Today at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Rip Curl announced that its Search event will be held in San Francisco, California. Since 2005, Rip Curl has had an ASP license for a floating event. The objective is to shake up the World Tour each year by bringing the best surfers in the world to a spot that has never had an event.
This year, the surfers have Ocean Beach with its chilly temps, open Pacific swell, ripping currents, and the rich culture of San Francisco to look forward to from November 1-11.
Urban surf is where it's at these days. Billabong has chosen to move its Brazilian event to Rio, Quiksilver has unveiled a new event in New York City, and now the Search will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Past Rip Curl Search events have been at Reunion Island, Mainland Mexico, Chile, Bali, Portugal, and Puerto Rico.
Though ASP webcast numbers continue to rise every year, the sponsors are looking to bring the top surfers in the world to huge live audiences. Earlier today, the road in to Bells Beach had to be closed, as the venue had reached max occupancy.
The Rip Curl Pro Search has been somewhat mobile in the past, especially Portugal in 2009, and northern California offers plenty of options aside from the wide-open beach breaks of S.F.