A star-studded surf session went down on a picture-perfect fall morning Sunday in Pacific Beach. Some of the biggest characters in pop culture turned out to ride waist- to shoulder-high waves at Tourmaline.

Crowds from shore cheered as surfers dressed as Batman, Beetlejuice and Bodhi from Point Break rode waves in a no-rules surfing free-for-all known as the Tourmaline Halloween Surf, aka Tourmoween, a grassroots event a group of friends started nearly 10 years ago.

Surfing side by side were nuns and devils, Wonder Woman, SpongeBob and Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber. Surfing bananas carved down the line as skeletons dropped in on them. There was no shortage of surfers representing the wild animal kingdom from turtles to sharks.

Some of the costumed characters didn’t return to shore looking like they did when they paddled out. Cotton costumes became leaden after they soaked up the ocean. But everyone returned with a smile.

In 2016, Kay Saffe and a few friends went surfing off P.B. dressed in Halloween costumes. In recent years the session has grown with the help of friends Michelina Francisco and Lisa Thompson and local shops donating free coffee, doughnuts and prizes. “It is meant to be fun and goofy with zero stress, Saffe said. Hundreds of people now fill the beach to participate and watch.

The event was free with no schedule. People just showed up in a costume and surfed. Prizes were given out for best costume and party waves. The crowd, with its applause and whoops from the parking lot, judged the costumes. The less-than-scientific judging system declared two winners: Andre Marshall, who surfed with a pumpkin on his head, and Christina Amara, who dressed as a WaveStorm, a popular foam surfboard sold at Costco.

Andre Marshall and his pumpkin head. K.C. Alfred / U-T