Tabou Wavesailing Classic produces the goods...
With green arrows all over the seabreeze forecast for Queensland and Tropical Cyclone Wati hanging a few hundred kms off the coast, it was an excited bunch of NSW wavesailors that threw their gear onto the VirginBlue planes (great sporting goods policy - no hassles!) to head north for the 2nd annual Tabou Wavesailing Classic. Hosted and organised by perpetual wind-wanderer Tony Marsh, it seemed a fair few NSW wavesailors were more than prepared to return the favour, with members of the NSWWA probably making up half of the 45 or so entrants. Quite a few of us got to Currumbin Beach on the Thursday in the hope of gleaning a little local knowledge from the... umm... locals. However at this stage Cyclone Wati was only really providing us with rainy squalls, not really enough to tempt anyone out.
Friday started out rainy, but being the first day of competition meant all sailors were keen to hit the water. Shortly after midday the rain cleared, the wind filled in from the south to about 20-25 knots and competition got going, with waves about half-mast on the sets. The gusts had some of us wishing we had rigged a little smaller and jumping was plentiful, with some interesting variations in style being visible. Jon Redmond was one among a few to press the eject button upon getting a little higher and more out of control than expected, providing onlookers with some entertaining free-fall antics. A great little shorebreak also proved tricky - it didn't discriminate and it was refreshing to see a couple of the gun sailors get swept along the beach in the rip as their wind gods failed them.
Ollie 'the superman of Gold Coast wavesailing' Barta was out there strutting his stuff (and cursing like a pirate at some Opens sailors who hadn't understood the simple rules about sailing in their own heats - a thousand apologies, I was guilty of this offence), along with other local hotshots such as John Boullier and the 'man with the silver sail'. Dan Berry, Dean Hendrie and Adrian Levy busted out solid performances to also come out in the top bunch of the Opens, as well as juniors Ben Fawkes and Logan Haggerston, who had driven up from Newcastle that very morning. About 4 pm the wind dropped, giving a few of us a bit of fun getting back to shore, and some great sailing ended for the day.
The waves were forecast to increase overnight, so we were all keen to check out the scene on Saturday morning. Thanks to Dean and Leanne a few of us were ensconced on the 7th floor of the 'Rocks Resort', a tower with a huge view across the sailing area - from there it was obvious as to how big the waves really were... HUGE, and with more than a few barrels in amongst the sets. It was easily twice the size of Friday - over mast high on the sets, and the wind was forecast to come in again!
The first Masters heat was due to kick off at 10 am, and with about 20 knots visible on the outside, and a bit less on the inside John Boullier was determined to get in amongst it. The shoredump had become a little more vicious if anything, so we were intrigued to see how he fared. It was clearly going to require perseverance and a little bit of luck to make it out the back, and so it proved. However after a few slides down the beach and the odd chicken gybe, he finally found a gust to get through with. So, as soon as he got planing and was just about through the latest huge set... he went for a massive back loop... that he didn't land, leaving him swimming in front of some very large waves! This made for interesting (and amusing) viewing from our perch up high; luckily for John the peaks of the next couple of waves shifted away from him a little, and he managed to get his gear together and make it through. Success! Not to be outdone, Ollie Barta hit the water running and managed to sail parallel up the beach for a time, showing us just how offshore the wind was on the inside.
Only three Opens sailors were game enough to give it a shot, possibly because the rest of us were just nancies (as I was reminded every ten minutes for the next four days, ad-nauseum), possibly because the wind was a smidgen lighter than we thought we needed, given the wave size. Shane Finegan, Dean Hendrie and Dan Berry slid sideways down the beach in the huge rip for about twenty-five minutes before Shane finally managed to sneak out the back. He then selected a sterling wave to push himself into the lead as far as the rest of us could see. The only hitch with riding the waves a decent way in was that you weren't going to get back out again in a hurry. Not to be outdone, Dan managed to be in position late in the heat to grab some speed off a gust that came by. He raced over the shorey, slowed in the middle as he got near the real danger-zone, then got planing again before the oncoming set of monster ramps, boosted a huge cheese-roll and was out the back. Clearly meaning business, he selected a huge swell as his first wave, gave it a few turns and got off early. The next wave he got was massive - the judges must have had trouble seeing the wave ride, as none of him or his equipment was visible between the sets. However he chose wisely, and had a shoulder to get off and out the back again. His third wave seemed smaller, but was still mast high - it was just that we could see him this time! He rode it all the way to the beach, and general opinion had him in top spot at this point.
An increase in the wind strength gave the next Masters heat some impetus to get through the sets. About half a dozen Masters sailors hit the water (apologies, I cannot remeber all the names) and managed to squirrel out the back to grab some waves; all that is except for an unlucky Dean Hendrie, who was forced of his board by a couple of parochial (politley speaking) surfers. He then got cleaned up by a huge wave and we watched his gear go tumbling over the falls. Fortunately his wife Leanne was getting a manicure or something at the time, and so did not witness this turn of events. When later told she was reported to be very concerned about Dean's 'equipment'. What this meant we could only guess, but it may be fortunate she is already pregnant. Dean recovered well and scored a couple of great waves, with his gear intact (how it wasn't trashed we don't know...), and he won wipeout of the comp for his efforts.
The wind dropped towards the end of the heat and swung almost directly offshore, leaving the hapless Dean and Ollie stranded out the back, with a decidedly dicey looking journey to make back in through the barrelling sets. They were stuck out there for about 3/4 of an hour, with Dean just keeping his position upwind, while Ollie drifted ever closer to the perilous rocks on the point. Fortunately the local tow-in jet-ski riders came to their rescue and the boys were brought into shore. By now the wind had stopped entirely leaving the Opens with no chance of competing in their final heat.
Saturday night saw the return of the fifty cent beers and and a good time at the Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club. We woke with sore heads to the surf still pounding in on Sunday, but the wind stayed a little bit too light. A surf comp was held and Steve Worley from Coffs Harbour took the title with what was by all accounts a huge wave, that he paddled onto, scoring one of the few unassisted rides of the day. Well done Steve.
A light sou-easter arrived mid afternoon, but wasn't quite enough to go sailing in, although Ollie was rigged and ready for action. The presentation was held about 3 pm. Sue Wooley (NSW) took 1st Womens and Dave Lewis-Hughes (QLD) 1st Grand Masters. Ben Fawkes (NSW) and Logan Haggerston (NSW) took out the Juniors 1st and 2nd respectively, Jesse Wales 3rd; while Ollie Barta (QLD) came a close fought 3rd. Local boy Greg Kepper (QLD) grabbed 3rd in the Opens, defector Shane Finegan (QLD) took 2nd and last years winner Dan Berry (NSW) deservedly reclaimed his title in 1st place.
The Tabou was a fun comp - it was great to make a mini holiday of it - it's a great atmoshpere, the Rocks Resort is close to everything, the water temperature is like Maui and VirginBlue make it easy to get there. Thanks to Tony Marsh for all the effort involved to make it happen once again and we're looking forward to it again next year.
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