Competitive surfing made a welcome return to Noosa last weekend with the running of the sixth annual Noosa Logger, and despite dire predictions, both waves and weather held up well for the two-day event.
Noosa’s veteran former would longboard champion Josh Constable took out the Men’s Open with a strong finish after being tested by fellow local Harrison Roach in the early stages, but Roach came into his own in the Old Mal event, beating a world class field of traditional surfers riding pre-1968 surfboards. In the women’s open Hawaiian star and current USC student Mason Schremmer surfed stylishly to take the title from Noosa’s Emily Lethbridge.
While Covid issues restricted the field to a majority of Sunshine Coast competitors, there was a sprinkling of interstate surfers and even a few internationals who have sought refuge here. And the patchy quality of the surf did nothing to diminish the spirits of the surfers, who were thrilled and relieved to be putting on the coloured jerseys once again after a competitive hiatus of more than a year.
