TWC 2002 - An Aussie point of view
by Carl Dorans
25-28 October 2002
I arrived in Taranaki a week before the contest in the hope
that I would get some sailing in before it started, not only for the
contest itself but to just sail in these conditions we've heard so much
about.
I hooked up with former NSW Wave sailor Jeff Sutton who is
currently living in his Kiwi homeland and sporting a tangled mess of
hair that rivals Bob Marleys (and is no doubt currently tenanted by
several Red Back spiders).
All my Xmas's had come at once with the conditions we got on the first
day.
Smooth sets of mast high waves rolling in, with a 30 knot SW (cross-off
shore) blowing non-stop.
Weld Road, one of the 4 possible contest locations, was the spot everyone
was heading to. Despite the endless amounts of rock and exposed reefs
at any of the beaches, the main breaks were quite safe, with long rides
all the way to the beach.
You seriously lose count of the amount of bottom turns you make!
After being spoiled rotten nearly every day with these conditions,
it was time to share the joy. So back up to Hamilton Airport on late
Wednesday night we went to retrieve the next Aussie installment consisting
of Aaron Constable, Mick Westra and Quentin Bye.
Q-man was ready for action with his double mohawk hair-do. What sailor
in their right mind would want to drop in on him now?!
So with gear that doubled the size of the van tied to roof racks that
struggled with one surfboard, we set off back down to Taranaki. A special
thanks go to Downtown Duty Free for making that trip more bearable!
We were all booked into the Wave Haven in Oakura. A house run by sailors
and full of sailors, how good does it get? The conversation never gets
boring!
After arriving back at the Wave Haven at about 4am and crashing out,
we awoke to the news of a strong Northerly wind building up down the
coast. Jet/van lag was soon forgotten as we headed down the coast to
Kina Road. Another rocky beach with several reef breaks, perfect cross
shore starbord tack in a northerly. We were joined on the water by several
locals and Wellington guys who had made the journey for the approaching
contest.
4.7m sails were the order for the day. Long rides, wave after wave
for about 5 hours straight stretched us to the limit but no one wanted
to come in. With conditions like that, you sail til you drop...end of
story! With the final member of the NSW contingent, Dan Berry, arriving
that evening, this was shaping up to be quite a trans-Tasman battle.
Friday was the only non-sailed day of the week and perhaps a welcome
relief to the aching bodies before Saturdays action got underway (and
even more mental relief for myself and Q-man who had to walk for miles
after running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, so we fortunately
did not miss any sailing. Thanks to Aaron and Mick for coming to pick
us up after you enjoyed OUR beers!). And to Aaron for towing our van
back with the other van with some well placed tie-downs as the tow rope.
A man of many talents indeed.
Saturday morning, contest Day 1. Up to Vertigo Surf shop for registration
and for the meeting to decide which location would hold the contest
for the day. Competitors were sprawled out everywhere. A huge turn out
by people from all corners of the earth, and all corners of New Zealand.
The Kiwis dominated the list of entrants, with major turnouts from Auckland
and Wellington. Several entrants from Europe, US and UK gave it that
overall international flavour.
A few familiar faces from our nationals this year, Woo Norris and
Clayton Dougan were in town for the contest. Those Wellington guys can
sure hold their own in windy conditions. I've never met anyone with
a 3.8m sail in their quiver!
It was decided that the day would be held at Waitara, a small town
about 20 mins drive north of Oakura. Within an hour, cars were spilling
out of the beach carpark, dozens of sails were rigged on the grass and
out on the water, TV camera setup on the scafolding, judges taking their
seats on the grass, wind kicking in with decent size swell on the outer
reef. This was going to be a great day.
Despite a few brief rainy periods later in the afternoon, the wind
held steady with most people on approx 5.4m sails.
Everyone hit the water as soon as they could and headed straight out
to the reef which was throwing up some large size left handers. As the
tide dropped, the inner section closer to the beach was producing some
nice waves. And where would low tide be without a nasty shore break
onto the rocky beach???
Luckily no one suffered too much carnage, although the jetski cameraman
earned himself a trip home in the ambulance after his spectacular dismount
onto the beach. His jetski was also hospitalised.
