Luau and Longboard 4 Life.

The 20th Annual Luau and Longboard Invitational to benefit the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center took place at Scripps Pier in La Jolla on Sunday.  Surfing Legends from all over the planet broke out their longboards for fun, bragging rights and to help fight cancer.  Moores at UCSD is one of the top comprehensive cancer centers in the USA for both basic cancer treatments and high level clinical reserch.  UCSD / Moores is well known for providing, forward thinking, leading-edge treatment & care for their patients.  UCSD through science...creates new and effective tools in battling Cancer. Click to learn more about MOORES UCSD.

Click 4 Pix: Luau & Longboard

Legends of surf getting after it in La Jolla. Click 4 pix.Surfing legends like former World Champs Peter "PT" Townend and Shaun Tomson, Mike Doyle, John Peck, Ignacio-Felix-Cota, David Nuuhiwa and others broke out the longboards (9 ft and above) and danced on the water to the delight of a packed house at La Jolla Shores.

Conditions were perfect. Corporate teams from Pfizer (lead sponsor), Qualcomm, Genetech, WP Carey, Celgene and more joined in the fray.  It was a merger of cultures.  surf meets life sciences, bio-tech and health care.  The comp was generally friendly...but you could tell...pride was on the line.  Everyone wanted to do well, and there weren't any kooks in the line-up.  Luau & Legends produced   some spectacular rides and corresponding wipe outs in front of a large crowd. The marine layer hung heavy early in the day, but the Southern California sun broke through to produce a glorious beach day at La Jolla Shores.

The objective of Luau and Long Board Invitational is to raise money and awareness to fight cancer. Thats just what the surfing legends and the weekend warriors and the Doc's and the scientists and the real estate guys, and the VC's and the stock brokers did. They got after it.  Hoping to raise $300,000 from the event, Luau and Longboard is effectively micro-financing certain research projects in the fight against Cancer.  Ideas that might not otherwise get started...and I paraphrase event founder John Otterson.  Luau and Longboard is fighting 1 wave at a time. 

AspenSpin got out there for the early shift to document the scene.  7 am on Sunday morning...we all gotta make sacrifices to fight cancer.   Luckily I was greeted by a familiar site...from Colorado.  Snooze, the epic breakfast restaurant from Denver is taking over the pancake market in San Diego. They already have one restaurant in Hillcrest and are set to open in Del Mar very soon.  Pineapple upside-down pancakes...put 'em on your list. 

Much Aloha to the Luau & Longboard Invitational crew and UC San Diego's Moores Cancer Center.  To the surfers and the survivors and the Doc's all the participants and volunteers... Mahalo. 

Click 4 pix:  Luau & Longboard

The Surf Squad from Scripps Institute of Oceanography with Mike Eaton. Click 4 pix.

Surfing legends Craig Townend, Peter PT Townend and David Nuuhiwa got out for the Luau & Longboard Invitational in La Jolla. Click for pix.Former World Champ Shaun Tomson brought the aloha for Luau & Longboards.The Soul Surfer, John Peck limbering up at La Jolla Shores. Click 4 pix.

Waterman Mike Doyle shredding down the line. Luau & Longboard Invitational. Click 4 pix.