The Little Piratesโ Quest for Florida Cup โ Stop #1, New Smyrna Beach
CAPTAINโS LOG: The Little Pirates have officially set sail!
What started as a free 14 & Under Competition Surf Clinic turned into a full-on day ofย competition, teamwork, sportsmanship, big scores, last-minute heroics, and one unforgettable battle for four coveted spotsย on the Treasure Coast crew heading toย New Smyrna Beach for Florida Board Riders โ Florida Cup Stop #1!
The mission was simple:
ย Paddle out.
ย Find the best waves.
ย Show speed, power and flow.
ย Support your crew.
ย And battle your way into theย FINAL FOUR.
But nobody said it was going to be easyโฆ
ย ROUND ONE โ THE PIRATES HIT THE WATER
From the first horn, the Little Pirates came out swinging.
Beau Behrensย opened the day with a strongย 12.17 heat total, immediately showing that he had his eyes on one of those four spots.
Thenย Benjamin Aljamalย answered with a matchingย 12.17, setting up what would become quite a story later in the day.
Baron Gillispieย claimed his opening heat with anย 11.17, whileย Ryder Mahoney and Kanoa Kai Heald both finished their heat with 6.50 totals, making that battle especially tight.
But thenย Cove Hornerย fired a cannon across the bow.
Cove absolutely lit up his opening heat, posting a massiveย 14.50 total, including anย 8.07 ride, and suddenly every pirate on the beach knew:
The race for those four Florida Cup spots was ON.
There were battles everywhere. Everett Milmoe, Henry Milmoe, Wyatt Wilson, Morrison “MO” McCollum and the rest of the advancing crew kept their Florida Cup hopes alive as Round One sent the field into the quarterfinals.
ย THE QUARTERFINALS โ NO MORE EASY WATER
Now the treasure map got smaller.
Onlyย two surfers from each quarterfinalย would continue toward the semifinals.
Cove kept rolling, winning Quarterfinal 1 with aย 10.90, while Beau punched his ticket alongside him with anย 8.50.
Then Benjamin turned up the heat.
He attacked Quarterfinal 2 for aย 13.06 total, including anย 8.63 ride, and took another convincing victory.
In Quarterfinal 3, Baron answered with aย 12.43, while Everett Milmoe grabbed the second advancing position with aย 7.76.
The fleet had been cut down again.
Now there were onlyย six Little Pirates left chasing four spots.
ย THE SEMIFINALS โ SIX PIRATES. FOUR SPOTS.
This was it.
No treasure maps. No shortcuts.
Six surfers. Two semifinals. Four tickets to the finalโand four places on the Treasure Coast Florida Cup crew.
Semifinal #1
Cove came through again with aย 7.67ย to take the semifinal win.
Behind him, Baron had to fight off MO McCollum for that precious second qualifying position.
Baron finished withย 5.26.
Morrison “MO” finished withย 4.53.
And just like thatโฆ
COVE HORNER โ QUALIFIED.
ย BARON GILLISPIE โ QUALIFIED.
Two spots gone.
Two remained.
Semifinal #2
Benjamin wasn’t interested in making things comfortable.
He posted another bigย 12.07ย and sailed straight into the final.
That left Beau Behrens and Everett Milmoe fighting for the last remaining spot.
Beau came through with aย 6.43, taking second and securing the fourth position.
And the treasure chest was officially locked.
THE FLORIDA CUP FOUR
Benjamin Aljamal
Baron Gillispie
Cove Horner
ย Beau Behrens
Four Little Pirates earned the four spots for Florida Cup Stop #1 at New Smyrna Beach.
But there was still one battle left…
ย THE INDIVIDUAL FINAL โ WHO WOULD RULE THE SHIP?
Four surfers entered the final.
Benjamin.
Baron.
Cove.
Beau.
And these guys had already surfed heat after heat after heat.
But nobody was ready to drop anchor yet.
Benjamin saved one of his biggest waves for the biggest moment, landing anย 8.83ย and combining it for aย 13.16 final heat total.
Behind him, Baron put togetherย 8.37, Cove finished withย 8.00, and Beau closed the final withย 6.33.
