Race Day Summaries

WAIHI

Waihi  |  16 January 2010

Type: National Surfcross

High tide: 08:45

SUMMARY

Round 3 National Surfcross

At long last the first 2010 East Coast surf emerged specifically for round 3 of the Thundercat nationals.

Crews arrived at Waihi beach to be greeted by a solid 2-3ft surf with the odd 4-6ft set. Game on!!

Racing commenced at 11am playing to a crowd of approximately 2000 who had gathered on the beach for a day’s entertainment. And it was entertainment they got!

All of the boats in the early rounds managed to stay upright and complete the heats but most endured some hairy moments as the larger wave sets swept through. Crews were forced to balance speed against keeping the boats upright as they pitted their skills against the surf much to the enjoyment of the crowd who thought most competitors “were mad”

Unfortunately the racing was interrupted by the large promo buoys drifting in the heavy surf so race director Gary Morrison opted to delete the W buoy to speed up the day. By this stage the surf break was on the outer buoys meaning racers had to negotiate waves side on across the back straight. This was to be a true test of skill and several boats either flipped or were docked points when they missed buoys after misjudging the waves.

Top contender Smuggler Marine (Logan Pringle and Sarah Barrel) flipped on a big wave in their last heat but still managed to reinstate their motor ready to take their place in the final. Going into the final the top boats were Dodge (Nigel Tongs and Ross Hunter), Jungle Coffee (Glenn Burnnand and Greg Norman) and Blackpepper (Scott Radley and Cam Vernon).

Racing in the final was close but Dodge was denied a podium finish when they flipped on a large wave and incurred a DNF. Upon conclusion of the final eventual winner of the day was Jungle Coffee closely followed by Smuggler Marine and in third place Blackpepper whose driver Scott Radley was fortunately able to race after his wife Michelle had given birth to their first child the previous day.

Next race venue Waipu Cove features an endurance race on the Saturday and a Surf Cross on the Sunday so a repeat of the conditions at Waihi would make for another spectacular weekend of racing.