Click photo to activiate Lightbox

All photos courtesy of S. Czerepka

Thirty six pros showed up at the fouth annual Oktoberfest at Balboa pier.  The conditions were windy, but contestable.  The pros took to the water and impressed the judges and spectators.  The forecast tomorrow is expected to be better.  By the end of the day, the swell had picked up significantly.  The wind is predicted to be offshore in the morning for round 2 of the pro heats.  There is a lot at stake for the pros.  This is the final stop of the UST and will determine who will be finishing where on tour.  Beaker has locked up first place, but the other top spots are up for grabs.  Stay tuned, this event should produce some very exciting skimboarding.

Click the image below to initiate lightbox.

All photos courtesy of S. Czerepka

While the majority of skimboarding’s pros were groveling in the third stop of the UST in Long Beach Island New Jersey, a lucky few spent the weekend in Laguna. Those who stayed and those who traveled to Laguna were blessed with a heatwave and a fun south swell.

Click the image below to launch the lightbox!

What inspired you to start raising money for cancer research?
Recently my wife, Tracy, was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Through the medical processes, I was educated on the aggressive measures doctors are taking with cancer treatments and how new cutting edge procedures are the determining factors between life and death for so many people. There’s a certain desperation that makes you see life in a different way when your closest friend and soul mate has to face something of this nature. It makes you want to do anything and everything in your power to stamp out such a horrible and possibly preventable disease.

How are you raising the money?
I have had nothing but positive feedback throughout the history of my photography. I thought that by offering people high quality photo prints and images for computer desktops, I could ask for donations in exchange for the photos that they could enjoy. This way, I could use my work to benefit the fight to cure cancer, and possibly, help my wife.

Are you primarily using the Skimonline.com message boards to get the word out? How can people get involved and donate?
I have only been posting my photos on the Skimonline message boards so far. The skim community that communicates through these boards is like a family, and I feel that it is important to turn to your family in such times of need. We all need to show that we, as skimboarders, can shed a positive light on the world that we live in, and can collectively help a cause that can so easily affect any one of us.
I am asking for $25 donations for each 8×10 print or computer wallpaper, but any amount will be greatly appreciated. Give what you can, and only what you can afford. I know times are really tight, but hopefully I can make it worth your hard earned cash with the photos that you will receive. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you’re not disappointed. You can send donations through Paypal to baileysca@cox.net or by mail to:

It’s great that you are doing this because it raises people’s awareness to issues outside of skimboarding that affect everyone around the world. Do you feel it’s important for skimboarders to think outside of themselves? Can you elaborate?
I feel that it’s important for everyone to think outside of themselves. We live in a world with a whole lot of people, and often those people need help just to live a normal healthy life. So often, we just see what’s directly in front of us, blind to the hardships of our closest friends and neighbors. Well, I’m coming forward, as a friend, and letting you know of a serious hardship in my life, that is nowhere close to being over. I’m asking for help…I’m begging for help. I consider myself a skimboarder, proudly. I want to reach out to other skimboarders to please see the urgency in what I am asking. We are a community, we can make a difference, we can make important changes. Most of all, we can save lives.

When is the deadline to donate?
There is no deadline for donations, but the money will be well better used sooner than later. Things are progressing very quickly in the field of cancer research, so let’s make this happen now!

Any last words, comments, thanks, shout-outs, ets?
I’d like to thank Aaron Peluso for allowing me to post my photos on the message boards to further my cause. That in itself is great support. I’d like to thank Paulo Prietto for his selfless acts of getting involved to help and push me to keep this going and for offering to put these words in Skimboarder Magazine. I’d like to thank Derek Makekau for his constant ideas and motivation to make this crusade successful. I’d like to thank the doctors and nurses that have tirelessly worked on my wife to save her life. How can I ever repay you? And mostly, I’d like to thank those people that actually make the commitment to make a cash donation. I know it’s hard, almost impossible to see the need to give you money to someone that you don’t know. I promise you, it will go to help real people. It just might go to help someone that you know and love. I appreciate every dime more than you will ever know, and so does my family. See you at the beach…