Posted on 08/03/2025 11:18:36 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Iza leaned down into her board, slicing through the surf at Linda Mar Beach, the cheers from spectators filling the air.
Moments before running aground, she leaped off the board and gave a shake.
Iza, a 5-year-old French bulldog, was one of more than a dozen canine competitors who traveled to Pacifica from as far as Brazil to participate in Saturday’s annual World Dog Surfing Championships with their humans.
Dogs surfed alone and in tandem with their humans, in roiling waves that one human compared to a washing machine.
Thousands of spectators filled the beach, braving fog and 55-degree air, many bringing their own dogs.
They chatted with competitors, posed for photos with the surf dogs and dodged waves as they vied for the best spots to watch the action.
Among them was Akasha Fobbs, a 23-year-old mechanical engineer, who watched with delight from the shoreline with several friends. This was her second time watching the event.
“I’m really enjoying it,” she said, taking a sip from her Baja Blast margarita to ward off the damp chill. “The waves are bigger, and the dogs are hitting them harder, bless their little hearts.”
Competitors ranged from Petey, a 6-year-old West Highland white terrier, to Cacau, a chocolate Labrador and the 2024 grand champion of the surf competition.
This year’s competition was foggy and cold, with messy chop that made wave-riding more challenging, several competitors said. Several surfers swam their dogs far out into the surf to find better waves, their pooches confidently perched on their boards as they sped through waves that reached 4 or 5 feet tall.
“It’s a pleasure to be surfing with my best friend,” said Cacau’s owner, Ivan Moreira, a former professional surfer who’d flown to California from his home in...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfchronicle.com ...
“Surf City” by the Beach Boys
I got a ‘34 wagon and I call it a Woody
(Surf City here we come)
You know it’s not very cherry, it’s an oldie but a goodie
(Surf City here we come)
Well it ain’t got a back seat or a rear window
But it still gets me where I want to go
Surf City, here we come....🎶
Another article — with some pictures:
https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/photos-of-surfing-dogs-hanging-ten-in-annual-20799449.php
See 23.
Surfing Dog and you’re sitting on top of the world...
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