Surfing

Mavericks, a rock-studded, once-secret surf spot named after a dog, looked for all the world Saturday like the Super Bowl of big wave riding as thousands of people streamed to this fishing hamlet to see two dozen surfers challenge one of the world's most dangerous breaks.

Surfers are basking in glory after the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday dealt what might be a death blow to a proposed toll-road extension that would have blazed a six-lane expressway through pristine San Onofre State Beach. And deservedly so. Surfers did not win the decade-long battle, of course. Environmental groups were also on board and, ultimately, common sense among the commission panel prevailed in the form of an 8-2 vote of disapproval.

Just who do those deadly looking fins slicing the waters off Huntington Beach belong to? Rumors of great white shark sightings along the Southern California coast in recent weeks are the buzz of the beach, leaving a few surfers spooked. Tom Larkin is convinced that a shark jolted his surfboard and left what looks like a bite mark on the back end while he waited for a wave in the waters near Bolsa Chica State Beach earlier this month.

A major pro surfing competition begins today at Lower Trestles near San Clemente, just four days after a fatal shark attack occurred 30 miles down the coast. But for many in the field of 192, there will be too much at stake in the Trestles lineup to be concerned about what lurks below. The 6.0 Lowers Pro, sponsored by Nike and running through Saturday, is an $80,000 Assn.

It was a war of attrition packaged as two surfing contests, involving 192 of the world's best wave riders, played out near San Clemente over five long days at Lower Trestles, at one of the world's premier point breaks. And when the last of thousands of turns were carved, as three- to five-foot surf continued to roar shoreward on a summer-like Saturday afternoon, there emerged two champions whose only common thread seemed to be how thoroughly each dominated their respective finals.

Long Beach has been preening its oceanfront image for more than a decade by pouring money and support into a wealth of new projects on its shores: a $117-million aquarium, gleaming Miami Beach-style condominium towers, a waterfront shopping center with sea-themed eateries, such as Gladstone's and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. What's missing amid all this sea fever, some say, is a Southern California style seashore.

Any clueless wannabe can flop into white water on a longboard and struggle to his feet for a second or two. But how to glide across the smooth shoulder of an unbroken wave? "Have a game plan," advises Santa Cruz surf pro Richard Schmidt. "Don't just park and paddle out." Schmidt ( www.richardschmidt.

Erica HOSSEINI is shy about showing off the surfing awards, trophies and oversized faux checks stashed all over her colorful bedroom. But she jumps at the chance to talk about her gadgets -- the desktop PC with a huge flat screen, the MacBook Pro laptop and iPod -- that crowd her neatly kept desk. "I'm always sitting here," says Hosseini, who built her own website, www.ericahosseini.com, and lists "geeking out on my computer" as one of her favorite activities on the Vans surf team site.

Lupita Salazar, 12, stood at the water's edge Wednesday in Manhattan Beach, flinching as cold waves lapped at her ankles. Blind since birth, the slim girl wore a colorful swimsuit with a rhinestone flower applique. She was among the first in her group of 13 students from the Braille Institute in Los Angeles willing to give surfing a try. Troy Campbell, a surfing instructor, guided Lupita's hands around the edges, or rails, of a blue 19-foot-long board set on the sand.