By PHIL JARRATT
AFTER a festive season of pumping surf on the Gold Coast and Byron region but very little on offer here, it comes as something of a slap in the kisser that the wave feast in the Pacific has continued through mid-January. Ah well, our day will come … and soon.
Meanwhile, it all became too much for Noosa-based filmer Greg Huglin, who checked the swell maps very carefully and shot off to Hawaii in time for last week’s sensational Peahi (Jaws) swell. As the north shores of Oahu and Maui were pummelled with monster clean lines from the North Pacific, the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, which has not been held in several years, went on amber alert, but while conditions once again proved not suitable there (are they trying to save their marketing budget?), across the strait Peahi was going sick for the second time this season.
Huglin, who, along with Australia’s Tim Bonython, has been one of the world’s very best big wave shooters for decades (check Shark Park, among many others), has spent the past couple of years settling into the Noosa lifestyle with partner Andrea and children Jasmine and Josh, and filming locally with surfers like Matt Cuddihy, Sam Crookshanks and Harrison Roach, capturing superb images with his Red Epic camera. But, as much as I know he loves shooting waist-high cruising, Huggie was overdue for some big boy action.
Well, he sure got that. The surf break properly known as Peahi but more commonly as Jaws, sits off the rugged northern coastline of the beautiful island of Maui, and is best viewed from a clifftop, where Greg set up his camera last week, surrounded by old filmer buddies and a portable barbecue, and apparently captured some truly epic images on his Epic. I say “apparently” because all I’ve seen thus far are a few “screencaps” posted on social media, but if this doesn’t whet the appetite, I don’t know what will.
The image is of one of my favourite big wave riders, the extraordinary Shane Dorian, from the Big Island of Hawaii, shot by my friend of 40 years, the extraordinary Greg Huglin, of Noosa Waters.
Another world title for the Sunnie Coast
The Sunshine Coast has a new world champion, with Coolum teenager Isabella Nicholls taking out the WSL women’s world junior surfing title in Ericeira, Portugal, last week.
The 18-year-old scored a 18.30 to 11.16 win over Hawaii’s defending world champion Mahina Maeda in clean one-metre waves at the Ribeira d’Ilhas point break, after a long wait while storm surf ripped the heart out of Portugal’s wild Atlantic coast.
If you’ve ever driven along the dramatic coastline north of Lisbon during the winter storm season, you will appreciate why the WSL used a more protected secondary venue for the early rounds. Ericeira gets absolutely smashed during these periods, then magically, it will clean up overnight and produce the cleanest, long-lining rights you can ever imagine.
As a young man I had the pleasure of surfing those waves with very few others on a couple of occasions, and I’ve never forgotten the experience.
I’m sure Isabella will never forget her Ericeira experience either!
Brazil continued its recent domination of men’s surfing with Lucas Silveira beating Guadeloupe’s Timothee Bisso 16.17 to 11.74 in the final. The highest-placed Australia in the men’s was 20-year-old Byron Bay surfer Soli Bailey, who finished joint third after being shaded 15.70 to 14.76 by Bisso in their semi-final.
Go Simon, go!
Just when you think you’ve had about as much cricket as you can take for one holiday season, along comes a thriller like the Hobart Hurricanes going down to the Adelaide Strikers on the last ball of the Big Bash fixture the other night.
As a cricket purist it’s taken me a while to come around to the Big Bash, and I still sometimes cringe at the off-field antics, but the season-ending performance of the Hurricanes in Adelaide was nail-biting stuff for more reasons than you could imagine.
Back in the 1980s Sydney grade cricketer Alex Milenko and wife Susie bought the house next door to ours on the northern beaches peninsula, their two baby children became buddies to ours and our two families became firm friends.
Later, we moved to Noosa and they moved to the Byron region where their business, Private Life, thrived, and the children grew up healthy and athletic. Particularly young Simon, who soon became an outstanding junior cricketer in Lismore under the tutelage of Adam Gilchrist’s dad.
OK, roll forward to the brash commercialism of the Big Bash, where every young cricketer knows he can smash his way to success or disappear off the radar, all in the twinkling of an eye.
Simon Milenko had a couple of games with the Brisbane Heat last season without attracting much attention, then a move to Hobart this season saw him on the bench while his team foundered. Called in for the last prelim game as a replacement for West Indian Darren Sammy, Simon got the Hurricanes back in the match with an inspired spell of bowling at the death, taking 3/25 at the death.
For a moment it looked like Simon could get his boys home. Alex and I were madly texting each other – go Simon go! And then some one who looks like Errol Flynn but is apparently the son of the Australian coach had the audacity to hit Simon’s last ball for six. Say goodnight Hurricanes. Say hello S. Milenko – you have arrived!
I’ve been Lobbed
I was beginning to get a complex. When he’s not burning books or defending developers, Citizen John Lobb likes a rant, you may have noticed, but until last week’s letters column none that I’m aware of had been directed at me. Am I not worthy, o Lobbster? Yes, I am. Thank you, thank you, kind sir, and good luck with the Press Council.
