Crossed fingers for bigger waves

Tutukaka over-60s surfer Mal Egginton is hopeful the swell will come up in time for the Sandy Bay leg of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour starting today.
The three-day event has been bolstered by a star-studded line up of surfers this year with the event becoming part of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Australasia Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) for the first time in 2011.
The Sandy Bay competition is the first of four on the ASP Australasia Longboard Qualifying Series, the remaining three events being staged in Australia.
Twenty international surfers have been enticed to New Zealand for the event and after peaking during Cyclone Wilma last weekend, the swell has dropped dramatically to just hip-high.
"It's pretty flat at the moment. Longboards are forgiving and you don't need big surf to run an event but it's a shame it's so small with all the international guys coming here to compete," Egginton said.
"There should be enough swell to compete in and the waves will lift a little with the incoming tide which is around 9am to 10am over the weekend.
"The first guys will get the better waves early on."
The Open division will boast internationals such as defending champion and world No5 Taylor Jensen, an American surfer based in Australia. Also attending are Australians Harley Ingleby, the 2009 ASP World Champion, and Josh Constable, who will give Jensen a run for the $6480 prize money following the 2006 World Champion's win at the first event of the Pro Tour held at Piha in January.
While the Open division features some big names, a small but committed local contingent is competing at the event which grew out of a fun contest the North Coast Boardriders and Blue Revolution started 10 years ago. Around five years ago, Surfing NZ made the competition part of the Pro Tour circuit.
While the event was a great opportunity to show off the beautiful area, it was getting so big, it started to take a toll.
"There are so many cars, and free camping in such a small area, it has evolved into a bit of a monster which grew out of a fun competition," Egginton said.
"We're happy to have the competition here, but dogs, camping, car parking and number of competitors need to be managed well ... the dunes are fragile with dotterel and other birds nesting there - people need to be aware."
Surfing NZ spokesman Ben Kennings said he had sent a reminder to the 140 competitors attending about being mindful of their surroundings.
"It's our biggest event yet at Sandy Bay, and we are definitely aware we need to look after the environment out there," Kennings said.
Meanwhile, Egginton was looking forward to competing against his peers, following the introduction of the over-60s division at the Sandy Bay leg instigated by local surfer Laurie Langridge.
"Laurie worked hard to get the division introduced and I backed him along with a few other old buggers. It's great. There is a big difference when you are competing against someone who is 50, when you are 57 ... so I skipped the competition over the last couple of years," Egginton said.
Among some of the other Northland surfers taking part this weekend is Langridge, over-50s Ocean Beach's Viv Treacey and Rupert Newbold, along with Open Men's competitors Simon Egginton and Sean Carter from North Coast Boardriders. Action across the seven divisions at Sandy Bay gets underway today , at 8am, concluding at 4pm daily, until Sunday.