West End: Annual frolic along First Beach this weekend

LAPUSH — People walking along First Beach this weekend may be surprised to see dozens of people bobbing in the turbulent winter waters of the Pacific Ocean.

This weekend — Saturday and Sunday — more than 40 surfers and kayakers are expected to participate in the annual LaPush Pummel and Surf Frolic.

“These extreme sport enthusiasts take on the biggest and stormiest waves of the year in the hope of catching the really big one,” said Karsten Boysen, information and education director for the Quileute tribe.

Only experienced kayakers and surfers paddle out to ride the waves to participate in the event because of the dangers associated with the wild surf.

“It can be dangerous, and we discourage people with little or no ocean kayaking experience to go out,” said Ellen DeBondt of Seattle who is an organizer of the 2004 LaPush Pummel and Surf Frolic.

But the rain-or-shine event, which doesn’t have an official itinerary, provides an interesting day at First Beach for onlookers.

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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News.

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