Want to surf with Kelly Slater? Here's your chance

11-time world champion hosts contest

It’s always magical to join Kelly Slater as he catches a few waves back in Cocoa Beach.

Now, you and a guest could win the chance to surf with the 11-time world champion on perfect man-made waves at the Kelly Slater Wave Co.'s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California.

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Fans can enter to win a “golden ticket” to surf Slater’s exclusive wave for as little as $10 at Omaze.com/Kelly through Sept. 12, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.

Winners will spend two days and nights with Slater and some of his closest friends, surfing, eating barbecue and lighting bonfires.

“I’ve had more requests than any one person can field or imagine about the Surf Ranch,” said Slater, 44, who is coming off one of his greatest performances when he won last week’s Billabong Pro Tahiti with four perfect 0 rides in the process.

“I’m inviting a few pros to join us," Slater said. "So the winner will ... get tips from some of the best surfers in the world.”

Slater’s wave, which he calls “a freak of technology,” is not open to the public. He worked for 10 years to fulfill his lifelong dream of creating the perfect wave. Now that his dream is an engineering reality, he is opening the doors of his Surf Ranch for the first time.

The “ranch,” situated in a 700-yard-long-by-70 yard-wide man-made lake originally created for water skiing, is located 110 miles from the coast in San Joaquin Valley. Lemoore is a city of 8.5 square miles populated by about 26,000 people and includes a Naval Air Station and the headquarters of the mixed martial arts organization Tachi Palace Fights. It also is the town in which Journey lead singer Steve Perry got his start.

Corey Howell, 20, who will be competing in this weekend’s National Kidney Foundation Surf Festival in Cocoa Beach, said he would be stoked to win.

“It would be an incredible experience,” said Howell, a senior at the University of North Florida who has served as an athletic training student with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and now pro soccer’s Jacksonville Armada FC team.

“It’s phenomenal to create the perfect barrel, the perfect lip, great waves. ... In the grand scheme of things, he could build one for the next Olympics (in 2020 in Tokyo) and, knowing him, he’s already probably 20 steps ahead of them.”

WSL Holdings, the parent company of the World Surf League, agreed in May to acquire a majority stake in the Kelly Slater Wave Co., perhaps opening up public venues around the world.

Funds raised through the $10 contest entry fees benefit WSL PURE, the philanthropic initiative of the World Surf League, dedicated to supporting ocean health through research, education and advocacy.