The 2009-10 ATIVO Ocean Thunder Event 1 - Survival - format has been announced!
Click here to download a copy. (A pdf reader is required)
Pure Blondes Handle Curly Conditions...
Round Fourof the ATIVO Ocean Thunder Pro Surfboat Series was held 14th February in treacherous conditions on Sydney's Dee Why beach. Large crowds braved constant rain, wind and cold to see Australia's best surfrowers take on Mother nature at her worst..
The six preliminary rounds of the Men's division finished with Pentarch Forest Products (Jan Juc) showing amazing consistency with one win and five second placings. Reilly and Sons Food Services (Bungan Beach) and three time Australian Champions Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe) rounding out the top three. Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) who went into the event in second place in the series had a horror of a day finishing at the bottom of the preliminary round pointscore.
The pressure of finals racing then came into play with a number of crews rolling their craft on the way to sea ending what many describe as the hardest day of surf rowing ever experienced.
The Men's final was contested by Wahoo Pools (North Curl Curl), Ettamogah Mob (Bilgola), Byron Bay Premium Ale (Elouera), Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale), Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe) & series leader ATIVO (Austinmer).
Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe) who are well known for their calm water prowess comfortably won their second event for the year from ATIVO (Austinmer), Byron Bay Premium Ale (Elouera), Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale), Wahoo Pools (North Curl Curl) & Ettamogah Mob (Bilgola).
The series pointscore and Ken Murray cup was comfortably won by ATIVO (Austinmer) for the third consecutive year with Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe) & Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) taking the minor placings.
The Women's preliminary rounds resulted in a final contested by The Caringbah (North Cronulla), Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale), Lake Corporation (McMasters Beach) & series leader Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) with Lake Corporation (McMasters Beach) comfortably taking the honours for the second event in a row. Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) snatched a series win with their second placing followed by Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) & The Caringbah (North Cronulla). Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) has now taken a remarkable three series wins in a row.
The Collaroy Services Beach Club Young Guns Shootout was won by Bilgola (Colts), Bilgola (Fillies) and Avoca (Juniors).
Mens Series Results
Plc
Club
Partner
Pts
1
Austinmer
ATIVO
61
2
Nth Cottesloe
Pure Blonde
52
3
Mona Vale
Edwards & Orr Real Estate
44
4
Whale Beach
Sandran
43
5
Elouera
Byron Bay Premium Ale
42
6
Bilgola
Ettamogah Mob
38
7
Jan Juc
Pentarch Forest Products
35
8
Bulli
Centre One Tours
34
9
North Curl Curl
Wahoo Pools
34
10
Moruya
Dial B4 You Dig
31
11
Dixon Park
York Forter
31
12
Dee Why
XXXX Gold
31
13
Bungan Beach
Reilly & Sons Food Services
29
14
BMD Northcliffe
Hogs Breath Cafe
17
15
Tannum Sands
Carmans
14
16
Bronte
Banana Boat
8
Women's Series Results
Plc
Club
Partner
Pts
1
Queenscliff
Manly Warringah Credit Union
29
2
Mona Vale
Edwards & Orr Real Estate
25
3
McMasters Beach
Lake Corporation
24
4
North Cronulla
The Caringbah
19
5
Bilgola
Ettamogah Mob
15
6
Dee Why
XXXX Angels
15
7
Bronte
Banana Boat
8
8
Manly
Active Lifestyles
6
Media queries - Gavin Scott -
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or 0418 560 240
Photographs - Harvpix -
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or visit Harv's site: www.harvpix.com
You can check out the final progressive & cumulative pointscores here
Lifesaver Legend saved by helmet-cam...
NO one who saw what happened to Don McManus in a surfboat race on Sydney's northern beaches can believe he survived.
The 65-year-old was thrown into the water in a nasty wipeout and then blindsided by a 7m surfboat which struck him flush in the head during an Ocean Thunder Race at Dee Why Beach.
Extraordinary footage of the horrific crash was captured by Fox Sports thanks to a helmet camera worn by Mr McManus - which also saved his life.
The champion sweep and his female crew had been running second in the women's open race on December 13 when they lost control and veered into a rival boat from North Cronulla, sending all the competitors into the water.
Facing the shore and shouting for his team to keep swimming to win the race, Mr McManus was oblivious that another boat, from Mona Vale, was hurtling towards him.
"It came from behind and I didn't even see it coming. Suddenly there was this bang and a massive impact on my face. I thought: `What was that?' But I'd lost control of my arms and legs and I was in the water.
"I came back to the surface and yelled `help'. My last thought was, `Well, if someone hasn't heard it I'll take a big gulp and drown', because I was dropping pretty quick.''
View the Fox Sports video of the collision by clicking on the Play button below
Event three of the ATIVO Ocean Thunder has been run and won on Saturday 17 January in tricky one and a half metre waves at Sydney's Dee Why Beach.
In the morning's six preliminary heats of the men's division, series leader ATIVO from Austinmere showed their class with four wins and two seconds. Penarch Forest Products from Victoria's Jan Juc showed a change of fortune from the earlier events with three wins, a second and a third qualifying for the finals in a clear second position.
The six boat final pitted series leader ATIVO (Austinmere) against Penarch Forest Products (Jan Juc), Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe), Dial Before You Dig (Moruya), Centre One Tours (Bulli) and Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) being Sydney's sole representative in the final.
The epic final saw a tussle between three time Australian Champions Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe), two time Ocean Thunder champions ATIVO (Austinmere) and Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) with Howard Christie sweeping Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) to become only the fifth winner of an event in Ocean Thunder history.
