“Fernando Aguerre bought it. I went to  Fed Ex and shipped it to his address in Cali. Haven’t seen it since.” Until now.

The 2001 world surfing champion Clifton James Hobgood, who claimed his title after the tour was abbreviated to five events following the coordinated suicide attacks by Wahabi Islamist terror group Al-Qaeda on the Pentagon in Virginia, the Capital building in Washington DC, and the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, has revealed the location of his long-lost world title trophy. 

Hobgood, who is forty-one, sold the precious cup for $US25,000, out of a goal of raising eighty k, to help fund the documentary And Two If By Sea, which tells the story of he and twin brother Damien’s ascent to sporting greatness. 

“This journey into character and emotional transparency does mark a shift in surf film-making,” wrote Longtom in a review of the film, here, adding, “I like this new wave of revealing, authentic type of film, much, much more.”

Of the “accidental world title” at just twenty-two, writes Longtom, “His humility in struggling to accept the legitimacy of the Title is refreshing. The regret overlaid onto the achievement by Damo makes it more poignant. Damo was surfing Pipe when the Title was awarded at Sunset.”

“One of the perks you could get when we were crowdfunding the movie was the world title trophy for 25k,” Cliff told BeachGrit. “(ISA chief) Fernando Aguerre bought it. I went to  Fed Ex and shipped it to his address in Cali. Haven’t seen it since.”

(Cliff elaborated a little more on Surfline a while back, “I told Dam, ‘Let’s sell my trophy! Let’s give away everything we have!’ Because [Indiegogo] is perk-based; that’s the way those things work. The idea is to give something away to let the people know that you’re invested on every level, like, ‘this is our baby and if you wanna help out and join our story, we will give you anything from our world.'”)

That was, until yesterday, when a sharp-eyed fan photographed the bauble in a repair shop and tagged Cliff. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP5sop5HUyJ/

“People kept commenting, ‘You gotta get it back’,” says Cliff, “But honestly I like that it’s floating in the free market!” 

Ban the bike!

A petition, already signed by two furious residents, is circulating with the aim of convincing California State Parks to shut down electric bicycles being used to ferry surfers to and from Lowers and San Onofre. 

E-bikes have become de rigueur for surfers in San Clemente, including but not limited to US Olympic hero Kolohe Andino, eliminating the need to pilot trucks short distances around the pretty little neighbourhood, as well as providing a sweat-free way to negotiate the trail to Lowers. 

A few pedestrians have been hit by ‘em, and there’s been a collision here and there between bikes, but a small price to pay, I think, like the people dying of catastrophic blood clots ‘cause they gobbled up the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

You gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette, as they say.

As per Kyle Stevens’ petition. 

E-bikes have negatively impacted the serenity of the Trestles and San Onofre area by creating an unsafe environment for park users on trails, beaches, and paved pathways. The walkway off Cristianitos Road next to San Mateo Point leading south into the park has become heavily used by e-bikes often traveling at a high rate of speed while mixing with pedestrian foot traffic. Often the e-bikes are being driven by children too small for the bikes who have little ability or knowledge of how to safely navigate this area without putting others at risk. Dirt and sand trails in the area have the same situation occurring as well. Many of these e-bikes are traveling at 30 mph and some are modified to go up to 40 mph. These are speeds equivalent to gas powered scooters, motorcycles, and other motorized vehicles which are already prohibited in the aforementioned areas. California Parks regulates and often prohibits e-bike usage in state parks in other areas. The same should be done at San Onofre and Trestles before another serious collision takes place.

Do you sign or do you abstain?