Bringing Back Moose Huerta’s Single Fin Contest
This weekend, Surf Station team manager and local ripper Chris Ropero is bringing back the Single Fin Hoedown. Ropero has teamed up with Fat Tire to host this invitational single fin “style party”. Contestants will be joining us from across the state and around the globe, with WSL competitor Sally Cohen coming all the way from Hawaii to the Nation’s Oldest City. There is a $10k prize purse for this event. The surfer that shows the most style, positive vibes, and fun will get paid!
Origins of the Single Fin Hoedown
From Moose Huerta, the founder of the SFHD:
I started the Single Fin Hoedown in 2001 as my Flagler senior project. I wanted it to be a common ground shared between St. Augustine’s longboard and shortboard scene. The first year we had it at the south side of Matanzas Inlet, and Jeremy Creter won it on a borrowed single fin. Jeremy handed me a wadded up $20 dollar bill and then took home $200. That next year I stayed around St. Augustine hoping that my college girlfriend would graduate and follow me to California. She graduated but definitely didn’t come with me to San Diego. 2002 was mostly a way to gather friends and say goodbye. We hosted it at the state park and friends came from the south, north, and west of Florida. I have no memory of who won. To know that a small DIY event still holds a special place in so many people’s hearts is definitely a life achievement. Thanks to Matt Titone we have this one photo of the inaugural SFHD. None of us owned digital cameras or had social media, however we were modern and we were surfing single fins. Thanks for keeping it alive the Surf Station, Tory Strange, and Chris Ropero.
Moose Huerta worked at The Surf Station while attending Flagler College from 1997 to 2001. Moose splits his time between Rhode Island and NYC.
