The fourteenth and final day of the Australian Surf Festival returned to North Haven today for the finals of all remaining divisions in the 2013 Australian Surfmasters Titles.
Western Australia’s Ian Darby and Victoria’s Steve Kay fought a tightly contested battle over the course of the Over-55 Men final. Kay took an early lead locking in a 7.00 ride and a 6.50, however the gate was left open when Darby was able to nab himself an 8.25 and an 8.50, which consequently gave him the lead and his first Australian Title in a decade.
“It took me nearly 20 years to get my first Aussie Title and now another 10 years to get this one, so I’m happy as Larry,” said Darby. “It feels great to be taking the title back to WA. I had a bit of an injured back and hadn’t won a heat all week, but I got it looked at and I was able to have a grovel. There wasn’t exactly a perfect spot to sit in the lineup or anything, you just had to wait for the waves to come to you. Fortunately a few came to me in that heat.”
Five-time Australian Title holder Rodney Baldwin took dual wins across the Over-45 and Over-50 Men, edging out some stiff competition in the process. The Copacabana goofy-footer successfully performed a series of critical turns in the challenging waves to earn himself the two Australian Surfmasters Titles.
“All the titles feel good and they seem to get a little harder every year I come in this event,” said Rod. “I knew I had to get the waves as quick as I could, due to the declining swell. I didn’t want to be in a position where I didn’t catch anything, so I just kept moving. I definitely didn’t expect to take out two-from-two. I’m pretty excited to have done that.”
Victoria’s Melissa Dart-Harrison bagged the lone title for the Victorians, successfully claiming the Over-35 Women final. The talented natural-footer edged out NSW’s Yvonne Lamont and South Australia’s Cheryl Peat to claim her first and only Australian Title.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Melissa. “It feels a million times better than I thought it would. Truly, I just wanted to make my kids and husband proud. They were 100 percent behind me and it feels really special to do it for them. The entire vibe was incredible. All the guys who were in the heat after congratulated me straight away too, it really doesn’t get any better.”
NSW Single Fin Title runner-up Rob Hazelwood went one step further in the final of the Australian Single Fin Titles successfully locking in the win to claim victory in the division. The Narrabeen goofy-footer nabbed himself an impressive score of 17.00 to take a convincing win. 2013 NSW Single Fin champion Wayne Hudson finished in second place.
“It’s been a perfect day up here today and even though the waves are small, it’s still fun,” said Rob. “I’ve competed in this event the last three years and after missing the final last year and getting a fourth place in 2011, it feels incredible to get the win this time.”
NSW State Title winner Justin Lee backed up his performance at the State Surfmasters taking the win in the hotly contested Over-40 Men final. The Redhead goofy-footer threw down a chain of technical carves to take the win with a heat total of 12.55, overcoming an ankle injury in the process. Mark Cameron claimed the runner-up spot while Scott Schindler finished in third and John Schmidenberg took fourth.
“I’m a bit slack with setting goals to be honest, but I find competing to be really enjoyable, so I’m really happy to have won this,” said Justin. “My ankle was a bit sore over the first few days of the competition, but it began to feel better as the event went on. In that final, I just wanted to stay as light and as nimble as I could be due to the smaller waves. I’m so stoked it all paid off.”
All heat results, event highlight clips, images and news are available at www.australiansurffestival.com
The main base for the Australian Surf Festival was Town Beach, which is located in the heart of Port Macquarie, however the event was 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 featured 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 was 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.
RESULTS
Over-40 Men
1 – Justin Lee (Redhead – NSW)
2 – Mark Cameron (Woolgoolga – NSW)
3 – Scott Schindler (Sawtell – NSW)
4 – John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach – NSW)
Open-45 Men
1 – Rodney Baldwin (Copacabana – NSW)
2 – John Schmidenberg (Emerald Beach – NSW)
3 – Rob Page (Verges Creek – NSW)
4 – Glen Valaire (Swansea – NSW)
Over-50 Men
1 – Rodney Baldwin (Copacabana – NSW)
2 – Nick Pearson (Suffolk Park – NSW)
3 – Rowan Sapwell (Jan Juc – Vic)
4 – Adrian Shepard (Denmark – WA)
Over-55 Men
1 – Ian Darby (North Beach – WA)
2 – Steve Kay (Torquay – Vic)
3 – Mark Phelan (Terrigal – NSW)
4 – Peter Hill (Culburra Beach – NSW)
Over-35 Women
1 – Mellisa Dart-Harrison (Mount Eliza – Vic)
2 – Yvonne Lamont (Mt Elliot – NSW)
3 – Cheryl Peat (Seaford – SA)
Single Fin
1 – Rob Hazelwood (Narrabeen – NSW)
2 – Wayne Hudson (Port Macquarie – NSW)
3 – Ian Bell (North Haven – NSW)
4 – Dean Hall (Burleigh – Qld)
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
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