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It was with some degree of apprehension that this years Logjam was scheduled for the Australia Day Weekend – School holidays and a host of conflicting activities could have decimated the ranks of competitors and supporters. Luckily the right combination of factors conspired to give us a great day of competition. Organizers were looking to move the venue further down the beach until a strong southerly change came through on the Saturday night and pumped up the swell to three to four feet. For the first time in a month the Curly banks provided would be considered as contestable waves. The overcast skies also kept the free surfers to a minimum so we had a pretty good run of the contest area to complete the day.
The waves were fullish right though the tides and it took surfing nouse to consistently catch waves that afforded the chance to score well. The usual suspects impressed the judges in the first round with Paul O’Grady, Matt Flemming, Sean Dry, Lex Evans, Wayne Maloney , Simon Cox and Rob Coriel showed their prowess on the Old “Logs”.

These boards from the sixties demand a different approach and skill set as they are much heavier and harder to work than the modern mal but the above crew made it look easy as they climbed and dropped, cutback, walked, noserode and rentered the tasty waves on offer. There was always a considerable gallery all through the day that enjoyed the onwater displays.Bad luck to Mike Baird who missed the final by a slither after catching a winning wave just after the bell and Mike Griggs who missed out on a countback.

The highlight of the day, as usual, was the toothpick event where the competitors ride twelve foot plus hollow wooden boards that turn surfing into a rodeo. These logs are extremely difficult to tame and have a mind of their own. A gallery of onlookers hoo’d and ha’d all through the thirty minute event as the numerous stacks and bombed takeoffs littered the lines. Sean caught two bombs from outside and rode them through to the beach to outpoint the Flemmo who has proved to be the master of this discipline in the past. The spectacular stacks by Gus and Bobby kept us all on our toes and provided us with excellent entertainment – Well done lads!

The finals got under way and the conditions for the Mystery were pretty variable and the boys and girls found it challenging to land potential scoring waves. Grub showed real surf experience and caught some whitewater that reformed into a nice inside wall, Bobby and Cranchie both landed respectable outsiders to score well. Our two juniors Ali and Luca surfed great on these heavy boards to get trophies.

The Final was a closely event with the crème de la crème going head on in the now very surfable conditions. The perseverance of Flemmo stood out as did the aggression of Sean and the Stylish turns of Lex. Some great walking by Wayne and trimming by Simon kept the crowd focused on every instant of the thirty minute heat. The patience of Paul O’Grady, who sat for ten minutes at one stage without catching a wave, paid off as he landed some excellent rides to the beach and in doing so gave him the opportunity to showcase his stylish turns and roundouts combined with timely walking and nose rides – the champ picked himself.

Many thanks to all the people that made our annual signature event the success that it was. Special mention has to be made to Mike Griggs and Simon Cox who handled the operational aspects of the meet, Mike and Clare who again excelled themselves with the catering and logistics, Grub who bought down the flags and equipment from Freshie, Sean for his organization capacity and sound decision making. Everyone was blown away by the trophies that Steve Blackmore handmade for the Event – Great work Steve the quality and creation was outstanding! Well done also to Rachael and her friend Ellie who ran the raffle – Rachael is the best raffle marketer on the Northern Beaches.

We appreciate the entrants from the other Clubs, namely POG, Ian W, Garry S, Ron S and Flemmos.

We thank our ever supportive sponsor Dripping Wet who again came to the party wih competitor bags and prizes for the winners. Thanks also to Terumi from WA Surf International who donated those superb surfing essentials. Dee Why RSL is also recognized as an ongoing sponsor.

Remember that we now go into intra Club mode and we hold our comps on the last Sunday of every month, details of important dates to be faound elsewhere on this web site – Look forward to seeing you there!

Phil Nicol

RESULTS

CHAMPIONSHIP: 1. PAUL O’GRADY 2. MATT FLEMMING 3. SEAN DRY 4. LEX EVANS 5. WAYNE MALONEY 6. SIMON COX
MYSTERY: 1. GRUB 2. BOBBY L 3. STU CRANCH 4. MARTY K 5. ALI F 6. LUCA C
TOOTHPICK: 1. SEAN D 2. FLEMMO 3. GUS 4. BOBBY L