The win capped of a memorable day for Christie who had a new Reilly and Sons (Bungan Beach) boat named in his honour at the commencement of proceedings.
The Women's series saw a potential threat to the dominance of Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) who are the reigning two time series champions and current series leader. Both Lake Corporation (McMasters Beach) and Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) finished the four preliminary rounds in front of the champions with Lake Corporation leading the charge with two wins and two seconds from the four preliminary races.
The final, contested by Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff), The Caringbah (North Cronulla), Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) and Lake Corporation (McMasters Beach) was dominated by Lake Corporation (McMasters Beach) with Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) relegated to third position.
Photographs at www.harvpix.com Contact: Harvie Allison 0417 285 133
Click on "Read More" below to see Round 3 results & Cumulative Pointscore after Round 3...
Fox Sports have just viewed the latest vision of Ocean Thunder in production and have requested to their on air program manager to schedule 16 x 1HR slots across summer from December through to March.
Ocean Thunder Feb/March 09 viewing
February
Sunday 1st
FOX SPORT 1
5.00am
Round 1
February
Monday 2nd
FOX SPORT 1
6.00am
Round 2
February
Monday 16th
FOX SPORT 2
6.00pm
Round 3
February
Tuesday 17th
FOX SPORT 3
6.00pm
Round 3
February
Sunday 22nd
FOX SPORT 2
1.00pm
Round 3
February
Thursday 26th
FOX SPORT 1
12 noon
Round 3
March
Friday 13th
FOX SPORT 2
4.00pm
Round 4
March
Saturday 14th
FOX SPORT 2
8.30am
Round 4
Note: Eastern Daylight Saving Time
NINE Network will fully produce a 1HR Ocean Thunder Sports Special on Sunday March 8th 2009 (viewing time to be advised).
Blonde's have more fun... Round 2 report
Round Two of the ATIVO Ocean Thunder pro surfboat series was held on Saturday, 13 December, 2008, in large seas at Sydney's Dee Why beach that took their toll on a now battle weary crop of Australia's best surf rowers.
Australian Champions for the last three years in a row, Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe) took out the men's event with Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) in the women's division repeating their first placing in event one.
In a dramatic improvement from event one, Pure Blonde completed the preliminary rounds with three wins out of five races. New South Wales state champions Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) headed the field after the preliminary rounds followed by Pure Blonde, Dial Before You Dig (Moruya) and Wahoo Pools (North Curl Curl).
The men's final, contested by Dial Before You Dig, Ettamogah Mob (Bilgola), Sandran Properties (Whale Beach), Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe), ATIVO (Austinmer) & Byron Bay Premium Ale (Elouera) saw Pure Blonde cruise to a comfortable victory in front of event one winners ATIVO (Austinmer) & Dial Before You Dig (Moruya).
The ATIVO Ocean Thunder series, now in it's fourth year has seen only four event winners in this, the fourteenth event. Remarkably, the only men's crews to win an event have been Austinmer, North Cottesloe, Avoca and Currumbin.
The Women's final which was contested by Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff), Ettamogah Mob (Bilgola), The Carringbah (North Cronulla) & Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) comprised three back to back races that saw Ettamogah Mob (Bilgola) take final one with Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) take the final two races to continue their dominance of the series.
You can checkout the photo galleries of the day by clicking here
Take 150 rowers, add three feet of rolling surf spiced by a strong cross-onshore breeze, season with barefaced cheek, throw in the occasional back-shoot and roll-over and you have all the ingredients you need for that classic dish: The UK Open Surfboat Championships, held this year on Devon’s north coast at Saunton Sands on Saturday 28 July.
The series pointscore and Ken Murray cup was comfortably won by ATIVO (Austinmer) for the third consecutive year with Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe) & Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) taking the minor placings.
In the morning's six preliminary heats of the men's division, series leader ATIVO from Austinmere showed their class with four wins and two seconds. Penarch Forest Products from Victoria's Jan Juc showed a change of fortune from the earlier events with three wins, a second and a third qualifying for the finals in a clear second position.
The epic final saw a tussle between three time Australian Champions Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe), two time Ocean Thunder champions ATIVO (Austinmere) and Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) with Howard Christie sweeping Sandran Properties (Whale Beach) to become only the fifth winner of an event in Ocean Thunder history.
The Women's series saw a potential threat to the dominance of Manly Warringah Credit Union (Queenscliff) who are the reigning two time series champions and current series leader. Both Lake Corporation (McMasters Beach) and Edwards & Orr Real Estate (Mona Vale) finished the four preliminary rounds in front of the champions with Lake Corporation leading the charge with two wins and two seconds from the four preliminary races.
Fox Sports have just viewed the latest vision of Ocean Thunder in production and have requested to their on air program manager to schedule 16 x 1HR slots across summer from December through to March.
Round Two of the ATIVO Ocean Thunder pro surfboat series was held on Saturday, 13 December, 2008, in large seas at Sydney's Dee Why beach that took their toll on a now battle weary crop of Australia's best surf rowers.
The men's final, contested by Dial Before You Dig, Ettamogah Mob (Bilgola), Sandran Properties (Whale Beach), Pure Blonde (North Cottesloe), ATIVO (Austinmer) & Byron Bay Premium Ale (Elouera) saw Pure Blonde cruise to a comfortable victory in front of event one winners ATIVO (Austinmer) & Dial Before You Dig (Moruya).
