Noosa festival of Surfing

SURFERS TO HELP VICCO FIRE VICTIMS AT BUSHFIRE BENEFIT

A late addition to the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of
Surfing, presented by Golden Breed – a bushfire benefit concert
will be held on the evening of Saturday 21st March at the Good Vibes
Surf Expo in Lions Park.



At the time of going to press the nights line-up consists Afro Dizzy
Act, Pico, Golden Sound, Tim Gaze and Max Judo but more acts are
signing on every day. ‘The response from local muso’s has been unreal’
says Expo organiser Scott Cairns of Panga Productions. ‘We’re getting
calls every day from bands offering to play. Some of the members
of Band of Frequencies will be in town and they want to get involved.
Its shaping up to be a pretty cool free event.’



Volunteers will be accepting donations from the crowd and all proceeds
will go to the Bushfire appeal.



The Good Vibes Surf Expo will run for the last four days of the
Noosa Festival of Surfing, from the Thursday 19th to the Sunday
22nd , 10am to 10pm daily. The beneficiary of the expo is Frangipani
Dreams and the major sponsor is Good Vibes Water.



Several surf related brands will be showcasing their products with
various demos scheduled for every day including one from Tom Wegener
who will be shaping his famous Alaia wood surfboards on site, and
a fashion show for Hive Swimwear and Golden Breed.



Highlights of the days surfing will be projected onto a big screen
in the park and a surf film will be screened every night. There
will be a bar area, foodstalls and a children’s activity area as
well as DJ and live music throughout the four days.



Businesses interested in becoming involved in the expo should contact
Scott Cairns of Panga Productions via email at info@pangaproductions.com.au.

SURFING’S OLD DUDES PUT THEIR BEST FEET FORWARD

Surf industry legends Bill Wallace and Ray “Admiral” McKeon
are to be honored at the second annual Feet of Fame inauguration
in Noosa next week. The Feet of Fame is part of the Global Surf
Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing, presented by Golden Breed,
which starts on Sunday. The Feet of Fame inauguration will be held
at Laguna Jack’s Teppan Bar from 6.30pm on Tuesday night.



Festival director Phil Jarratt said the Feet of Fame had become
an occasion for all the surfers gathered in Noosa for the festival
to pay tribute to the pioneers. “We all recognise the contributions
of these guys, but this is a great way to mark what they’ve done
for posterity. Last year we honored surfer/shaper Bob McTavish and
Coast waterman and industry pioneer Hayden Kenny. This year we looked
at the Noosa surfing community and came up with two people whose
position on the Feet of Fame walkway is totally deserved.”



Bill Wallace was one of Sydney’s leading “toothpick” surfers
in the 1940s, and in the ‘50s was at the forefront of the development
of the Malibu chip surfboard in Australia. One of the finest surfboard
craftsmen in the world, Bill’s brand remained an industry leader
through the ‘60s and ‘70s, and more recently in Noosa, he has
turned his expertise to fine collector wood boards. Bill doesn’t
surf any more but still gets a workout on his paddle ski most mornings
at the Noosa Rivermouth, before beachcombing with wife Betty.



Ray McKeon was one of the “Cornel Wilde Gang” along with Bluey
Mayes at Bondi in the 1940s and a very good toothpick rider as well.
But when his work as a merchant seaman took him to Hawaii regularly
in the early 1950s he took to surfing the Malibu chips the Waikiki
locals had started to ride, thus making him one of the first Australian
to take up the modern longboard, years before Greg Noll and friends
introduced them to Australia. A First Point regular until very recently,
Ray and Joan are a much-loved part of the Noosa surfing community.



The Noosa Festival of Surfing salutes both Feet of Fame inductees
for 2009.

BARGAINS AT BACK BEACH NOOSA VINTAGE SURF AUCTION

There is exceptional value for collectors this year at the Noosa
surf auction, presented by Back Beach art gallery and collectibles
at the Noosa Heads Surf Club, 7pm, Wednesday, March 18.

