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Night Moves
The Red Bull 5X lights up Malibu
by Kristie Griffith
"Holy crap, Marty! Do you see those mega-powered lights? That's 1.21 jiggowatts of pure electricity!"
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"It’s pretty rad. There weren’t judges, and it wasn’t a contest. It was about coming and having fun and seeing who threw down and was surfing the best for the night." -- Kassia Meador on the Red Bull 5X at Malibu
Just after 7 p.m., the DJ played "Bring on the Night" as five ladies in pink rashguards paddled out into an iridescent Malibu lineup. Kassia Meador, Kim Hamrock, Daize Shayne, Mary Osborne, and Schuyler McFerran paddled out lightning -- quick into 180,000 watts of electricity lighting up First Point, surfing for 90 minutes with no judges, horns, scores, or sunlight.
Red Bull 5X is defined as "a catalyst for progression." The women surfed from 7:30 to 9 on Saturday night, then gathered again Sunday morning to watch video and, by casting secret ballots, collectively choose a winner based on five elements: Torque, Boost, Push, Mojo, and Combo. Each surfer chipped in five bucks, equaling 25 bones to the winner.
Malibu can be cranky for surf contests, but a three -- foot autumn swell improved with an incoming tide, allowing each woman to catch at least 15 waves. Meador, who hails from the area, liked surfing this break at night. "If you could look back, [the water] was this crazy green color," she explained. Inspired, Meador did wave kicks from the nose and switched feet through the sections.
North County girl Schuyler McFerran hangs five at first point.
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Shayne and Osborne were both a little blind without eyeglasses and at night, but their style was blazing. Osborne made sections that looked impossible, spinning around on her board and noseriding to a cheering crowd. The DJ should have put on Billy Idol’s "White Wedding" for Shayne -- -- the new bride was wearing an all -- white wetsuit and spent quite a few waves hanging five.
Hamrock had the most aggressive style, hitting the lip instead of riding the tip, losing her board at least three times, and colliding with a water photographer. "I surfed the tail because everyone else was surfing the nose," she said. None of the women wore leashes, and one slip meant a night swim and a rock dance.
At 17, Schuyler McFerran was the youngster of the group, representing in an all -- pink board, pink rashie, and pink stripes on her wetsuit. She also represented on the nose, setting off more applause.
The event ended just after nine, but Red Bull left the lights on for a pack of about 20 nightriders. It had been threatening to rain since morning, and it was weird to see the downpour begin and the south winds come up almost exactly when the contest ended.
On Sunday morning the ladies watched video from Saturday night. They razzed and heckled and applauded each other, and then each woman penciled in a secret ballot to vote on the five elements. Meador won the $25 as well as a bling -- bling necklace the size of a Frisbee. Mary Osborne and Schuyler McFerran tied for second place.
The ongoing gag at the judging session was "the woman in pink should win," and in the end they all did. They couldn’t say enough good things about the event, but in the end they all wondered if Red Bull could do the same thing at Rincon…soon.
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