Coffs Harbour Craft Carnival

50 Years Surf Sports Celebration on Park Beach.

400 competitive surf boat rowers, 100 surf sports paddlers and 50 coastal rowers competed for top honors in their respective events across a weekend of surf.

Working together the Coffs Harbour Surf Club, Australian Surf Boat Rowers League (ASRL), NSW Rowing, The  North Coast Branch and a work party of volunteers staged the two day event.

Cudgen Headland’s 121 points dominated the surf sports arena taking out the point-score from host club Coffs Harbour in second with fellow North Coast club Woolgoolga finishing third.

Saturday morning, double ski races started proceedings. Coffs Harbour, represented by Aaron Beavis and Abbey Lawler placed second. The day culminating with a mixed open board relay won by Cudgen Headland. All races were well contested and some of the country’s premier athletes took out the events and prizes on offer.

Kye Taylor and Isabella Tate from Cudgen featured prominently. Coffs Harbour’s youth team placed consistently with some age group wins and minor placings. Payton Lawler and Lucy Wilde finishing 1st and 3rd in the U19 Female ski.

In the boat arena over two days clubs battled the wind and longer course at high tide. Legs burned and lungs heaved over the course with races non stop heading out into the Pacific Ocean and back.

Winners of the Open Female and Male boat were Port Kembla A Teams. In the Reserve Men and Women’s event North Cronulla and Palm Beach crossed in first place. Burleigh and Collaroy won the Male and Female U23 divisions. Rounding out the events, winners in the U19 divisions Male and Female races were Coogee and Batemans Bay.

Coffs Harbour crews made finals and the club is extremely proud of its U19 Female crew placing 4th and its reserve Men’s crew also placing 4th, just missing the medals.

At the Jetty precinct the coastal rowing Beach Sprint races were held in perfect conditions. Palm Beach Surf Club’s Rachel Balcomb won the Women’s race from Thea Adamson of University of Western Australia. Marcus Della Marta of Sydney University Boat Club defeated Elliot Simpson of UTS Haberfield club in the Men’s sprint final.

Saturday evening at the Surf Club Restaurant and Bar all the clubs gathered to relax and catch up and recap the days events.

The weekend’s event in association with the club’s 100 years of life saving is now back on the surf sports calendar and will be bigger and better in 2024. The club wishes to thank all the competitors, officials and members who made the carnival a success.