NEWCASTLE surfers Philippa Anderson and Sarah Baum won their heats at Surfest yesterday, while Nelson Bay's Mike Clayton-Brown progressed with a second place in the closest exchange of the day, with just 0.33 points out of 20 separating the three competitors.
Proceedings began with the 16 heats in round one of the City of Newcastle Pro, before the AAP Consulting Women's Pro kicked off mid-afternoon in clean and glassy conditions as the light southerly dropped and the swell picked up after the bottom of the tide.
Anderson, the number five seed, put her local knowledge to good use, while Novocastrian Baum, who competes under the flag of her native South Africa, scored by far the highest two-wave total in either event.
Her 16.16 total from a 7.33 and an 8.83 beat the 13.90 - another high score - from the Gold Coast based 12th seed, Ellie Brooks. Bohdi Leigh-Jones and Jasmine McCorquodale, who won entry for taking out the Wandiyali Indigenous Classic at the weekend, were eliminated.
Baum explained after her heat that she would not gain any World Surf League (WSL) points for competing at Newcastle because she was entered in the African region of the Qualifying Series (QS).
"That means I do not hold any rank for the Australian regional events," Baum said.
"If I do well in this event I will not gain any points. My main reason for doing these events is to build my competitive surfing, because competing in as many events as possible gives me more practice.
"I feel great about this afternoon's heat. It's always good to have a plan, and for that plan to work out.
"I'm looking forward to keeping the momentum going into the next round and it looks like we will have some interesting weather and swell towards the end of the week which will make things super exciting."
The tight final men's heat saw Clayton-Brown through on 10.07, behind winner Ty Richardson on 10.40, with Victorian Bohdie Williams eliminated on 10.04 points.
In a closely watched heat six, Central Coast 15-year-old Hugh Vaughan, younger brother of QS leader and Surfest 10th seed Joel Vaughan, took the win with a buzzer-beater ahead of Queenslanders Tane Dobbyn, Jaggar Bartholomew (son of 1978 world champ Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew) and Jay Occhilupo (son of 1999 champ Mark Occhilupo).
The men's top seeds will appear when the second round starts today, but the high-profile women surfers were in the water from the start.
AAP Consulting Pro top seed Sophie McCulloch of the Sunshine Coast won heat one. New Zealander Paige Hareb took the second and former Championship Tour (CT) star Keely Andrew the third.
Women's QS leader Dimity Stoyle won the next, while Anderson and Baum took the final two of the partly completed round.
The men's event saw two CT-level surfers, Nathan Hedge and Soli Bailey take out their heats, Hedge, at 42 almost three times the age of youngest surfers in the competition.
Hedge, who first competed at Surfest more than 20 years ago, attacked the Merewether rights on his backhand to win a tight Heat 9, progressing with a two-wave total of 10.77, along with Jarvis Earle on 10.00.
"I've been coming up here since I was in high school so it's a really special place for me," Hedge said.
"I've had a second and a third here so have had some success too. Lots of good memories from this place. Competing here with my family watching and coming up with my mum and dad.
"It's just a great town with great people. I love having the opportunity to compete still and make a few heats because I still have so much competitive fire in me, but I also love being able to share a few pearls of wisdom with the crew who are just starting their journey. It's a win win for me."
Bailey, who like McCorquodale gained entry after winning Wandiyali, won Heat 13 with 10.76 points, well clear of second-placed Fraser Martin on 9.66.
The Byron Bay-based Bailey told the World Surf League (WSL) he had been "chasing swells and working on film projects with my sponsor and just enjoying surfing for what it is".
"I do love competing a lot and maybe I can shake up the Challenger Series (QS) qualification race a bit," Bailey told WSL.
"If I did end up winning it and made the cut, then I could surf Snapper with no one out which would be cool."
In the AAP Consulting Pro, the commentators were concerned for Keely Andrew when she finished one wave reaching for her back, which she injured during a recent contest.
:I've got a bit of a sore back but it's not too bad, I've got a good team looking after me so I just need to get through this one," she said after winning her heat.
"The pain kind of went away after getting that first wave."
In other pro surfing news, triple world champion Mick Fanning has a wildcard entry into the Bells Beach Pro, to run between April 10 and 20. The Gold Coaster retired from the tour in 2018 and placed equal 17th in last year's Narrabeen Classic.
"Bells is the contest (wildcard) I was really aiming for," Fanning said.
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