The third day of the Australian Surf Festival resumed at North Haven today in tricky two-foot waves, with the Australian Longboard Titles requalification rounds all hitting the lineup.
West Australian Brett Merrifield locked in dual wins across his Over-35 Men and Over-45 Men requalification heats. The Yallingup local successfully linked together a chain of carves and nose-rides over a range of challenging sections.
“The waves are definitely a bit tricky today with that smaller swell,” said Brett. “This is my sixth year in the event and I really enjoy coming over here for it. The area has a lot of variety and can definitely get really good. I hope we see a bit of an increase in swell over the next few days.”
Fellow West Australian Nick Jenkins joined Brett on the winners list in the Over-35 Men, locking in a total of 12.50.
NSW State Longboard Championship standout Steve Mills locked in the highest heat total of the event so far. The Byron Bay goofy-footer locked in an impressive 17.50 heat total in his Over-40 Men requalification heat. As a result, Steve won the Nikon Wave of the Day and was awarded with a Nikon Coolpix AW110 camera.
“I think I was a bit lucky in that heat, but I definitely don’t have any complaints,” said Steve. “Hopefully I can use this new camera to try and take a few photos of the Port Macquarie area while I’m here.”
Tasmanian surfer Jo Goldfinch took a narrow win in the Over-35 Women requalification heat, knocking Vivienne Cresswell down into the runner-up spot by half a point. Consequently, Jo and Vivienne booked their spot in the Over-35 Women final.
“My gameplan was to simply go out and stay on my feet,” said Jo. “I fell on my first wave in my first few heats, so I simply wanted to stay on a few this time. Fortunately my first wave was the highest scoring wave of the heat and I was able to make the final. I made it to the final last year, so it feels great to do it again.”
The swell is predicted to drop marginally over the next few days with the strong likelihood of northerly winds.
Contest Director Glen Elliot said: “The strong north/west winds could blow the small south/south-east groundswell down to an unsurfable size over the next 24-to-48 hours. We will be monitoring this on a day-to-day basis.”
All heat results, event highlight clips, images and news is available at www.australiansurffestival.com
All competitors are advised to ring the event hotline (0458 247 212) by 6.45am on the days of competition to confirm location and running order.
The main base for the Australian Surf Festival will be Town Beach, which is located in the heart of Port Macquarie, however the event is mobile with numerous beach break options available between Port Macquarie and North Haven (20 minutes drive south of Port Macquarie CBD) including Flynns Beach, Lighthouse Beach, Rainbow Beach at Bonny Hills and Grants Beach at North Haven.
This year’s event will feature a busy schedule out of the water with live music and surf education courses, including Surfing NSW’s free CPR and board rescue course, Surfers Rescue 24/7. Town Green Inn is the official headquarters for all functions and courses.
The Australian Surf Festival is a key regional event on the NSW Events Calendar, and is supported by the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
The Australian Surf Festival is proudly supported by the NSW Government, Destination NSW, Port Macquarie Tourism, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Be the Influence, Harley-Davidson Australia, Town Green Inn, Nikon, Suncorp, Australian Sports Commission, Coastalwatch, NBN, Port Macquarie News, 2MC, Star FM, Surfing World Magazine and Pacific Longboarder Magazine.
2013 AUSTRALIAN SURF FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
10-18 August – Australian Longboard Titles
16-18 August – Australian Logger Titles
16-18 August – Australian Longboard Titles – Under 18 Boys and Girls
19-23 August – Australian Surfmasters Titles
21-23 August – Australian Single Fin Titles
