Surfing Tasmania

Paul Johannesen Memorial

Eaves takes out Paul Johannesen Trophy

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Hobart surfer James Eaves has staged a competitive comeback to take out the 4th annual Paul Johannesen memorial competition. The final was held in testing half 1 metre waves at South Goats beach, the small wedgy waves saw some impressive surfing, despite the cold and at times wind affected conditions.

After taking out the state title back in 2007, Eaves has been absent from the competitive scene for the past 3 years, opting to focus on his building apprenticeship.

Eaves looked strong from the outset, posting the competitions highest wave score in the semi final, a 9.5 for a wave that he absolutely destroyed, linking a series of four powerful turns to the beach.

The final was a seesawing battle between Eaves and Luke Bugg, a late comeback by Jy Johannesen fell short as Eaves mastered the tricky conditions with a solid scorer in the last minute of the final.

Johannesen wasn't to be disappointed, the result ensured that he will be crowned the 2010 Tasmanian state champion "I'm stoked with this result, not only did one of my best mates win, I got the state title and had a really good fun weekend catching up with all my friends" he said.

Dara Penfold put in a strong performance in the Open Women's division taking the title from Claire Mc manus in 2nd, Anna Seabrook in 3rd, Iona Renwick in 4th and godmother of Tasmanian surfing Jo Goldfinch in 5th place. Penfold also put in a strong performance in the open men's division leaving a few of the boys in her wake after a dominating first round heat at Roaring Beach on Saturday.

The organisers would like to thank all those who helped out over the weekend, in particular Greg Froud and the Christian surfers who did a great job of feeding the crowds. Funds raised were donated to a charity of the Johannesen family's choice; on this occasion it is Canteen, which is part of the cancer council.

Organisers would also like to thank the event sponsors, Sportsco Kingston, La Porchetta family restaurants, Nike, Billabong, Red Herring Surf and Shapers Australia for their support.