The final individual standings:
ย 1st โ Benjamin Aljamal โ 13.16
ย 2nd โ Baron Gillispie โ 8.37
ย 3rd โ Cove Horner โ 8.00
ย 4th โ Beau Behrens โ 6.33
The individual battle was over.
But the Little Pirates weren’t done.
Not even close.
ย EVERY PIRATE BACK ON DECK!
One of the biggest goals of this clinic was making sure competition wasn’t just about getting eliminated and going home.
So our four finalists becameย CAPTAINS, the entire crew came back together, and the beach transformed into the:
ย LITTLE PIRATES TAG TEAM SHOWDOWN!
Four crews took to the battlefield:
ย TEAM GREEN
Captain Benjamin Aljamal
Ryder Mahoney
Wyatt Wilson
Norah Maguire
ย TEAM BLACK
Captain Cove Horner
Waylon Hoilman
Everett Milmoe
Morrison McCollum
ย TEAM YELLOW
Captain Baron Gillispie
Kanoa Kai Heald
Henry Milmoe
Roland Mahoney
ย TEAM RED
Captain Beau Behrens
Koast Scott
Liam Maguire
Huck McCollum
Now it wasn’t about one surfer.
It was aboutย THE CREW.
Beach starts. Tags. Strategy. Running. Paddling. Communication. Teamwork.
And, of course…
ย THE DOUBLE WHAMMY!
This is where the story went from fun…
to absolutely WILD.
ย THE WAVE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Time was disappearing from the clock.
Team Green needed something BIG.
Captain Benjamin hit the water knowing the Double Whammy could completely change the battle.
Then the wave came.
Benjamin attacked it.
The judges threw the score:
7.23!
But this wasn’t just any wave.
DOUBLE WHAMMY!
Both hands went up.
The score doubled.
7.23 ร 2 = 14.46!
And just like that…
TEAM GREEN LAUNCHED STRAIGHT INTO FIRST PLACE!
From chasing the treasure…
to sitting on top of it.
Green finished the Little Pirates Tag Team battle with a massiveย 23.76 team totalย and took the victory!
ย GREEN โ 23.76
ย BLACK โ 19.26
ย YELLOW โ 18.37
ย RED โ 9.71
That is exactly what Tag Team surfing is all about.
One surfer can change everythingโbut it takes the entire crew to put them in position to do it.
ย BUT THE BIGGEST TREASURE WASN’T A TROPHY…
Competition matters.
Scores matter.
Winning is fun.
But the Little Pirates are also learning something bigger:
How you carry yourself when you win.
How you carry yourself when you lose.
How you treat other surfers.
How you support your teammates.
And how much FUN you bring to the beach.
And one Little Pirate stood out for exactly that.
ย KOAST SCOTTย
Koast earned ourย Freestyle Sportsmanship Awardย for bringing the kind of attitude we want to see in this crew.
And yes…
ย Sportsmanship Award
ย AND A WATCH!!!
Because sometimes the pirate who leaves with the coolest treasure isn’t the one standing first on the podium.
WATCH OUT FOR KOAST!ย 
ย THIS WAS ONLY CHAPTER ONE…
The Little Pirates battled.
They learned how heats work.
They learned judging.
They learned priority.
They learned how quickly a competition can change.
They learned to win.
They learned to lose.
They learned to tag.
They learned to work together.
And most importantly…
they became a crew.
Now Benjamin, Baron, Cove and Beau prepare to carry the Treasure Coast flag north toย New Smyrna Beach for Florida Board Riders Florida Cup Stop #1.
And behind them?
There’s an entire group of Little Pirates getting better, getting hungrier, and waiting for their next chance.
More clinics are coming.
More competitions are coming.
More treasure is out there.
And this little crew?
They’re just getting started.
ย THE LITTLE PIRATES ARE COMING.ย
Treasure Coast Board Riders Club
THE FUTURE IS LOCAL.
Photos: https://treasurecoastboardriders.com/the-battle-for-four-gallery/
Scores: https://www.liveheats.com/events/521843