Tradies Surfmasters closes at Cronulla

Brad Whittaker © Ethan Smith/SNSW

Tradies Surfmasters

Surfing New South Wales
The Alley, North Cronulla Beah, Sydney
17 - 18 November 2012

Tradies Surf Masters wraps up in tricky conditions

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 19 November, 2012 : - - Tiny waves graced North Cronulla today for the second and final day of the 2012 Tradies Surfmasters. A strong north-easterly wind and a small one-foot swell created challenging conditions for the 80-plus competitors. It was a battle of the locals in the Retro/Single Fin division between Brad Whittaker and Matt Gallagher. The lead bounced back and forth multiple times, before Brad locked an 8.17 and an 8.83 to usurp Matt Gallagher for the top position. Both Barry Drewitt and Robert Lumby finished in third and fourth respectively.

Matt Gallagher continued to show his competency across multiple boardriding codes locking in a convincing win in the kneeboarding final. Matt quickly changed boards before heading out into the kneeboarding division and showed no sign of slowing down over the course of the entire heat. Paul Detmold and Robert Lumby fought a ferocious battle in the over-40 longboard final. Both surfers exchanged blows back and forth over the course of the heat, but in the end Paul got the nod ahead of Robert and Chas Groom who finished in third.

The over-45 longboard final saw seesawing battle between all three competitors: David Fraser, Robert Lumby and Rob Smith. At one point or another, all surfers held the lead, however when the final hooter sounded it was Robert Lumby who took first place. Lilli Pilli’s Peter Toby managed to snatch a last minute wave to take the win the over-50s longboard final. Wayne Dive, Mike Griggs and Laurie Miller all finished in second, third and fourth respectively.

Shellharbour’s John Skinner nailed down an early lead in the over-55 longboard final and never looked backJohn managed to hold off all his fellow competitors throughout the course of the heat to take the win. A six man final took to the water in the over-60s longboard division. Al Breakspear took a commanding lead early in the heat to beat his fellow surfers.

The over 40’s shortboard final went down as one of the most exciting heats of the event. Both Scott Baxter and Ian Spencer notched up a double interference - on each other - early in the heat to give Maris Luidmanis and Ben Horvath an early advantage. However, both Scott and Ian both went on to lock in high 7s and 8’s to move back into the top spots despite the disadvantage. When the final bell rang, it was Ian who took the win with Scott in second, Maris in third and Ben in fourth.

Mark Tickle continued to standout in the final of the over-45s shortboard final disposing of Scott Baxter, Dave McKinlay and Maris Luidmanis. Terry Day looked deadly from the moment the first hooter sounded in the over-50s shortboard attacking little wind-affected lefts on a wide quad-fin fish. The Bondi goofy footer attacked numerous waves with a combination of fast and stylish manoeuvres. He took the win from Craig Naylor, Lance Woolfenden and Mark Gobbe.

Both John Skinner and Jon Lavers fought an epic battle in the final of the over-55 shortboard final. Both John and Jon went neck and neck until the final five minutes when Skinner got the lead and held onto it until the final buzzer. Rod Menzies took out the over-60s shortboard final with a healthy combination of speed and power in the tricky surf.

Brad Whittaker took out the Carve Of The Day award for his performance in the Retro/Single Fin division. For his efforts, Brad wins a pair of polarised Carve sunglasses. Again, the Beach Bop festival continued to rock away in Dunningham Park behind the contest area. The festival was filled to the brim with a wide array of stalls, vintage cars, nostalgic surf memorabilia and live music on the O’Porto Big Stage.

Longboard over-40
1 Paul Detmold (Miranda, NSW)
2 Robert Lumby (Wollongong,NSW)
3 Chas Groom (Wilberforce, NSW)

Longboard over-45
1 Robert Lumby (Wollongong, NSW)
2 Rob Smith (Lilli Pilli, NSW)
3 David Fraser (Bondi Junction, NSW)

Longboard over-50
1 Peter Toby (Lilli Pilli, NSW)
2 Wayne Dive (Matraville, NSW)
3 Mike Griggs (Forestville, NSW)
4 Laurie Miller (Matraville, NSW)

Longboard over-55
1 John Skinner (Shellharbour, NSW)
2 Wayne Mcaree (Cronulla, NSW)
3 Paul O’Donnell (Crescent Head, NSW)
4 Jon Lavers (Cronulla, NSW)

Longboard over-60
1 Al Breakspear (Cronulla, NSW)
2 Rob Menzies (Cronulla, NSW)
3 Kevin Price (Cronulla, NSW)
4 Dennis Sheriff
5 Harry Lamb (Barden Ridge, NSW)
6 Brian Bull (Cronulla, NSW)

Shortboard over-40
1 Ian Spencer (Miranda, NSW)
2 Scott Baxter (Gymea Bay, NSW)
3 Maris Luidmanis (North Balgowlah, NSW)
4 Ben Horvath (Cronulla, NSW)

Shortboard over-45
1 Mark Tickle (Newport, NSW)
2 Scott Baxter (Gymea Bay, NSW)
3 Dave McKinlay (Cronulla, NSW)
4 Maris Luidmanis (North Balgowlah, NSW)

Shortboard over-50
1 Terry Day (Bondi, NSW)
2 Craig Naylor (Cronulla, NSW)
3 Lance Woolfenden (Cronulla, NSW)
4 Mark Gobbe (Mona Vale, NSW)

Shortboard over-55
1 John Skinner (Shellharbour, NSW)
2 Jon Lavers (Cronulla, NSW)
3 Paul O’Donnell (Crescent Head, NSW)
4 Colin Barry (Forstville, NSW)
5 Mark Sorenson (Miranda, NSW)

Shortboard over-60
1 Rod Menzies (Cronulla, NSW)
2 Al Breakspear (Cronulla, NSW)
3 Mark Dewhurst (Cronulla, NSW)
4 John Lowe (Port Kembla, NSW)

Kneeboard
1 Matt Gallagher (Thirroul, NSW)
2 Craig Tinsley (East Maitland, NSW)
3 Darren Cooper (Lake Munmorah, NSW)
4 Russell Smith (Warilla, NSW)

Single Fin/Retro
1 Brad Whittaker (Caringbah, NSW)
2 Matt Gallagher (Thirroul, NSW)
3 Barry Drewitt (Lake Cathie, NSW)
4 Robert Lumby (Wollongong, NSW)

Tradies Surfmasters is proudly supported by Tradies, Sutherland Shire Council, Australian Skin Cancer Clinics, Carve Eyewear, Westfield Miranda, Vestal and Surfing NSW.

Tradies is a values based organisation with our main objective to provide each and every visitor with an exceptional experience. At Tradies our core purpose is community support and in 2011 alone, Tradies donated over half-a-million dollars to local community and sporting groups. From its very beginnings Tradies has been known as a community club and whilst we continue to grow, these core values along with many others are still held by the Board, Management and Staff at Tradies.