Thick fog delayed the start of Friday’s SUP State Titles but once it cleared, the open men’s division made sure it was an exciting day of competition.
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Harry Maskell (Wamberal) opened the fourth day of the Port Stephens Surf Festival with a bang, locking in a giant 17.16 two-wave heat total in the first heat of open men’s division.
Maskell performed a variety of lightning-fast snaps and carves to leave his fellow competitors needing two-wave combinations of scores to take away his lead. As a result, Maskell sealed his position straight into the quarterfinals.
Not to be outdone, Kai Bates (Mollymook) came out all guns blazing later in the round, nailing a mammoth 17.37 two-wave heat total.
Bates pulled out his arsenal of tricks in the opening exchange, performing a handful of innovative and technical manoeuvres to take the heat win convincingly. Bates will make his next appearance in the quarterfinals.
As a result of the performance, Bates was awarded the AirAsia Wave of the Day award.
Other open men’s round one winners included: James Casey (Collaroy) Andrew Cassidy (Mona Vale) and Justin Holland (Kingscliff).
The over-50 Men’s semi-finals were dominated by Central Coast duo Glenn Cochran (Macmasters Beach) and Adam Robinson (Copacabana) with both surfers posting decent heat totals in excess of 12.50 to both take victories.
Both Cochran and Robinson will be joined by Richard Finlay-Jones (Merewether) and Jason McManus (Woolamia) in the final.
