By Phil Jarratt
It wasn’t the prettiest swell we’ve seen on the Noosa points, and the proximity of the deep low to the coast made it a rather damp one. But the Easter Sunday pulse certainly got the locals going, even if we did have to share it with about a million Easter tourists.
And it was no place for old men. After enjoying some fun sessions on the buildup days, your columnist took off on what looked like a good one Sunday morning, watched the bottom drop out and retired hurt with a neck wrenched so badly I can barely turn my head. Noosa Mal Club senior Keith Crocker fared even worse, coming undone on a grinding barrel and creasing a beautiful nine-eight log. (At least he can still swivel his head!)
As predicted by the USC researchers in Noosa Today last week, a decent-sized east swell would rearrange the sand at First Point, and as I write, after two days of substantial push, that is what appeared to be happening. By the time you read this, we’ll have a pretty good idea whether we’ve got our pristine point back, but I was pleasantly surprised to see even smaller sets run through to the beach along the rocks.
Apparently we are also moving out of the La Nina phase and can expect a decent run of swells to continue through the rest of autumn, which augers well for the delayed May Noosa Festival of Surfing. Fingers crossed.
The ubiquitous surf snapper Fenna de King wasn’t about to let a bit of torrential rain get in the way of her coverage of the long-awaited Easter swell, so rather than me rabbit on about it, let’s wallow in some tasty FDK images of the Boiling Pot doing its thing. Photos were delivered in a hurry at the end of another hard day at the beach office, so I can’t tell you who’s who, other than that might be Hayden Cervi pig-dogging past the rock.
Meanwhile, down the road…
The Windansea Club’s annual Ma and Pa Bendall Classic, a great institution since 1974, was on again, off again, on again as the Bureau finessed its high seas forecast, but it ran at Moffat’s over a highly eventful weekend, with the Open Men’s final, won by Curtis Ewing, catching the peak of the swell with some massive sets.
The wild conditions presented some challenges for junior competitors, but some of Noosa’s young guns showed their stuff with stand-out performances. Noosa Boardriders’ Coco Cairns was the pick of the bunch, claiming second place in the junior girls division and a third in the Open Women’s, clocking up an 8.83, the best score of the day, on the first day of competition.
Ben Lorentson also surfed well for Noosa, taking a fourth in the junior boys, just a week or so since older sister Gia won the Open Women’s division at the Queensland Surf Festival at Coolum. Mum, Councillor Amelia Lorentson, must be bursting with pride. Mind you, Amelia is no slouch herself, frequently hitting the dawn patrol on the points or beaches.
Nippers star in surf safety video
The season might be over, but there was still work to be done for Woogie Marsh’s Noosa Nippers squad who graciously shared their knowledge of the beach for a surf safety video.
Tewantin’s Panga Productions filmed the short video for Noosa World Surfing Reserve late last month to complete a surf safety and etiquette series aimed at young school children. The Noosa Environmental Education Hub is helping introduce it to the Australian Curriculum.
Surf Code – Feel The Stoke uses young presenters to carry the message of how to surf safely in crowded conditions to surfers of all ages, but the role of the Nippers was to explain the basic rules of engagement for new surfers in an introductory episode called “Meet The Beach”.
In it, Nippers Gus Anderssen, Rex McIntyre, Kiani Baker and Jess Porter explain how to identify and avoid rips and currents, what to do if you get caught in one, how to signal for help and what to do if stung by a bluebottle or jellyfish. They also drive home the message about respecting the beach by leaving it as you found it.
The Surf Code video series will be launched during the Noosa Festival of Surfing.
