The 2006 Crescent Head longboard Classic was held from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28th of May. The prestigious annual event drew a record crowd this year with 397 competitors converging on the sleepy coastal town, making the competition the largest in Australia.

The wave itself is steeped in surfing history, and has attracted surfers from around Australia since the early 60s, who have been drawn to its long, mechanical-like right hand peelers which offer a perfect playground for a variety of wave-riding equipment but primarily suited heavy single fin logs. 

Looking back from the main point

The surf for the competition and free surfing was amazing, with basically every spot in the area working offering a range of different waves to keep everyone happy. A consistent 1.5 meter south east swell kept the waves rolling for the week, and was fanned by freshening offshore winds, which cooled the air temp down but made all surfers eager to make the most of the clean waves on offer.

One of the back points firing!

As the trusty kombi rolled into the Crescent Head car park at 6am Thursday morning, I was faced with the first of hundreds of heats preparing to take over the point for the next 4 days. One would assume that the locals are not too inviting due to this factor, but nothing could be further form the truth…for the majority of residents anyway.

The annual classic brings the town alive and really gives the local kids something to look forward to in terms of competing and meeting the famous pro’s they see in the mags. It seems as though every kid comes out of the woodwork to miss school for the comp, and hangs at the infamous beachside skate ramp and shows up the tourists or surfs the inside of the point making their presence felt as the locals in the line up and calling off the longboarders.

But it’s not all fun and games for the locals though; a lot of them put in solid efforts in the comp and help coordinate it. Without the hard work and organising by the local club and the residents, the event would not be possible.

Back to the surfing- the standout division on the Thursday included the Open Mens division and the hotly contested Under 18 juniors. Although there were no ALC points on offer for the pro’s, many of the east coast based rated surfers still competed for the honour of having the title, as well as having a bit of fun along the way.

Aussie champion Harley Ingleby (and 2nd place open finalist)

The standard of the juniors was absolutely mind blowing; with rippers such as Gold Coast based Japanese surfer Go Ishikawa and the recently crowned World Junior Shortboard champion Julian Wilson competing.

The best heats surfed were had around mid morning, with the tide dropping and the swell peeling better down the point, with the outside section even offering a barrel section if you were lucky enough to snag a set wave. But it was the smaller waves which were the heat winners, offering long walls to mix up both the modern and traditional maneuvers.

Interestingly enough, it was the new breed of traditional surfers who were the standouts of the comp, including Tom Bexon, Alexander White in the open division and Matt Cuddihy in the Old Mal event. All three surfers call the Sunshine Coast home, and are usually just red hot free surfers on what ever boards they choose to ride, but this year they decided to make the voyage south in the hope of finding some quality NSW waves and meet a whole heap of cool cats along the way.

Tom ripping on his self made twin fin fish PHOTO-(Easty)

Alex White shredding on his Thomas Bexon 50s style log PHOTO- (Easty)

Max Weston in the grommets

The swell began picking up on the Friday and remained about 3ft on the point till the finals day on Sunday. Every heat scored epic waves, some a little fatter or hollower than other heats but never the less still perfect for longboarding.

The grommets event was the highlight for the Friday, with every small framed grom displaying style and moves beyond their age. Avalon’s Max Weston was another surfer who impressed in the early rounds with his smooth and traditional style. Upright tens and drop knee turns were the order of heat for young Max. 

The shock elimination of Australian champion Chelsea Williams in the open ladies event meant the comp was well and truly open for anyone to win, and local pro Jodie Barsby was a hot favourite, but it was the female longboarding stalwart Jenny Sheehan who took the final out ahead of Lisa Nicholson and Cath Perry.

In the over 65’s it was the evergreen Magoo who took it out, who surfed like he wasn’t a day over 50. Will Maris won the over 60s division putting on a nice display of longboarding in the classy waves. Alan Atkins did likewise in the over 55’s, beating Manly’s Lyndin Riley.

Long Reef waterman Peter Vlug put in a solid effort to place 2nd in the over 50s, in front of Peter Unwin who placed 3rd. Sput Keevers claimed victory over Ray ‘the godfather’ Gleave and Jim Pierce in the over 45’s. In the over 40s it was the smooth surfing of Richard Smith which won him the title over Alan French. Manly’s Dave English surfed well to place 1st in the over 30s division and form the Palm Beach club, Guy Kardash placed 4th (and brother Todd placed 6th in the Mystery final) and Grant Salmon earned himself a 6th in this division also.

The Milo Grommets final was a heap if fun to watch, with all of them just ripping the place to pieces. At 12 years old, the little long blonde haired local ripper Dylan Hunt was a crowd favourite when he was announced as winning the title. Max Weston placed 2nd and Will Coy received 3rd. Matt Obrien came in 4th and Jacko Winter placed 5th in front of Jackson Wright.

Groms finalist Jackson Winter sticking ten

In the opens Ian Bell was a well deserved winner, displaying a perfect mix of new and old school surfing. Current Australian Open Champion Harley Ingleby placed 2nd and Sydney’s Christian Pimm surfed well to come in third.

In the junior event the waves turned on, but some bad sportsmanship was displayed by one finalist resulted in other finalists being snaked of set priority, hence the best waves were taken. Julian Wilson, Bryce Young and your author fought a tight, clean battle amongst ourselves but Julian and Bryce’s progressive approach combined with good wave selection got the nod ahead of myself, Go Ishikawa and Dan McComb.

Matt Cuddihy

In the premier old mal final Matt Cuddihy provided a well and truly classy performance, perching long hang tens with style to boot. Matt has hoaned his skills on Noosa’s magical walls, and all those hours of practice are clearly evident in his highly advanced traditional approach to surfing. Victoria’s Jordan Nobel placed second, stringing together a number of nice rides in fine style.

Previous winner Ian Williams also surfed brilliantly to place 3rd, with his totally unique style in full swing. Ian’s subtle footwork and pivot tuning is often so understated , that most people just overlook it and can not truly understand the difficulty to such ‘involved’ surfing.

Ian Williams

The annual classic really is a special occasion at Crescent Head, as it celebrates the original era of surfing which put this town on the map and provided so many youth in the 60s with a training ground to cut their teeth on while watching the great surfers of the era give the place a serious going over.

 The Saturday night a good old fashioned ‘stomp’ (a 60’s surf dance) was held at the country club, and personally I can say that a group of traditionally inclined surfer buddies, all in our teens, enjoyed every little bit of reliving (or shall I say first hand experiencing) a bit of that 60s spirit.

It’s great to see things haven’t changed…much.

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