THE Yallingup Boardriders held their first event of 2018 in pristine conditions last Sunday at Three Bears. A rare all day offshore and clean lines of swell greeted competitors from first light in the morning until the end of the day. The club riders relished the chance to surf at Mumma Bears and split the peak with lefts and rights going off. Former club champion Dan Waddell returned in remarkable form for the event and took out the blue ribbon Open Mens division only by the narrowest of margin over a fired up Tommy Trigwell, Josh Cattlin was third and Sam Tucker rounding out the final. Waddell won a new surfboard for his performance and club President Garth Mullumby thanked The Boardstore for their ongoing sponsorship. “The club is at capacity and we could not have asked for a better start for the first event. It was great to see Dan return in such fine form and earn the win,” Mullumby said.
Meanwhile, down the road at Margaret River Mainbreak, the states best juniors were competing in pumping conditions in their first event of 2018. Yallingup’s Emma Cattlin used her experience and skills to claim victory in the Under 18 Junior Girls division. Cattlin used her wave priority perfectly to score a heat high 9.33 to clinch the win over Margarets local Jamaica Selby. The entertaining final shows the future of female surfing in WA looks bright. “I feel really good and I still can't believe it,” Cattlin said. “I love competing out there and I think the wave really suits my surfing.”
Forecast: after another small week there is a thumping swell hitting Saturday with onshore SW winds. The winds shift SSE on Sunday and the 3m plus swell should produce the goods in the protected bays.
Hotspot: Injidup carpark on Sunday.