Move of the day had to go to two guys who collided mid-air. One was
doing a forward loop, the other a back loop! After a full day of sailing
everyone gathered on the beach to endulge in a BBQ and drinks, recharging
the batteries for the following day.
Saturday night saw everyone gather at the Cafe Wonderbar in Oakura for
an organised cocktail night. Not content with just being the last ones
there, Q-man and Mr Westra somehow found their way into New Plymouth
for some nightclub action. Breakfast did not taste the same for these
two party animals.
Sunday morning greeted us with wind from the opposite direction. Kina
Road was the selected spot, by far the most suitable for this wind direction.
It wasn't quite as windy as when we'd sailed it several days earlier,
and it was a touch more onshore, but hey we had wind and waves, who's
complaining? Certainly not us New South Welshmen!
This weekend was proving to be the perfect test of everyones abilities.
Wave riding and jumping from both tacks. Most have their preference
but everyone seemed to sail well both days making for another entertaining
day for those watching as well as those competing.
Dan Berry was one of the standouts with some awesome jumps and long
top to bottom waves rides, contstanly battling it out with some talented
Kiwi locals, in particular Clayton Dougan.
The wind tended to be slighty gusty towards the end of the day but by
mid afternoon the judges were able to select the 10 sailors to compete
in the "Super Session" final.
A great result for the NSW crew with each of us securing a place in
the
final. Dan Berry, Aaron Contstable, Mick Westra, Carl Doran, Quentin
Bye along with
Jeff Sutton and West Oz's Ben Severne up against the Kiwi army.
The Super Session ran for an hour, giving all competitors time to rack
up plenty of waves and jumps, from which the judges would choose the
biggest 6 moves (waves or jumps) from each sailor. Unfortunately the
conditions deteriorated for the final with the wind becoming gusty,
light and more on-shore. But with no confirmed forecast for the next
day it was crucial that we got a result that day.
As the heat progressed it was becoming quite a battle to find a decent
wave that connected, and one that didn't have someone on it. Sailors
made the most of every section that peaked up, with some great displays
in less than favourable conditions.
Dan wasted no time when the gusts came through, lauching into some of
his trademark clean forward and backloops. Complimented by some impressive
waveriding, he was sure to be winning the judges favour. Clayton Dougan
ripped all weekend. Always a standout on the water and a strong threat
on both tacks. In the final he seemed to be sailing even
better, seemingly racking up more jumps and waves than anyone.
Fellow Kiwis James Court, Daryn Jones and Trent Peterson also put
on some great displays.
Woo unleashed some incredible high flying forward loops, reminicent
of those we saw on our shores earlier this year, earning him a well-deserved
3rd place overall.
After an exhausting final day, everyone gathered at the local pub
for the official presentation dinner.
In a very close decision, Dan Berry took out the title with Clayton
Dougan in 2nd. Congrats to Dan for a well deserved victory. A strong
performance from Quentin and Aaron earned them 6th and 7th place respectively.
A great performance from the ladies division saw Simone Hollenstein
take a well earned victory. Some great prizes were given out. In particular
a brand new Carbon Art board built by James Dinnis, was won by Mick
Westra. So his old crappy board did not quite get the same tender loving
care on the way home.
I will definitely be heading back there next year, as will the rest
of this years crew, and I suspect that many more will find it hard to
resist attending next years event which will be bigger than ever. It
was great to meet a lot more sailors from everywhere. The NZ crew are
a
great bunch of people who are into their sailing. I hope this will lead
to more events both here and over there.
I think the results are a huge compliment to the NSW sailors and the
standard of sailing that they consistantly show in competitions. Well
done guys. Lets do it all again next year!
The Thumbs up award(s):
A huge thanks to Jono at the Wave Haven (and Vertigo Surf) for his hospitality
and generosity in lending us his van for the weekend. Couldn't have
got by without it.
To Chris Brown, James Dinnis, Mark Hollenstein and Aaron Constable
for organising what was the most enjoyable event I've ever been to.
The Thumbs down award:
To Freedom Air who thought it suitable to charge us all a fortune for
our gear. I am one to support the little guys but they do not have the
vision to cater for sporting enthusiasts, and do not seem to care either.
If you are going to New Zealand DO NOT fly with Freedom Air.
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