Slater's three-day pool sale sold for $120.000 at the Waterman's Ball auction held last Saturday at The Ranch at Laguna in Laguna Beach, California.

The who's who of the top leaders of the surfing industry met once again at one of the main gatherings of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA).

One of the main goals of this meeting is to raise money to preserve the oceans, and the mechanism to do so is to auction off some interesting products. This year the bidding was close because a private day at the Surf Ranch (or Kelly's pool) was offered.

The first one was put on the auction list and the auction went from zero to 39.500 in seconds. In view of the high demand, the owners of the pool, Dirk and Natasha Ziff, who were present because they were honoured as watermen of the year, put two more days on the auction list. They were all sold, each for 40.000, raising a total of 120.000.

The buyers were Ted Li of Boardriders (formerly Quiksilver), Nick Street and Bobby Gascon of Vans and Evan Slater of Hurley and his wife Jennifer, the surf industry website reported, Shop Eat Surf.