BIG THURSDAY AT MEREWETHER FOR DAY FIVE OF THE MAITLAND TOYOTA OPEN

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 March, 2007 : - - Dawn at a picture perfect Merewether beach this morning revealed a 6ft (2m) south swell pounding into Merewether point with corduroy lines stacked to the horizon. The conditions in the morning provided surfers with some of the best waves ever experienced at a Newcastle Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) event.

Judges determined that the massive paddling effort required by competitors in the sixth round of the Maitland Toyota Open justified extending the heats to 25 minutes. Rogue close out sets up to 10 feet (3m), fanned by northwest winds, gouged the sand on Merewether beach and exposed the rocks that had been covered up by months of lazy north easterly winds and swells.

Today’s swell, generated by a strong front that pushed into the lower Tasman Sea on Tuesday afternoon, offered some excellent stand up barrels for the round of 96 that got underway at 7.30am. The swell peaked at around 10am. Local Travis Lynch again showed his progression through a total of six heats owes little to luck and plenty to good judgment and great wave selection.

Another local to progress was Lake Munmorah’s Michael Spencer. Spencer, a 20-year-old natural foot, said that riding a new board in such conditions provided some pretty tough going. “There were some pretty big ones coming through, but I am feeling good in these sort of waves,” Spencer said, Spencer’s best result to date in a WQS event was a ninth at Newquay in England last year.

He says this year will be the first time he has tackled the WQS tour “full on.” “I’m surfing the WQS tour this year and after the Aussie leg I am going to South Africa, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said Immediately after Newcastle, Spencer will surf at the 4 star WQS at Soldiers Beach on the Central Coast.

Wildcard and Merewether local Matt Hoy, a former ASP World Tour (formerly the WCT) surfer, was eliminated from the competition in the third last heat of the round. Hoy said his return to competitive surfing will be short-lived. “I’d had enough in 2001 and I’ve definitely had enough now. “I don’t enjoy getting judged at all any more,” the 35-year old said after handing back the coloured singlet to officials.

Hoy, who only caught three waves and racked up a measly 9 points, said he just couldn’t find the waves. “I had a plan to get the big ones but they just stopped coming,” he said. He was beaten by Adam Melling from Lennox Head and Spain’s Aritz Aranburu. A surfer definitely committed to being judged and wanting to compete at the highest level is Narrabeen’s Nathan Hedge.

‘Hoggy’, who rose to 7th position on the ASP World Tour in 2004, found himself eliminated from the elite tour at the end of last year for the first time since he joined its ranks in 2001. Hedge, who made it to the final at Newcastle just a few years ago, said he loves coming to the event here and that there was no better place to launch his ambition to get back on to the elite tour.

“I am fully focused on getting back to where I think I belong,” said the fit-looking, chiseled 28-year-old. Hedge says he will surf all the big WQS events in 2007 “full bore and full throttle.” His campaign to achieve that ambition started here this morning with a powerful display of carving turns that saw him easily account for his opponents, racking up a heat score of 15.77.