Auction convenors Darryl Homan and Phil Jarratt have put together
another classic collection of vintage surfboards, memorabilia and
collectibles. More than 40 lots will go under the hammer of auctioneer
Laurie Prentice, while a further 20 lots will be presented in a
silent auction preceding the main event.



World longboard champion Bonga Perkins will be guest presenter,
along with such luminaries as Gordon Woods, Bill Wallace, Darrell
“Rooster” Dell and design innovator Thomas….



According to Darryl Homan the time has never been better for investing
in surf collectibles. “The world economy is down and people are
being careful with their finances, but as with real estate, rationalisation
of people’s holdings means that things are being released for
sale with lower expectations. It’s definitely a buyer’s market.”



Among the prized lots are a 1930s Hawaiian paipo board, a classic
Gordon Woods 1958 balsa pig, a one-owner 1956 Bill Klimer cigar
box okinui, two 1970s mint condition Lightning Bolt guns, plus mint
first editions of Surfer, Surfing World, Australian Surfer and Surfabout,
and surf art by John Severson and Lynne Boyer.



The Back Beach Noosa Vintage Surf Auction catalogue
is available for download here (PDF document).

GOLDEN BREED NOSERIDER SET TO GO

One of the best fields of internationally renowned noseriders ever
assembled will take to the tip in this year’s $3000 Golden Breed
Noserider at the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing,
presented by Golden Breed.

Noosa noseriding sensation Matt Cuddihy plays
the weighting game at First Point.

Photo courtesy Global Surf Industries.

Festival director Phil Jarratt said the final field of 14 invitees
and 12 triallists vying for the last two slots in the main event
represented the crème de la crème of the longboard specialty.
“It’s never easy to decide who gets invited to a thing like
this, but I think we’ve chosen a very strong representation of
people with track records in noseriding events and hot kids who
just light up the points with their ability. I think we’re going
to see the bar raised big time in this event, juding by some of
the stuff we’ve seen in the training sessions at First Point over
recent weeks.”



Headed by last year’s Noosa noseriding winner Christian Wach of
California, the invitee list includes fellow finalists and Noosa
locals Zye Norris and Matt Cuddihy, current world number twos Antoine
Delpero of France and Chelsea Williams of Australia, former world
champions Josh Constable and Jen Smith, and former world junior
shortboard champion Julian Wilson, fresh from his great form at
the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.



Twelve invited triallists will battle it out in two heats on Sunday,
March 15, for the final two positions in the main event, which will
begin on Monday, March 16, alongside the Golden Breed Mens LQS Pro
and the Banana Boat Women’s LQS Pro.



NOSERIDER INVITATIONAL

Christian Wach, USA (1st 08)

Ezra Norris, Noosa, Q (2nd 08)

Matt Cuddihy, Noosa, Q (3rd 08)

Jen Smith, USA (07 world champion)

Chelsea Williams, NSW (08 world runner up)

Antoine Delpero, France (08 world runner up)

Harley Ingleby, NSW (08 world number 3)

Ned Snow, Hawaii (08 world number 2)

Seb Wilson, Coolum, Q (legend)

Josh Constable, Noosa, Q (former world champion)

Dane Wilson, NSW (legend)

Harrison Roach, Noosa, Q (legend)

Julian Wilson, Coolum, Q (legend)

Taylor Jensen, USA (US champion)



NOSERIDER TRIALS (top 2 progress to main event)

Jordy Brown, Vic

Try Mothershead, USA

Bryce Young, NSW

Alex Bullpitt, Caloundra, Q

Trent Dickey, Noosa, Q

Ben Skinner, UK

Brett White, Noosa, Q

Zye Norris, Noosa Q

Justin Healy, Caloundra, Q

Zac Southgate-Smith, Noosa, Q

Jock Bahen, WA

Jess Jerrems, Noosa, Q

SIX STOKED FAMILIES JOIN IN THE SPIRIT!

