Event Report
Event 4 - Goer at Gerroa - Gerroa / Windang |
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| Date: December 12th - 13th 2009 |
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Event 4 Gerroa – Windang
Presented by Neil Pryde and Ask Huey
Instead of Wanda, NSW WA found itself back at Gerroa with the promise of a good NE and some left over south swell. After a nightmare Friday afternoon run out through Sydney traffic the first view of the green headlands south of Kiama was a welcome sight. Those who had left early enough found some fun head high waves off the point near Black Head and even some little barrels at Werri beach.
Event sign-on was in the usual place, Gerroa car park, under the Neil Pryde tent. With the clubs new feather flags flying, a full event run sheet ready to go and even a brand new demo board from Carbon Art on display the NSW WA looked the business! Unfortunately, the set-up was also mistaken for the local caravan park reception by a visiting Japanese tourist, who nearly paid $600 for 2 nights accommodation.
After the skippers’ meeting it was a case of hurry up and wait as everyone quickly rigged multiple sails ready for the usual NE to honk into the beach. However, second hand reports of Wanda getting 20knots at 11:00 am while the usual Gerroa wind machine was not working was making the judges nervous. The forecast was definitely not happening as a westerly air stream inland was holding out the usual seabreeze.
By 12:00pm the decision was made to run the Juniors, Ladies and Youths to at least provide some competition for this division. Fortunately the conditions suited the lighter competitors and some waves began to appear at the right times. Alex Lueck was easily the most improved sailor over the season taking 4th in his expression session heat and 3rd in the Final. His Starboard SUP and new 3.6NP Fly were perfect for the small set waves and light winds. The top positions were a close battle between Forrest Ladkin and Oliver Cox, while Jess, Jake and Jessica all continue to show promise.
Eighteen competitors registered for the Amateurs division who were carefully seeded into 3 Pools to create a closely competitive contest. However, midway through first heat the wind became co-operative and the contest postponed. General freesailing followed while the judges weighed up the chances of running a fair event.
At 3:00pm the judges decided to run an all-in Expression Session with the three judges picking out those sailors who managed to stand out in the marginal conditions. Oliver Cox was attacking anything that looked like a wave while Forrest Ladkin pulled off the best Polokow-style aerial using the Severne/Starboard demo gear. Rob Jacobs showed the way for the Masters with smooth and powerful wave riding, closely matched by Amateurs sailor Anthony on his Shrek inspired Hot Sails Maui. Steve-O Hackey was styl’n for Pros busting out heaps of freestyle tricks as close to the peak of the wave as possible.
At last the wind filled in just enough to give competitors power to blast down the line and the decision was made to run formal competition again. The Amateurs were sent out and the conditions definitely looked more promising as the rising tide was bringing some fund set waves with it in the 2’ range with the occasional ‘bomb set’ with a solid 3’ face. The usual suspects, Francois and Tim continued with battle for the state title joined in the final by Ben, Duncan, Guilliame and Anthony. Unfortunately, conditions did not allow a final so the NSW Amateur title is still up for grabs.
The Masters heats had some of the biggest waves of the contest with Mike Preswick easily pulling into the ‘wave of the day’ claiming multiple turns on a decent overhead set. Without enough wind for jumps solid wave riding, a high wave count and a bit of luck determined the finalists. Good positioning, lots of pumping onto waves and a little luck meant played a part getting into the final. Somehow Rob Graham managed to combine baby-sitting duties with his sailing to be the standout competitor on the day also joined by Ollie Barta & Rob Jacobs.
The largest field for the Pros mean two pools were needed. In Pool A Rhys Herbert opened with probably the best wave ride of the event combing powerful cutbacks with clew first sailing and finishing off with the duck gybe to get the early nod from the judges as a likely finalist. Dan Berry, as usual, found larger waves downwind while Steve-O Hackey employed some clever contest strategy to keep the attention of the judges. Although Dan was slightly ahead on waveriding, Steve pulled off more complex freestyle on the wave and combined it a clean Ponch off a lucky gust to take the win in the first expression session. In Pool B Tim Knowles started his heat quietly but managed to combine half a dozen quality wave rides in the allotted 12 minutes to get through to the final to be joined by Jimmy who recently joined the KA Team.
Unfortunately during the Masters Repechage the wind dropped for good leaving the majority of competitors sinking under their own weight in the shore break. The Judges called off competition for the day at 6:30pm with a result in each division.
At the conclusion of the event the organisers had managed to run 8 Expression Session Heats, a repocharge for the Amateurs to decide lower order positions and a final for the Groms, Youths and Ladies division. In addition to an all in expression session and some freesailing, every one had a good day on the water. It’s so much better having your mates out with you and seeing what was possible sparked everyone to really give it a red hot go! If you had turned up alone and seen the conditions most people would have driven back to Sydney rather than having an enjoyable day in the sun.
Here are some tips for event 5!
1. Have a big, really big, freestyle wave board
2. Use a smaller sail for manoeuvrability
3. Register early so to avoid the ire of the judges who have to seed nearly 50 competitors into multiple, equally weighted heats
4. Bring your esky to keep your sunnies out of the sand
5. Check the whiteboard for the heat order and be ready for you heat
Thanks to every one who judged, carried club gear, cooked and cleaned up. Thanks to this events sponsors, Neil Pryde and Ask Huey. The positive vibe, good friendships and friendly competition make each event something to look forward to. Here’s hoping for a big southerly for Windang or a late season NE for Wanda on the 13th – 14th of February, 2010.
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