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Santa Cruz's Ken "Skindog" Collins was recognized as one of the best surfers in the world Friday when he won the $50,000 Ride of the Year Award at the 2007 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards in Anaheim.
By ROGER SIDEMAN SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Santa Cruz's Ken "Skindog" Collins was recognized as one of the best surfers in the world Friday when he won the $50,000 Ride of the Year Award at the 2007 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards in Anaheim.
The annual ceremony hands out big cash for the best moments caught on video in the elite sport of big-wave surfing.
His ride on a mammoth 40-footer in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, last June also earned him a second award, worth $5,000, in the Monster Tube category.
Collins' emphatic win was a welcome reward after he almost quit big wave surfing due to a horrific wipe-out at Jaws in Hawaii two years ago.
"This is a dream come true, just getting paid to do what you love to do," he said in a statement. "Puerto is the gnarliest wave on the planet. You can get deeper in the tube there than anywhere else in the world. I would have paid fifty grand to get that barrel"
The wave at Puerto Escondido, also known as "the Mexican Pipeline," is a giant beach break that can whomp down, or "close out," at any moment without warning, Collins said.
He was on a family vacation, and his wife and 5-year-old daughter were on the beach watching.
Two other Santa Cruz residents — Alistair Craft and Jamilah Star — had been nominated for this year's Billabong awards, which included six different categories.
Star, up for the top prize for female surfers, wasn't bummed that she didn't take home the $5,000 prize.
"Women big-wave riders don't really have the competitive aspect," Star said by phone from the North Shore of Oahu. "We all have similar mind frames in that we just want to excel"
Star surfed the huge Jaws, on the north shore of Maui, and also Maverick's a few times during the past year, once all by herself.
Big-wave surfing depends on a big storm system to generate an extra-large swell.
San Clemente local Greg Long was also among the victors after he rode a 65-foot widow-maker at Dungeons in South Africa to take out the Biggest Wave category.
The 23-year-old is revered as one of the world's most promising big-wave surfers.
Contact Roger Sideman at
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