James Murphy
COREY Taylor has claimed back-to-back Robe Easter Classic victories following Saturday’s 56th annual surf competition.
A star-studded lineup showcased plenty of talent at Robe’s iconic Stony Rise reef break and at the end of the day Taylor saved the best until last.
He impressed with a 46-point wave in the final – the best score of the day – which was more than enough to hold back Stephen Manners (40.5 points), Luke Sykora (34.5) and David Steele (33.5).
All four competitors impressed across the minor rounds, with two rounds of heats followed by semi finals.
Steele was top of his second-round heat, while even bested Taylor in the semi final with a 41-point wave.
However, both surfers progressed and ultimately Taylor was harder to beat in the decider.
Skyora made the semi final with an impressive 44-point wave, while Stephen Manners was neck-and-neck with Skyora in the semi final, with the two scoring 43.5 and 44 points respectively.
From a local perspective, Mark Bruce, Ben Legoe and Harry Hooper all qualified for the second round of heats.
Legoe impressed in the Doctor Jacobs best local final and claimed a narrow win over Benny Harris.
He scored 28.5 points, edging out Harris by half a point, while Kaiden Carter rounded out the podium with 21 points.
Bruce settled for fourth – also with 21 – and Hooper finished fifth.
Carter was also the recipient of the Ian Jennings local incentive prize, while the best wipeout of the day went to Victorian Ed Pendergast.
The event was deemed another success and remains the longest consecutively run surf competition in Australia.
