The twelfth day of the Australian Surf Festival kicked off in pumping three-to-five foot surf at North Haven today as some of Australia’s best amateur surfers hit the water for the 2013 Australian Surfmasters Titles.
Scott Schindler set the pace early in the morning, locking in an impressive heat total of 15.75 in his Over-40 Men requalification heat. Despite suffering from a pre-existing knee injury, the Sawtell natural footer and NSW State Title standout successfully mixed together a range of rail turns and barrel rides to net himself the score.
“I was feeling good out there today,” said Schindler. “My main goal was to go out there and to not fall off and to not put too much pressure on my knee. The one good wave I got gave me enough confidence to know I could still surf.”
Former World Championship Tour surfer and West Australian local Jake Paterson made his mark on the Over-35 Men division locking in a total of 17.00. The powerful natural-footer took a convincing win over Trevor Gleave and Jay Sharp who had to fight a tight battle for second place. When the heat wrapped up it was Jake and Trevor who booked their spots in the semi-finals.
Other Over-35 Men winners included: Paul Parkes, Scott Schindler and Christian Cook.
Local and former World Championship Tour competitor Darren O’Rafferty showed he was a force to be reckoned with notching up the highest heat score of the Open Men, a 17.50.
“The waves were definitely pretty fun out there if you could get them,” said O’Rafferty. “The talent pool in this event is definitely deep and I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen from a lot of the surfers. Hopefully the standard continues to lift over the course of the next few rounds and into the final.”
Local surfer Mitch Van Der Veer and South Australia’s Max Longhurst caused the biggest upset of the event thus far taking the top two spots in their Open Men heat, successfully knocking Jake Paterson out of the division. Mitch took a commanding lead ahead of the remaining two surfers who were left to battle for second spot. In the end it was Max who took the runner-up position ahead of Paterson by 0.05 of a point.
“I’m feeling really good now,” said Mitch. “I was a little bit worried when I saw Jake in my next heat. I had him in my first round heat and he towelled me up, so it definitely feels good to get one back on him. With that low tide, there were less waves, but we all took turns and didn’t hassle each other out. Fortunately, I was in position for two good set waves and was able to get through.”
Mitch added: “When I got the call for the wildcard into this event my goal was to simply make it through to the final day. Hopefully I can get there over the next day or so.”
Other heat winners included: Queensland’s Nick Callister and Kelly Norris who will move through to the semi-finals.
Paul Parkes took out yesterday’s Nikon Wave of the Day for his impressive round-one performance. Paul earned himself a Nikon AW110 camera for his efforts.
The swell is predicted to increase over the next few days with the likelihood of favourable winds.
Contest Director Glen Elliot stated: “The chance of small increase over the next few days is good based on several lows moving quickly through the Tasman Sea.”
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
