Action packed fun at the Noosa Fest of Surf - ABC Online

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Action packed fun at the Noosa Fest of Surf - ABC Online Mar 13th 2012, 07:04 The weeklong event incorporates amateur and pro longboard surfing plus a range of other surfing disciplines, including stand up paddle, finless and tandem. Check out the program by visiting Noosa Festival of Surfing website Day two (Monday 13 March) brought modest waves and good crowds at the popular Laguna Bay, and the standup paddleboarders took advantage of the calm conditions. Local surfer and Australian longboard champion, Jackson Close, showed his diversity, out-performing his adversaries in both his round one and round two heats held across the day. Having paddled his way to victory in Sunday's five-kilometre race, Lincoln Dews took a more agile approach in the waves, easily throwing his board through some very impressive manoeuvres, but just forfeiting the heat win. International trends in longboarding have veered significantly towards a more traditional approach, both in surfing and in equipment, and the festival has embraced this resurgence with the addition of a logger event this year. Called the Logger Pro, the event proved equally as popular as the noserider division, which has been the favourite event at the festival in previous years. Some outstanding surfing by the likes of Nic Jones (Maroochydore, QLD), Geoff Fanning (Noosa Heads, QLD) and another local, Alex Bullpit, impressed the spectators, but the first round was dominated by the Japanese contingent including Satshumi Suzuki and Yuta Sezuta. Local shaper and superb exponent of the old school, both in the water and in the shaping bay, Thomas Bexon, surfed phenomenally on one of his own exquisite creations, making hanging ten, reverse walks to the tail and tight pivoting turns look deceptively easy and graceful despite his adequate frame. The Men's Open kicked off under crystal-clear skies - usually a high-performance event, featuring lightweight, highly refined surfboards, the Men's Open this year saw a scattering of boards, from the more conventional three-finned boards seen in this division to the heavy single-fins that several of the competitors had also used in the Logger. As the tide diminished, so too did the waves, although not enough to alter venue arrangements, and those Opens competitors opting for the traditional equipment could definitely be seen to have the edge. Nic Jones again outshone, using his single-fin despite his usual penchant and forte on performance equipment. Rounds two and three of the Amateur Men's SUP offered very little in swell, but Jackson Close again proved his renown, using his paddle not only to gain speed through his rides but also to pivot and lever his way through some extraordinary turns. Wrapping up aquatic activities were the sexagenarians, proving that they are still as young inside as any of the festival's competitors and still oozing talents in the waves, even putting many of their more youthful peers to shame. But, as with all coming days throughout the festival, activities weren't sparse after the beautiful hinterland sunset. Continuing proceedings, a gamut of cinematic delights entertained the crowd, Jack McCoy personally presenting a preview to his latest creation, A Deeper Shade Of Blue, McCoy showing with his exceptional footage exactly why he has developed such high renown in the industry. Local band and festival regulars, the Band Of Frequencies performed a live soundtrack to some unique George Greenough footage and, wrapping up the night, Sons Of Beaches '72 premiered, a movie looking at the Australian team's groundbreaking part in the 1972 World Championships in San Diego. As a highlight to the film, Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew, a member of that original team and a legendary surfer, was joined by Hawaiian, Larry Bertlemann in presenting the timeless and historical documentation of that phenomenal event of 40 years ago. The action will restart tomorrow at 7:00 sharp and, if swell predictions are accurate, First Point, Noosa Heads will again host the competition, beginning with round two of the Laguna Bay Logger Pro. The Noosa Festival of Surfing runs from 11 March - 17 March. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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