NELSCOTT REEF TOW IN CLASSIC CHANGES CONTEST STATUS BACK TO RED

Too Much Wind For First Big Swell of the Season

LINCOLN CITY, Oregon, October 27th, 2008 – Behemoth, LLC changed the contest status back to red last Friday after a week of monitoring the first big swell of the season. A large swell was forecast for Saturday, but unfortunately, the wind did not want to cooperate.

Although the holding period for the 2008 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic began on October 1st, Good swell and wind combinations usually start in November. Saturday’s forecast called for a 15-foot swell at 16 seconds, similar to previous years contest conditions. The wind was forecast at 10-15 MPH out of the North, which is just too much wind to hold the event. It ended up being the right call, as Saturday’s swell came with the associated wind out of the North, making for solid surf for a short while in the morning. The wind picked up as forecast, and blew out the conditions quickly.

"We are looking for a solid swell with offshore winds for the event. This was just too much wind, from the wrong direction, to call the event", said John Forse, event organizer. "We have lots of time left in the holding period, so I am sure we will have a better opportunity coming up".

Some pros, anticipating the swell, however, were not disappointed in making their trip up to Oregon. Although it wasn’t a contest day, they towed a central coast slab near Nelscott, that had been originally paddled by John Forse and Brian Wichener in the 90's, and left untouched until the recent towsurfing explosion. Heavy sub-sea level pits were had by Greg Long, Mike Parsons, Mark Healy, and Garrett McNamara, as well as a lot of sick wipeouts. One excruciating fall in particular sent hellman Garrett to the emergency room to get patched up after his encounter with the reef.

Behemoth has solidified the field of competitors for this years event. The following teams are confirmed and looking forward to coming to Lincoln City Oregon for the fourth annual event. The following is list of competitors:

2008 Confirmed Tow In Contest List:

• Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal) Jake Wormhoudt (N.Cal)
• Shane Desmond (N.Cal) Tyler Fox (N.Cal)
• Garrett McNamara (HAW) Kealii Mamala (HAW)
• Brad Gerlach (S.Cal) Mike Parsons (S.Cal)
• Adam Replogle (N.Cal) Alistair Craft (N.Cal)
• Yuri Soledade (Brazil) Everaldo Pato Texeira (Brazil)
• Greg Long (S.Cal) Rusty Long (S.Cal)
• Raph Bruhwiler (CAN) Keith Malloy (S.Cal)
• Jeremy Rasmussen (Oregon) Tom Miller (Oregon)
• Dave Mcgill (Oregon) Matt Esnard (Oregon)
• Russel Smith (N.Cal) Tyler Smith (N.Cal)
• Alec Cooke (Ace Cool) (HAW) Ron Barron (HAW)
• Al Mennie (Ireland) Andrew Cotton (Ireland)
• Jeff Kafka (N.Cal) Shaun Rhodes (N.Cal)
• Jeff Schmucker (AUS) Jughead (AUS)
• Tim West (N.Cal) Ion Banner (N.Cal)

2008 Paddle In Contest List:

• Greg Long (S.Cal)
• Steve Harnack (Oregon)
• Mike Parsons (S.Cal)
• Al Mennie (Ireland)
• Andre Phillip (Oregon)
• Evan Slater (S.Cal)
• Shane Desmond (N.Cal)
• Kealii Mamala (HAW)
• Gary Linden (S.Cal)
• Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal)

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NELSCOTT REEF TOW IN CLASSIC ANNOUNCES 2008 CONTEST LINEUP AS WELL AS A PADDLE IN CONTEST

First Ever Nelscott Reef Paddle In Contest Announced!

LINCOLN CITY, Oregon, July 18th, 2008 – Behemoth, LLC is proud to announce the 2008 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic lineup and a new paddle in contest, a first for the Classic. Coming off three years of perfect contest conditions, Behemoth has raised the bar for the 2008 contest. Once again, the world’s best tow in surfers will converge in Lincoln City, OR for the one-day event to be held sometime between October 1 and December 31st, 2008.

This years contest will once again attract some of the biggest names in the sport. Previous winners of the event, Jake and Zach Wormhoudt and Garrett McNamara and Kealii Mamala will return, competing against such names as Brad Gerlach and Mike Parsons, Greg and Rusty Long, Tyler and Russell Smith, and an Irish team of Alistair Mennie and Andrew Cotton.

This year there will be 16 teams competing for the prize money, rather than 20 teams from previous years. The smaller field will allow more waves per contestant and minimize interference.

New this year is the introduction of a paddle in contest, to be held in the one hour slot between the preliminary heats of the Tow contest and the finals. The winner of the paddle contest will get a seed, along with their tow partner, to the 2009 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, plus a cash purse.

Behemoth has always advocated the philosophy that 'Big Wave credentials are established by paddling big waves not by the simple purchase of a PWC' and is a requirement to be a competent and safe tow in surfer, a philosophy shared by many if not all of the pros. The addition of the paddle in event is a natural extension of that philosophy.

"This is the best way for the locals to prove that they have what it takes to compete against the best in the world", says Forse. "The winner of the paddle contest will get a seed, along with their tow partner, to the 2009 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, plus a cash purse".

Behemoth has set aside half of the available slots for the locals. The locals will have their work cut out for them, with the field of ten surfers vying for the biggest and baddest wave they can paddle into. The pros competing in this year’s paddle in event will be Zach Wormhoudt, Mike Parsons, Shane Desmond, Greg Long, and Al Mennie. Local Oregonian invitees are Steve Harnack, Tim Hinton, Dan Hasselschwert, Jay Senewald, and Jason Garding.

The contest has a 3-month holding period to allow for the best possible combination of large surf and weather. During that time, John Forse, the pioneer of Nelscott Reef, monitors the forecasts and when conditions look right, he makes the call, which is a 48- hour notice of the start of the event. For three years in a row, his call has been the right one, with each year bringing bigger and better conditions on the contest day. The 2007 event was split between 2 days, with waves up to 50 feet on some of the sets.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, unofficially marks the opening of the Pacific big wave season. With the absence of La Nina, which plagued the North Pacific with poor conditions last year, conditions could be epic again.

Behemoth, LLC will be refreshing their web page, www.nelscottreef.com , for the 2008 contest in the upcoming weeks. The new page will contain all the information on this years contest, including a real time contest traffic light. Photos and videos from the previous years will also be available.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is the only tow in contest on the North American continent and Oregon’s only professional surf event.

About Behemoth LLC. Behemoth was started in 2005 for the purpose of promoting surf events at Nelscott Reef and other surf locations around the world. Founding member, John Forse, was the pioneer at Nelscott Reef and made his first attempt to ride the reef in 1995. Forse, along with Jim Kusz, safety coordinator for North Lincoln Fire and Rescue and veteran water rescue team leader, and Adam Wagner of Action Sports Northwest, operate Behemoth LLC out of Lincoln City, Oregon. Behemoth LLC organized and promoted the first annual Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, bringing the sport of surfing to the professional level in Oregon for the first time. About TAOW-Productions TAOW is a modern marketing agency that builds authentic relationships between brands and their core user groups. Through their access and creativity, TAOW provides high-value experiential campaigns that are unlike traditional marketing solutions. For more information on TAOW Productions visit www.taowproductions.com or call (503) 228-1134.

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