By Brad Melekian
UNION-TRIBUNE

April 21, 2008

For San Clemente surfer Greg Long, this past winter was a remarkable one. In the course of one tumultuous week in January, the big-wave rider and his crew scored the largest waves any surfer has ever ridden – well over 70 feet at the Cortes Bank, 105 miles off San Diego – then, days later, Long won the Maverick's Surf Contest at the notorious big-wave break in Half Moon Bay.

And on odd weekends before and since, Long has tirelessly patrolled the California coast in pursuit of big-wave sessions that nobody will ever read about, committed to the pursuit with a bygone focus, tuned in to big-wave riding, it seems, for its own intrinsic rewards.

Perhaps not so intrinsic anymore.

Two Fridays ago, Long received recognition for his unique commitment – winning a Billabong XXL award for Biggest Paddle-In Wave of the winter and, to the surprise of nobody, an XXL award for Best Overall Performance.

The big-wave awards show – well-attended and considered the capstone to the year's events in big-wave surfing – was a validation of sorts for Long, whose dedication to big-wave riding is remarkable in itself, but is even moreso considering that he has been without a major surf industry sponsor for well over a year.

While most surfers earn their livings through endorsement deals with surf clothing companies, Long has been without major sponsorship since his former employer OP dumped its surf team.

Steadfastly committed to big-wave surfing, however, Long has paid for his big-wave excursions out of pocket, emptying his savings to keep himself steeped in giant surf.

“Surfing big waves has been a passion of mine since I was about 16 years old and the last two years I have been completely obsessive-compulsive about it,” Long said at the awards show. “It's what I truly love doing, being out in the ocean when it is at its wildest, and riding these big waves.”

Long, who last year won an XXL award for Biggest Wave of the Year at a break known as Dungeon's in South Africa, caught his winning wave for Paddle-in of the Year during a December session at the big-wave break Killer's at Todos Santos Island off Ensenada. The best overall performance award is given annually to a surfer who shows the most commitment to big-wave surfing throughout the season.

For a surfer who has struggled to keep himself in the surf without being paid for it, the prize money may go a long way toward fueling more big-wave missions for Long. The paddle-in award came with a $15,000 prize purse, which, along with the $5,000 prize for the overall performance award, should buy Long some time before he has to get a day job.

But Long, who has made a habit of splitting his prize winnings evenly with fellow competitors in the past, wasn't hoarding his earnings. He kept his tradition alive at the XXL Awards show, telling the packed house as he collected his winnings that he wanted to buy everybody in the room a beer.

It seems it's only a matter of time before a major surf company wises up and offers Greg Long a job. And when that happens, he won't be doing anything different than what he's doing now.