James Murphy
THE inaugural John’s Joke Legend surf competition was held at Port MacDonnell on Sunday.
Brought to fruition as a tribute to the late John Hunt and the surf spot he discovered 50 years ago near Orwell Rocks, the event attracted a strong field of 46 competitors.
All of those had been influenced by Hunt’s legacy in some way and honoured his memory in a day full of good surf, old friends and a few wipeouts.
Hunt found the spot 50 years ago and it became his regular place to surf.
Thought to be a joke by friends at first, the break has since been known as “John’s Joke”.
After some hotly-contested finals, Wade Gyns claimed the honours in the Open men’s final, while the Open women’s event was won by local Bec Hall.
Gyns has since moved away, but grew up in the region and spent his childhood and teenage years surfing John’s Joke, with fond memories of its namesake.
Darcy Crouch – from whom the idea for the event was first sparked – finished second in the men’s class, with Andre Carrison and Ben Jones in third and fourth respectively.
Carrison also earned the prize for highest-placed surfer aged 50 years and over.
Mount Gambier’s Anna Whitehead finished a narrow second for the women, edging out Zariah Fulham by 0.1 of a point, while Nell Eastough finished fourth.
It was an impressive showing from Fulham, who was the youngest grommet in the event at just 15 years old.
Mount Gambier’s Scott Maxwell claimed the All-Craft win, which was a novelty class reserved for those who do not usually surf on a standard board.
In an action-packed category, he won on his stand up paddleboard, while Phil Riley finished second in the final on a kneeboard and Craig Smith rounded out the podium, also on a kneeboard.
Contest director and Port MacDonnell surf identity Jeremy Ievins was stoked with the support shown for the inaugural event.
“There was more support than I actually expected,” he said.
“It is really nice to see the community get behind these sort of things.”
He said a fun day was had by all, with ideal conditions a lucky treat after the wild weather we have experienced over the last week.
“We were lucky with the weather,” Ievins said.
“The surf wasn’t big, but it was pretty consistent and clean.”
Ievins was a close friend of Hunt’s and it was from him he learnt the craft of shaping surfboards.
All place-getters on the day received a unique trophy, which Ievins created from used paintbrushes set in resin from Hunt’s workshop.
“When you put the resin on the surfboard you use a paintbrush and once it sets the brush is basically ruined,” Ievins said.
“So he had this big pile of ruined paintbrushes in the corner.
“I have been out there since and all the brushes were there, so we have basically just turned those into trophies.
“They have a lot of meaning behind them, which is really nice.”
Trophies also went to Max Lockwood, who was the highest placed Under 25 year old, while Gavin Clarke was the recipient of the best wipeout trophy, for an incident which left him in need of a new wetsuit.
Ievins thanked the support given by the Hunt family throughout the event, as well as the many sponsors who backed the competition and provided prizes on the day.
