The Jim Beam Surf Tag National Final was blessed with all the ingredients this year; clean, smashable waves, awesome weather and all the fruit that comes with it. Some teams found their star surfers and some didn’t, some competitors rose to the occasion under pressure and some cracked…
Reigning champs Snapper Rocks went hard early in the day before stumbling in the semi final to a rampant home team Curl Curl led by a blistering Mat Bemrose show and the surging North Narra A-team. In the other semi the red hot Le-Ba squad ran riot and were joined by North End Boardriders from Queensland. It all came together for North Narrabeen this year with the availability of 3 former WCT pro’s, Chris “Davo” Davidson, Nathan “Noodle” Webster and the recently omitted Nathan “Hog” Hedge.
In the Final, Le-Ba’s underground freak, Marcus Aboody got off to a flyer catching all his 3 allocated waves before anyone else got a sniff. This didn’t rattle Noodle however as he waited patiently for “The One”. Just inside the 10 minute mark it popped up, he slotted in and from there he gave his team a strangle hold they would never release, amassing the final high 27.5 total for his 3 waves.
North Narra finished on 86.2 ahead of North End (68.6), just ahead of Le-Ba on 68 with Curl Curl in 4th on 49.6. North Narra took home $8000 cash and an all expenses paid trip for 5 to the Mentawaiis. Webster also took out the Face of Australia Sun Screen’ Surfer of the Series’ and rode away on a Vmoto scooter for scoring the highest total in the final.
NSW Champs North Steyne had a reverse situation to North Narra, losing the services of new WCT members Kai Otton and Dayyan Neve and it showed on the score board. Yallingup stars Taj Burrow, Jake Patto and Jay Davies were busy elsewhere as were several stars from other clubs across Australia.
In the Jim Beam Boardriders Cup Long Reefs Steve Clemments put on a sizzling display to take out the individual award from Marcus Aboody, the machine from Lennox Head. Clemments also scootered away on a Vmoto with $2000 cash in his pocket.
The 2007 Jim Beam SurfTag National series is proudly supported by Jim Beam, Face of Australia Sun Screen, Mentawaii resorts, Vmoto, Oporto, Coastal Watch and Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine.
Story by Luke Sutherland and Pics by Scott Jackso
Chad Simpson.
Damian Nicholls
Dan Waddell
Jaymes Triggline
Promo.
Jesse Lowe
Marcus Aboody
Don’t get too excited, they’re paid to be there…
Nathan Hedge
Noodles.
Nick Buttler
Tay Graham
