 Wallbridge took victory in ten foot waves at Perelle |
Johnny Wallbridge was named Guernsey's top surfer at Saturday's awards evening after pulling out all the stops in epic surf on the west coast. Wallbridge won a thrilling Open final in solid ten foot waves at Perelle to better his runner-up spot last year. The finale to the shortboard contest started at Portinfer before ending on the famed reef break. Wallbridge relished the surf conditions with his two-wave points tally securing the title. Dan Hewlett pushed hard all the way with a powerful attack on the large almost perfect left-handers and was rewarded with runners-up spot. Tom Colley surfed strongly into third while Jake Warr, who snapped a surfboard during the event, was fourth. Josh Sexton also improved on his second place finish last year to claim the longboard crown. The contest was held exclusively at Vazon Beach, where the waves were breaking in the four to seven foot range.  The competition was held at Perelle, Portinfer and Vazon |
Sexton, a past winner of the division, looked comfortable in the head-high waves mixing up hang fives with more progressive manoeuvres to take top spot. It was the second time Sexton has lifted the trophy in three years. Local knowledge helped Nathan Browning's wave attack and it paid off with a second place finish. The veterans made use of the high tide right-handers next to the reef for the semi-finals. Reigning title holder Rob Girard narrowly missed a final spot after losing to Pete Norman and Chris Ashwell. Last year's runner-up Simon Alexander and JJ Shayer were the two through in the other five-man semi. Victory went to Norman with Alexander second and Ashwell third. Shayer was awarded a trophy for his overall performance at the event.  The waves at Vazon were breaking seven feet |
In the junior section, Matt Tostevin's decision to focus on the right handers at Vazon paid dividends after he clinched the Under-16 title for the second successive year. Jack Simon, the defending Under-12 champion, scored highly on two big left-hand waves to secure the Under-14 title. Lottie Parfitt also showed her dominance in the girl's division winning the final for a second year. Rosalie Fall was second with Chloe Tostevin, third. A special presentation evening at Cobo attracted a crowd of around 100 people and raised more than �1,100 for the BBC Children In Need Appeal.
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