By Phil Jarratt
It’s been a long time since we saw beautiful longboard waves pour into First Point for most of the Noosa Festival of Surfing, which is one reason that NFOS 2024 was pretty special.
Another is that with the return of a small but highly visible international competitor contingent, we started to shake off the post-Covid blues and put what we used to call the “eight days of pure stoke” (it’s now nine) back on the global surfing agenda. And the fact that California’s Kaimana Takayama took out the prestigious Noserider Invitational over the first weekend was another major plus in attracting the best surfers from all the major markets. Yep, the Noosa Fest is back!
From a purely surfing perspective, what was also heartening was the first sign of First Point getting back to its old form. While competitors were not quite graced with the peeling rock runners of old, there were consistently rideable waves from point to beach as the solid easterly swell finally started to gouge out the sandbar that made the point virtually disappear for more than four years.
While the swell, which peaked on a rather wild and woolly Tuesday, created a few challenges for the oldest and the youngest competitors (meaning over 70s and pre-teens), it also gave the best longboarders in the country and around the world plenty of opportunities to shine. Meanwhile, Barney Cool’s Beach Bar rocked on every day from 12 noon, with the occasional wet and windy squall doing nothing to deter spectators and revellers.
Off-beach, entertainments included surf film screenings at The J, a chat show with world champions Peter Townend and Tom Carroll, plus screening of the cult classic Big Wednesday at the Noosa Surf Museum, and the all-day Brewfest at Noosa Dolphins Rugby Club.
Festival results will be in Life of Brine, page 47.