More news later but six families have beaten the odds and the timekeeper
to get their entries into the Honolua Surf Co/Cafe Le Monde Spirit
of Teams event to be held Sunday, March 15.



Entries opened late on March 3 and were filled by the following
morning!



Looks like we might be on a winner with this one.



Final List



Mick and Bart Wilson, Qld

Dave and Dane Wilson, NSW

Libby and Jackson Winter, Qld

Sam and Luke Egan, NSW/Qld

Rusty and Taylor Miller, NSW

Phil and Belinda Baggs, NSW/Qld

Ciaran and Roisin Carolan Roisin, NSW

Ben and Dane Pioli, Qld

Dave McIvor and daughter Shani, Qld

Paul Winter and daughter Kelly, Qld

Peter and Brett White, Qld

Lee and Ben Constadine, Vic

SPIRIT OF FAMILY IN NOOSA

One of the world’s leading surfwear brands has teamed up with
one of Noosa’s iconic café restaurants to put the family feeling
back into the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing,
presented by Golden Breed.



The Honolua Surf Co./Café le Monde Spirit of Family Challenge
will put the focus on multi-generation surfing as more mums and
dads keep on surfing as their offspring turn into champions. The
Challenge will pit six invited teams of well-known surfing families
against each other and against the first six families to take up
the challenge on the festival website.



Note that all competitors must be from a 2 generational family i.e.
Father/Son, Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Mother/Daughter only.

Mick Fanning making something out of nothing. The
teams events are a hoot whatever the conditions.

Photo courtesy Global Surf Industries.

Said festival director Phil Jarratt: “Honolua’s Guy Walker
came to us with this idea of promoting families surfing together
and we loved it. As it happened, so did Café le Monde which promotes
family dining at the beach, so they teamed up to sponsor this new
event for Noosa. We hope it becomes a regular addition to the festival.”



Invited teams include former ASP world tour star Luke Egan and his
shaper dad, Sam, soul surfing superstar Belinda Baggs and her dad
Phil, the patriarch of Coolum’s Wilson surfing dynasty Mick and
son Bart, and former US champion Rusty Miller with daughter Taylor.
The first six parent/child Noosa competitors to apply at www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com
will join in the fun of the Honolua/Le Monde Spirit of Family event
at Noosa on Sunday, March 15.

The Walker family teamed up with 07 champs Mick
Fanning and Steph Gilmore at last year’s festival, and loved it!
Family fun is what Noosa is all about.

Photo courtesy Global Surf Industries.

Presentations for this and other Waterman’s Sunday events will
take place at a festival opening night family luau at Café Le Monde
immediately following the festival opening ceremony at sunset, live
music from Rusty Miller’s hot old guy surf band, The Yanx. Yowza!



HONOLUA/LE MONDE SPIRIT OF FAMILY INVITEES



Mick & Bart Wilson (Qld)

Dave and Dane Wilson (NSW)

Rusty & Taylor Miller (NSW)

Phil & Belinda Baggs (NSW/Qld)

Libby and Jackson Winter (Qld)

Luke & Sam Egan (Qld/NSW)



TO BE JOINED BY THE FIRST SIX FAMILIES, SEND AN EMAIL TO Phil Jarratt
at backbeachnoosa@bigpond.com

ANOTHER WORLD PREMIERE FOR NOOSA FESTIVAL

The world premiere of the feature-length “Searching for Michael
Peterson” will be a highlight of the Global Surf Industries Noosa
Festival of Surfing, with the sport’s luminaries from around the
world expected to attend.



The premiere, at Noosa Cinemas on Monday, March 16 will be hosted
by former world pro surfing champion Peter Townend, and will also
feature a live music set from “Morning of the Earth” musicians
Peter Howe and Tim Gaze, plus an exclusive encore screening of the
American Wide World of Sports special, “Puerto Rico World Titles
1968”, unseen for almost 40 years.



