Event Report
Event 1 - Dirty Dog Spring Bash - Port Kembla / Windang / Gerroa |
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| Date: September 5-6th 2009 |
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Dirty Dog Spring Bash Event Report
The first event was a cracker with an early sea breeze allowing a full round of competition at Gerroa on Sunday.
A lot of new faces showed up at Saturday’s registration which was held at Port Kembla beach. After a rather windless winter quite a few vehicles carried SUPs as well as windsurfing gear. Stand up Paddleboards seem to be perfect cross-over activity to develop core strength for windsurfing and very versatile to maximize time on the water. There was also a lot of discussion on van conversions and the merits of galvanized dipped bodies versus marine carpet as a rust preventative. Thanks to the clear maps everyone found their way in time for the first meeting when the decision was made to relocate to Windang for a midday review of the conditions.
The set up at Windang looked very good with decent sets peeling down the beach. Unfortunately the wind was marginal at best, averaging 10knots. However, this did not deter two guys from testing the conditions. Excellent slogging technique and lighting fast gybes were not enough to punch through the bigger sets as the southerly wind continued to abate. Competition was postponed until Sunday and many of the competitors grabbed surboards and SUPs to sample the many peaks available around Woollongong and Gerroa. Bellambi point offered overhead waves and looked to have lots of potential in a seabreeze. The outside bombie at Gerroa is also highly rated as a SUP spot although a rather long paddle offshore.
The BBQ at the comp house in Gerroa was again a highlight with plenty of food and liquid refreshment. Club President Matt gave everyone the run down for the event for Sunday and the support by the sponsors for the Season. Dirty Dog has provided heaps to top quality sunnies again this year as the principal supporter for the first event. Also thanks to Neil Pryde for the goodies and One Knot Windsurfing for donating a new boom to raffle. The festivities continued on at the Gerroa Fisherman’s Club with a number of competitors carving up the dance floor to impress the ladies from the learn-to-surf crew.
Sunday dawned with clear skies in the south which looked promising for an early season NE. Who would have believed a Gerroa would be sailable so early in the season which according to local expert, Warren Holder, has turned on excellent down-the-line sailing in July. Warren was missed this competition owing to injury and its hoped he’s back in action soon.
By 11:00 the NE had set in and the decision was made to commence competition early and move through the rounds as quickly as possible. Although there was a promising wind forecast a rising tide would eliminate the waves by late afternoon and there wasn’t the heat in the day for the Shoalhaven Valley to really suck in the sea breeze. The Groms, Youths and Ladies were sent out first in some of the better waves of the day. In the ladies Jess Holder and Jess Juretic faced off while Oliver Cox, Jake Juretic and Alex Lucek competed against each other in the Groms. Oliver Cox immediately showed he has the skills with super fast tacks on his Naish and who displayed some excellent potential competing in the Amateurs as well.
The first Expression Session of the Amateurs started just after midday and although the wind was on the light side there was the potential for excellent wave riding in the clean 1-3’ beach break. Big gear was the order of the day with a number of heavier competitors sporting 90-100litre wave boards. Ben Kirk picked up some nice waves on his 105litre Exocet while new comer Duncan Osborne pumped onto and ripped up some excellent waves with his 5.8m. The second heat started immediately after the first so as a competitor you had to be ready as after one minute the green flag went up. The wind was a little patchy in this heat however some decent waves were on offer if you were in the right place. After 15 minutes Francois Pialoux and Guillaune Valdout advanced.
The Amateurs finals were exceptionally close affair with some obvious frustration at the conditions. All four competitors gybed onto the biggest wave of heat but none able to really make any use of it with the congestion. Perhaps a refresher course on wave etiquette is needed at the next event. In the end Francois picked up were he left off last season with another win with new comers Guim in second and Duncan in 4th.
The wind during the masters filled in a little and all sailors were powered up during the first half of the heat. The two Rob’s, Rob Jacobs and Rob Graham both sailed very impressively to make it into the last 4 along with Jason Juretic and Matt Gault. Rob Jacobs had an enormous wave count considering the fading swell while Rob Graham used his big Evo to pull off some impressive top turns and floaters off the close out sections. Unfortunately the sea breeze turned slightly north leaving the competitors bobbing for the last few minutes of the expression session. David Stafford managed great speed down the line while the ever cheerful Mike Preswick keeps improving to slot into 5th place. It was obvious that timing for any move was fairly critical as the waves were beginning to close out a little sooner than expected. The difference between popping an aerial and getting caught in a collapsing section was a very small.
As usual the conditions seemed to improve markedly for the Pros Division and the standard of sailing rose accordingly. The competitors were able to generate enormous speed down the line to explode into long aerials in the small fast waves. Brett Goodwin nearly landed a goiter in the expression session. Jimmy Haughton, Tim Knowles and Dean Headrie were also standouts while John Naylor and Matt Cliffe were able to justify their place in this division. All competitors were able to show off their impressive wave riding ability even in the deteriorating conditions indicating their skills, wave sense and competition strategy. By the time the Pros had their final the NE swell had dwindled in the competition zone but was firing down the beach providing great freesailing for those whose judging duties were over. The final 4 Pro’s were left trying to pick up any waves just inside the judging area. As long as they commenced their ride inside the flagged area the whole ride is scored. The final between Brett and ranking Australian No.1 Dan Berry was exceptionally close. Both riders were able to squeeze out multiple turns and aerials. Interestingly both sailors were using JP twinzers and Neil Pyde sails although Dan was riding the 2010 gear for the first time. In the end it was a split decision among the judges giving Dan the win, David edging out Dean by one point for 3rd.
As the last Pros walked up the beach the wind shifted more north and offshore creating even more gusty conditions and effectively shutting down most of the free sailing on offer. This was almost a welcome relief as a number of competitors commentated that the long winter had left them short on sailing fitness. Overall the first event ran pretty smoothly and competitors who made the most of the marginal conditions rose to the top. Hopefully the Woolgoolga (Coffs Harbour) event over the October Long Weekend will have a huge southerly as the set up is perfect for big down the line rides. The beach also works in NE on the other side of ‘Flat Top’ island so there is the potential for both starboard and port tack sailing. I imagine everyone will be taking the surfboards, SUP’s, golf clubs in addition to all of their windsurfing gear to make the most of what the north coast offers.
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