Young guns take Wavefest crowns

Denmark’s Lachy Ross capped an impressive weekend of surfing by claiming his second Wavefest crown, winning the open men’s final in familiar surroundings at Parry beach on Sunday.

The major Albany Boardriders competition of the year attracted strong numbers across six divisions in the 21st edition, held on Saturday and Sunday in solid conditions.

Ross wowed onlookers in his opening heat on Saturday as he scored a perfect 10 from all three judges with a brilliant ride and he carried that form on to defeat Cale Swift, Adrian Shepherd and Owen Thomas in Sunday’s final.

Conditions were tougher in the open men’s final but Ross again surfed consistently to win from a combined two-wave score, adding to the title he won in 2016.

In a hotly contested open women’s final on Sunday, reigning champion Emi Campbell’s run of titles ended after Albany young gun Holly Minter carved her way to a maiden crown.

The combined two-wave scores left little between the four finalists but Minter scored well on a right-hander where she produced a powerful, controlled turn and had a solid second score to finish victorious.

Minter defeated fellow Albany youngsters Pemba Spargo and Sascha Roberts, while Campbell, shooting for a record seventh straight title, finished fourth.

Karina Mitchell won the 30-and- over women’s final from Davynka Moss, with Shannon Armstrong in third and Jessica Ngeh in fourth.

Thomas backed up his strong placing in the open men’s final to win the 35-and-over men’s final, with Darryn Oostdam in second and David Beeck in third.

Shepherd claimed the 50-and- over men’s title after proving too strong for Gary Connell, Peter Bolt and Mike Neunuebel. Paul Dupuy won the 45-and-over men’s division despite suffering a broken nose earlier on the final day.

Dupuy’s board flicked up and broke his nose in the semifinals of the open men but, determined to compete in the 45-and-over final, he entered the water soon after and won before heading to hospital.