Searching for Michael Peterson, directed by Jolyon Hoff, is a docudrama
telling the moving story of one of Australia’s greatest surfers
whose career was cut short by mental illness. For five glorious
years “MP” led the Coolangatta Kids and won virtually every
event he contested, including three Bells Beach Pros back to back.
His brilliant, aggressive surfing provided the centrepiece for Albert
Falzon’s Morning of the Earth in 1972, and MP never looked back.
His final tour victory, at the inaugural Stubbies Pro at Burleigh
Heads in 1977, is regarded as the high point of the early professional
era. Sadly, a year later triumph turned to tragedy and Michael’s
demons claimed him.



Thirty years on, MP is still vitally interested in the sport and
culture of surfing and is a fixture at most Queensland events, enjoying
the action with his mother, Joan. He is rightly regarded as an iconic
figure in Australian surfing, and Hoff’s film, while it pulls
no punches, is an intensely moving tribute to the man.



Puerto Rico ’68 was unearthed by producer Larry Lindberg just
prior to a 40th anniversary reunion of the event in California last
year. This will be the first public showing of a remarkable document
of an extraordinary time in surfing, as the shortboard replaced
the longboard.



This rare performance together by Peter Howe and Tim Gaze celebrates
the release of Peter’s new album, “Postcards from the Coast”,
a musical celebration of a year spent sailing along the Queensland
coast. Howe’s haunting “I’m Alive (Delightful Rain)” was
one of the central themes of Morning of the Earth, and later gave
its name to the ABC surf music television special. Gaze, formerly
of Tamam Shud, is one of Australia’s greatest guitar virtuosos,
equally at home with surf music or the blues.



A limited number of tickets for this special night will be available
at $30. Purchasing information to come soon on this website!

ALMOST $18,000 UP FOR GRABS AT THE GLOBAL SURF INDUSTRIES NOOSA
FESTIVAL OF SURFING PRESENTED BY GOLDEN BREED

Recession! What recession? Festival director Phil Jarratt today
announced that total prize purse for the event was close to $18,000,
with hefty cash prizes offered across six professional and specialty
divisions.



Said Jarratt: “We recognise that surfers come from all over the
world to compete at Noosa, and it’s important to give them a little
financial incentive to make the journey. It’s never been about
the money at our event and it never will be, but through the generosity
of our sponsors we are able to offer enough to help these great
champions cover their costs and maybe come out in front after a
week of waves.”



The headline professional event, the Golden Breed Mens Pro, will
offer $US 5000, with the Golden Breed Noserider Invitational offering
$AUS 3000 to the best of the 16 invitees. The Banana Boat Womens
Pro offers $US 2000, while in the specialty surfing, the Stand Up
Paddle Surfing Pro has $AUS 2500 riding on it and the Tandem Pro
a further $AUS 1000.



A brand new event, the First Light Stand Up Paddle Race, will have
purse and prizes to the value of $AUS 1000, for up to 100 paddlers
who take on the 5-kilometre course from Lions Park to Main Beach,
tackling flat water and surf.



Said Phil Jarratt: “We’re stoked to welcome First Light Private
Residences and Hotels to our family of sponsors. They love the concept
of the festival and the way it promotes our water-based lifestyle
in Noosa.”



In addition to the money events, the GSI Noosa Festival will include
11 amateur divisions covering all ages, the Global One Design Invitational,
the new Honolua Surf Co/Café Le Monde Spirit of Family Teams Challenge,
world champions, legends and alaia board exhibitions.



Posted by: admin on 01/07/2009 09:15 PM

FIRSTLIGHT 5K STAND UP PADDLE RACE TO ROCK THE RIVER

Update! Download the Firstlight SUPS entry form here!



In keeping with the tremendous surge in popularity of stand up paddling
as a fitness activity, the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival
of Surfing this year introduces a 5-kilometre race from Lions Park
on the Noosa River to First Point.



