherless, boys.
Sparkplug of the event was Century Club member Hahn II, grandson of the late mall innovator Earnest Hahn, who launched Horton Plaza and many other shopping centers. In 2009, the younger Hahn called himself a hardcore surfer of 30 years, and said he surfed around 150 times a year at Black’s Beach.
Surfers paid $50 each for a chance at glory. The registration fee included breakfast from Los Primos Mexican Food, a rash guard, T-shirt and beachside concert by Sandollar.
McClain told the surfers: “When I say we change lives, I’m not kidding.”
The co-founder said the group didn’t know how bad the situation was when Boys to Men was founded 20 years ago.
“But these are good kids out there that are failing because we’re failing them as a society,” McClain said. “So we’re doing something about it, and you are helping us.”
Co-founder Joe Sigurdson said about 70 men are mentoring 400 at-risk teenage boys at 27 schools weekly, with 85 percent of the boys being fatherless.
“We don’t tell them what to do, but we tell them what we did (as youths),” Sigurdson said. “They start telling us the choices they’re making now.”
If those choices aren’t helping them become the men they want to be, the boys are helped by an assigned mentor to achieve their goals, he said.
The in-school mentoring group has used surfing as a fundraiser before, having conducted its 100 Wave Challenge (surf 100 waves in 12 hours) six times. Each surfer raised at least $1,000.
The last 100-wave event was Sept. 19 in Mission Beach.
For Sigurdson, the One Wave Challenge was about more than shattering a world record:
“After spending 1.5 hours in the water and 18 attempts to break a record, I found myself looking up and down the beach and saw fellow surfers smiling, laughing and hugging.” Sigurdson said.
“I saw 150 people coming together to share the stoke and fellowship surfing for One Wave, One World Record, and One Cause. The joy and exhilaration on every one’s face provided a zen moment for me. I thought: ‘Who cares if we set a world record? Just look at what we have created!’
“The love and joy beaming from everyone’s faces told a story well beyond a world record, and that felt really good.”
