Contest in Acapulco!

I just recently traveled to Acapulco, Mexico and it was one of the shortest and at the same time exciting trips that I have ever been on.   Acapulco is a really big city built right on the beach and the beach inside of a massive cove with small rock islands sitting in front of the beaches.  If you are from California than you know that small islands greatly affect the swell that reaches certain beaches but in Acapulco these islands really don’t seem to stop any swell from coming in, it could be because Acapulco gets such massive swells, it’s only a few hours away from Puerto Escondido which is known for its consistent production of massive surf barrels.
There aren’t any side waves or liners, just giant wraps breaking right on shore.  Which explains why the locals are so good at getting barreled. The first day I skimmed I was getting schooled by all of the locals, they can make some incredibly late wraps, similar to Laguna skimboarding legend Chris Henderson. 
The contest was definitely something different than your normal professional skimboarding contest.  There were only 9 pros in the contest which allowed us to try out a new format for a skimboarding contest, it was something similar to the current format of the ASP world surfing tour. A 3 man heat with the winner of that heat advancing to round 3, then in round two it was a 2 man battle with the winner advancing onto round 3.   Then we repeated, round 3 winners advanced to a 4 man final and the losers fought for a spot in the final.  I really enjoyed this format because it lets the competitors go for broke. Even if they do lose they will have a second chance.  I think this will be the new format for skimboarding but it probably won’t take over until there is more money in the sport.
After the contest we just relaxed and enjoyed the city.  There were tons of cheap and tasty restaurants along with extremely fun nightlife.  If you’re expecting to visit somewhere with a lot of gringos, I don’t suggest Acapulco, the city is filled with visitors from all over Mexico, but nowhere else.  During my stay the city seemed very safe which is contrary to what the news in the states were reporting, but now I have heard from friends living in Acapulco that the security has dropped and the officials are telling people not to go out at night, I’m very glad that I was blessed with a safe trip and I hope that the government can take care of the drug cartels who are taking over the state of Guerrero.
I really want to thank everyone who helped me have a safe trip, including Exile’s distributor Luis Uribe, and Punto Muerto shop owner Leo and I hope you all stay safe in Acapulco.  Adios!

Woody gets shacked in Mexico.