The race, which takes in still water, the Noosa Bar and a triangular
course across Laguna Bay, will be held from 3pm on Sunday, March
15, the festival’s opening day, prior to the official Hawaiian
opening ceremony and blessing of the waters. Festival director Phil
Jarratt said he expected to be flooded with entries when the entry
forms are posted on the festival website this weekend.



“With $1000 cash and prizes on the line over three divisions,
some paddlers are going to be taking this very seriously, “Jarratt
said, “but our main goal is to have a fun event and a great spectacle
to launch the festival. Sunday 15 is designated ‘waterman’s
day’ and we’ll be having some amazing exhibition and celebrity
events leading into the Firstlight SUPS.”

Noosa local Paul Winter in training

The Noosa Festival introduced an ocean paddle race last year, but
Jarratt said the focus had been changed this year to make it more
of a family event. “Over this short but challenging course we’re
going to see a lot of mums, dads, kids and whole family groups having
a go, and that’s what our festival is really all about. Already
some of the best stand up paddlers from around the world have indicated
they’ll compete, so if you’re just starting out, what a blast
to paddle up the river with your heroes.”



Stand up paddle surfing, invented by the Waikiki beach boys so that
they could take tourist photos while surfing more than half a century
ago, is the fastest growing surfing sector in the world, with SUPS
sales helping counter the recession for many manufacturers.

ENTRIES FILLING FAST IN AMATEURS AT NOOSA FESTIVAL

Alan Atkins, contest director of the Global Surf Industries Noosa
Festival of Surfing, presented by Golden Breed, today advised surfers
intending to compete to get their entries in quickly, with many
divisions close to capacity.



“We can’t just keep expanding to fit the needs of every age
group, or we’d lose the character of the Noosa Festival,” Alan
said. “Right now, we’ve got a very full program of events for
the week and several divisions will fill over the next week. My
advice is to enter without delay if you want to be sure of a start.”



Divisions getting close to capacity include Old Mal, Over 60 Mens,
Mens Open and Womens Open. Entry forms are available to download
at noosafestivalofsurfing.com, or you can link to Surfing Australia
and enter on-line.



The eight-day festival, now in its 18th year, is Australia’s most
popular surf cultural event, attracting competitors and spectators
from all over the world. Event director Phil Jarratt said that,
despite the economic uncertainty, interest in the festival was huge.
“We’ve got a fantastic eight days of entertainment on and off
the beach. People have come to expect a certain quality of the Noosa
festival and we won’t disappoint.”



Posted by: admin on 01/07/2009 04:04 PM

LEGENDS OF NOSERIDING HEADING TO NOOSA

The world’s best noseriders will be packing their point-wave noserider
specials and heading for Noosa, following the announcement of the
invitation list for the 2009 Golden Breed Noserider Invitational,
part of the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing.



Only 16 of the best will battle it out for the prestigious crown
and prize money as Australia’s original noserider contest goes
back to its roots. Said Festival organiser Phil Jarratt: “Having
our old mates Golden Breed come back as presenting sponsors for
next year really made us think about why this was such a classic
event in the first place. Why? Because we gave the world’s best
a platform to show what they could do on the world’s best point
waves. In 2009, thanks to Golden Breed, that’s what we’re going
back to.”



Leading the invitee list are the 2008 noserider finalists, Christian
Wach (CA), Ezra Norris (Q), Matt Cuddihy (Q) and Jai Lee (Q). Then
come 2008 world longboard championship placers, Bonga Perkins (HAW),
Antoine Delpero (FRA) and Harley Ingleby (NSW). Women’s world
champ Joy Monahan is also on the list, and if unavailable, will
be replaced by world number two Chelsea Williams (Q). Also amongst
the invitees are some of the true legends of noseriding, including
Mr Radical, CJ Nelson, hot rat Chad Marshall, and former Noosa and
world champ Joel Tudor, all from California, plus Malibu transplant
Dane Peterson and Aussie Belinda Baggs (Mr and Mrs Nose), Noosa’s
own former world champ Josh Constable, classic stylist Dane Wilson
and Coolum kid and future world shortboard champ Julian Wilson.



