Plenty of surf to report in today’s wrap up. The 3-4ft SEast swell that has been hitting our beaches is still hanging in there with nice clean lines amongst the many closeouts.
The conditions are near perfect so on the incoming tide there will be waves to be had all up and down the beach. There are some good rips with mainly lefts breaking off the back of them so have a good look before you paddle out.
I saw Connor smash a good set at Wanda this morning in front of the surf club and I took the other pics at the Wall and North Cronulla.
Speaking of getting smashed, Fletch got a surfboard to the face first wave this morning and it didn’t look pretty .On a nothing 3ft closeout! The hospital was where he was going to spend the day and I hope he gets a good surgeon and is all right.
This swell is on the decrease but looking at the Swellnet forecast it looks like the weekend is going to be PUMPING! With a new 5-6ft Sou East swell and Sou West winds both days! Whoo hoo…maybe I shouldn’t get too excited because than it will be 2 foot and onshore.
In the wild west, the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro is on standby again with another call at 12.30 (WST) but looking at the charts there is a new swell due Thursday morning before a real good swell (6ft)on Sunday-the last day of the waiting period.
After a thrilling showdown in the Women’s Final, Men’s Round 3 saw 12 surfers leave the competition. There were major upsets with a re-surf of Heat 1 and the elimination of top seeds Taj Burrow, Mick Fanning and Julian Wilson, as well as standout performances from Yadin Nicol and Gabriel Medina.
Following an unfortunate incident where Taj Burrow (AUS) became entangled in Bede Durbidge's (AUS) leash while paddling with priority for a potentially heat-changing wave, event officials organized a re-surf of Round 3 Heat 1. The re-surf saw Burrow come out of the gates firing in an attempt to secure his place in Round 4, detonating a 7.33 and 7.60 with his signature forehand flare. Durbidge had a 6.60 in his scoreline, and was in need of an excellent score in the final minutes of the affair to ensure victory. Durbidge delivered, detonating an incredible 8.60 for a series of powerful forehang gouges, surpassing Burrow for the lead and taking his place in Round 4 where he will face Josh Kerr and Jordy Smith.
Reigning two-time ASP Women's World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) was victorious, winning the Drug Aware Margaret River Women’s Pro and defending her event title in an electric day of competition. Moore battled against 2013 ASP Women’s Runner-Up Tyler Wright (AUS) in what proved to be a thrilling Final for the second stop on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women’s World Championship Tour.
Today in Tahiti, the Papara Pro Surf Festival started with the opening ceremony, followed by Rounds 1 and 2 of the Vahine Pro Junior in clean two-to-three foot (1 meter) surf. The Tahiti Nui Pro Junior and the open ASP 1-Star Qualifying Series event for the men were called off for the day. The surf is expected to rise all week and all three ASP divisions are expected to finish on the weekend in excellent conditions.
There are 4 local surfers here, Jesse Horner, Shane Campbell, Harrison Martin and Chris Robbo. Soli Bailey (Byron Bay,) claimed the 2014 Rangiroa Pro Junior event title last week after winning the Final over Kai Hing (Sunshine Coast,) in an exciting day of surfing. The surf was in the two to three foot (1 metre) range, with rippable walls and air sections on offer for the ASP Australasia Junior Qualifying Series' best surfers.
In a good start for the year both Harrison Martin and Shane Campbell made the quarter finals for some good points.
In more contest news, yesterday, day 2 of the VISSLA ISA World Junior Championship kicked off with improved surfing conditions at the left point break of La Lobería (La FAE), in Ecuador. Travelsim Team Australia’s female contingent made a perfect start with Isabella Nichols (Coolum, QLD – 12.40) and Holly Wawn (Newport, NSW – 13.67) dominated their opening heats in the Under 18 Girls, while Laura Poncini (Moffat Beach, QLD – 14.00) and Billie Melinz (Coalcliff, NSW – 6.70) also won their heats In the Under 16 Girls to advance to the second round of qualifying. Same conditions are expected for today, so tune into the live webcast and watch the world best juniors smash the left hand point….NSW coach Blake Johnston is there to help team Australia win, so good luck to all concerned.
Meanwhile the 2014 HIF NSW open state titles and cadet cup will hit the NSW Central coast this weekend and a handful of former World Championship Tour surfers are set to return to competition.
Already entered are former World Championship Tour surfers Richie Lovett (Manly), Dayyan Neve (Manly) and current World Qualifying Series surfers Nic Squiers (Thirroul) and defending champion Connor O’Leary (Cronulla).
Finally, a group of Sydney-based Qantas staff participated in Surfing NSW’s free CPR and board rescue course, Surfers Rescue 24/7 at Maroubra in a community day designed to reinvigorate the airlines boardriders club.
More than 12 surfers from a variety of surfing disciplines completed the award-winning course, which was instructed by former World Championship Tour surfer Blake Thornton.
“I think all the guys who participated in the Surfers Rescue Course learnt some skills that could allow them to assist someone who is in trouble,” said Qantas Boardriders Club co-president and Maroubra local Peter Cameron.
So there you go, even the Qantas bag chuckers will be able to save your life now….hopefully they wont smash your surfboards!
Just wait till the weekend!
