Cronulla surfer Jay Brown showed the value of local knowledge on day one of the Subway Surf Series at North Cronulla on Monday.
Fresh off his recent victory at the Rip Curl GromSearch national final, Brown continued his momentum as he tore apart the opening rounds of the competition at his home break.
Brown found a handful of rare lefts in the predominate right-hand peaks to win his first round heat before finishing runner-up in the second round.
“I think knowledge definitely played a part in that win,” Brown said.
“This sandbank wasn’t actually here until a few days ago and it’s been really fun. I’m going to just keep taking it heat-by-heat as the comp ramps up and hopefully I can keep the ball rolling.”
Day one at the second event of the seven-event series saw playful three-foot peaks as male and female surfers attempted to move through the first rounds of competition.
American Ryland Rubens made his first trip to Australia worth the flight, moving through the first two rounds comfortably. Rubens exploded in the second round of competition, posting an impressive 14.80 heat total to cement a position in Tuesday’s third round.
“That was fun,” said Rubens.
“This is my first time surfing in Australia and everything is so sick. It feels great to get a few little corners on the waves I picked which allowed me to progress through the heat.”
Round one series winner India Robinson, Avoca’s Macy Callaghan, Kobie Enright from Tweed Heads and international pair Mateus Herdy (Brazil) and Rio Waida (Indonesia) all progressed to round three.
The three-day event finishes on Wednesday.
The WSL sanctioned Subway Pro Junior events, which include 18 and under boys and girls divisions, form part of the 2017 WSL Australasian Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) and provide the winners with an opportunity to win a world title at the World Surf League Junior Championships next year.