Contest Honors Hawaiian Surfing Pioneer

Richard Ambo/The Honolulu Advertiser Rell Sunn, the Hawaiian surfing pioneer, died in 1998.

There are not many days when regular wave riders at Ditch Plains in Montauk want to advertise their break to the world.

There is one exception: the annual Rell Sunn Surf Contest benefit, which has its 12th anniversary on Saturday.

It’s a whole-day affair starting at 8:30 a.m., with several divisions of competitors, a raffle and a beachside Yoga session. Proceeds will go to benefit East End families contending with cancer.

The contest was started by local surfers, led by Roger Feit, in memory of Rell Sunn, the pioneering Hawaiian surfer and community organizer who helped found the world’s first women’s surf tour, and whose commitment to her sport even as she was dying of cancer inspired surfers everywhere, including in Montauk.

In an interview, Mr. Feit said he found a friend crying on the beach in Montauk the day Ms. Sunn died in 1998 at the age of 47.

“She said, ‘Rell died, let’s do something, let’s get some surfers together and hold hands,’ ’’ said Mr. Feit.

“I said, ‘Why don’t we have a surf contest and raise money for cancer,” he said, adding that the decision to spend the money locally was easy. “The Cancer Society was getting billions of dollars, they weren’t doing any alternative medicine, and our little contest wasn’t a splash in the bucket for them,’’ he said. “But there were families out here who it would make a significant difference for if we gave them the money, so that’s the way it kind of evolved.”

So far the contests have netted as much as $300,000, Mr. Feit said, all of it benefiting local families.

Some of the local stars in the area are expected to compete, but anyone is welcome to show up at the beach and sign up.

Waves is an occasional City Room feature chronicling surfing in and around New York City, and the issues important to local surfers. Its author, Jim Rutenberg, is a Washington correspondent who grew up surfing in New Jersey and continues to surf regularly on eastern Long Island. Ideas and comments are welcome at Wavesnyt@gmail.com.