The Golden Breed Noserider Pro Invitational will be seven hot heats
of the best noseriding you have ever seen, run in optimum conditions
over the waiting period. Awesome purse and prizes under negotiation
as we speak. All happening at the 8 Days of Pure Stoke – the Global
Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing, presented by Golden Breed.
March 15-22, 2009.



Posted by: admin on 12/03/2008 12:12 AM

THE RETURN OF THE GOLDEN BREED NOSERIDER PRO

Long-time Noosa Festival supporter Golden Breed is back big-time
for the Global Surf Industries Noosa Festival of Surfing 2009, taking
on the role of presenter sponsor and naming rights over both the
LQS men’s professional event and the noserider invitational.



Says Golden Breed CEO Nick Van de Merwe: ”We never really went
away, but after being at Noosa for many years, our involvement did
scale down in 2008. I’m happy to say we’re back and bigger than
ever to celebrate the fact that Noosa is now home to Golden Breed’s
first concept store.”



Event director Phil Jarratt said he was thrilled that Golden Breed
had taken on the presenter sponsorship. “Nick has been a great
friend of the festival for almost a decade now, and Golden Breed
support has been crucial to our growth. But what excites me most
is the fact that we’re going back to the original concept of the
Golden Breed Noserider, showcasing 16 of the world’s best noseriders
in optimum conditions.”



There are simply very few places in the world that offer a noseriding
training ground like Noosa’s four peeling point breaks, and some
of the tip-riding you’ll see on just an average day at First Point
or Tea Tree will blow your mind.

Jai Lee

Riding the nose is what distinguishes longboarding from shortboarding,
and it is one of the most difficult manoeuvres because in a very
real sense it requires defying the forces of gravity. The surfer
stalls the board mid-turn by pushing the back of the board down
the face of the wave. Then he (or she, let’s not forget we’ve
got some hot noserider girls) walks or runs to the front of the
board and drapes five or ten toes over the nose as the speed of
the wave pushing up the face keeps the tail in place.



The heavier you are, the harder it gets, so that’s why some of
the best noseriders are skinny little stick figures, like the flying
Norris brothers. But kids who learn to master the art while flyweights
tend to keep their skills even when they develop the physiques of
men, like Matt Cuddihy and Jai Lee. And some guys who have always
been big – like Josh Constable or Tom Wegener – simply defy
the odds by being outstanding noseriders.

Matt Cuddihy

Josh Constable

Hawaiian beach boy Rabbit Kekai is often credited with pioneering
noseriding back in the 1940s, riding a finless “hot curl” surfboard
at Queens in Waikiki. Others give legendary shaper and scallywag
the late Dale Velzy the credit, citing the summer of 1951 as the
time when Velzy patented the hang five and hang ten manouevres at
Manhattan Beach, in the South Bay of Los Angeles. By the end of
the ‘50s, a hang ten was the holy grail of surfing, and in the
1960s surfboard designers started to come up with all kinds of weird
designs to noseride better and for longer. One of these designers,
Tom Morey (who later invented the boogie board) decided to promote
his noseriders by staging the world’s first noseriding contest,
the Tom Morey Invitational, in Ventura, California in 1965.



Competitors had to place a tape across the front of their boards
and were timed while both feet were in front of the tape and they
were either hanging five or ten. It was this pioneering contest
format that was used back in 2000 when the Golden Breed Noserider
Pro made its debut at Noosa. Many of the leading noseriders from
the 1960s, including David Nuuhiwa and Donald Takayama, were pitted
against the champions of the day, like Joel Tudor, Kevin Connelly
and Ray Gleave. The Noserider was a huge success and a real crowd
pleaser, and in 2009 it returns to the invitational format, so that
Noosa can get to watch the new generation of home-grown noseriders,
and the best of the rest, such as California’s Christian Wach
and Chad Marshall, Hawaii’s world champ Bonga Perkins and France’s
Antoine Delpero.