By Zander Morton
Photos by Logan Bowles/VOID
At 8 AM Saturday October 16th, the 4th of a 6 day waiting period for the Seven Tiki Pro in Neptune Beach, FL, things were not looking good. The waves were flat. As in completely, 100 percent not surfable. Not even a SUP could get moving. Worst of all, the forecast for the remaining two days in the waiting period was for more of the same dismal flatness.
Seven Tiki Rum drinking contest, anyone?
At 11 AM a brisk NE wind began blowing, and on a whim and a prayer contest director Jay Dodson made the call. 1 PM start, double beaches, entire contest finished by dark. Miraculously, the waves followed suit. By the time the contest kicked off the surf had rapidly built into the fun waist high range. The rum bottles would have to wait a few hours.

As the event progressed, the surf only got better. By the time semis rolled around, the groveling turned to full blown ripping, with Asher Nolan, Aaron Cormican, Alek Parker, and Cody Thompson blasting their way into the final, held in the waning hours of a beautiful day. Towards the last minute of the event, with the sun literally setting, Cormican blasted a backside no hander and leapfrogged the field to take the victory, his first on the East Coast this year. Up at the lemon bar, conveniently located just off the beach, a psyching Cormican accepted his check for 4K, a brand new Cannibal Core Vac surfboard, and a nice rum bath. “Couldn’t be more amped,” he said, hair dripping with saltwater and Seven Tiki, “I hadn’t done shit this year!”
The 4K would have gone a long way towards throwing an epic afterparty, had Seven Tiki not already taken care of funding an epic one, which it seems everyone in the viscinity of Jacksonville Beach sure enjoyed.
And it didn’t end there. After a Sunday of recovery, Seven Tiki and Jay Dodson were back at it throwing a tailgate party for the Jacksonville Jaguars and their Monday night clash versus the rival Tennessee Titans. We lost the game, but won the tailgate. Anyone who attended can attest to that. Next time, we’ll get em!