Quarter finalist have been decided on an exciting opening day of competition at the Cape Naturaliste Pro presented by Creatures of Leisure, the second stop of the 2022 West Australian Pro Surf Series.
Yallingup Main Break, one of Western Australia’s most iconic surfing locations, turned on 3-4 feet peaks that competitors from across Australia tore apart, with high-performance surfing highlighting today’s heats.
After strong onshore conditions forced a lay day yesterday, light and variable winds made a pleasant change for surfers and spectators alike, with a strong on beach crowd cheering on the many local surfers, including event wildcards Duke Nagtzaam (Yallingup, WA), Duke Nagtzaam (Dunsborough, WA) and Felicity Palmateer (Yanchep, WA).
Men’s round one heats saw Brock Launders (Margaret River, WA), Max Marsden (Geraldton, WA), Cyrus Cox (Margaret River, WA), and Duke Nagtzaam (Yallingup, WA) all drop big scores on their way to victory this morning.
While, on the women’s side of the draw it was Peel Pro Junior Champion Ellie Harrison (Barwon Heads, VIC) that stole the show, with a dominant performance in her first professional outing at Yallingup.
Harrison dropped two excellent scores, which included a 9.00 and 8.00 on her way to the highest two-wave combined total of the day, with a 17.00 from a possible 20.
“It was really fun out there, there was plenty of opportunities and some fun waves came through during that heat,” said Harrison. “It’s my first time to Yallingup, I think it’s really cool and I love this place.”
Harrison was joined in the winners circle by Felicity Palmateer, Emma Cattlin (Yallingup, WA) and Coral Durant (Red Bluff, WA), who all looked strong in the powerful waves on offer in Yallingup.
The afternoon saw Men’s round two completed with seeded surfers showing their class alongside some of WA’s most accomplished competition surfers. Big scores rained down as quarter finalists were confirmed in some amazing and high scoring heats.
Peel Pro Junior Champion Lennox Chell (Avoca, NSW) kept his form flowing into Yallingup and was stoked with the conditions on offer.
“It’s always good to get that first heat out of the way, I was a little nervous starting again but there was some fun waves out there so I’m glad to get through that one,” said Chell. “I love Yallingup, I’ve been exploring the area with my mum and my sister and hopefully we’ll have some even better waves on offer tomorrow”
Chell, will be joined by fellow interstate surfers Jamie Thomson (North Narrabeen, NSW), and Taj Stokes (Sunshine Coast, QLD) in the quarter finals. They will have their work cut out for them with Otis North (Yallingup, WA), Luke Campbell (Scarborough, WA), Max Marsden (Geraldton, WA), Cyrus Cox (Margaret River, WA), and Duke Nagtzaam (Yallingup, WA) awaiting them in the man-on-man heats tomorrow.
Heats will commence at 7:30am tomorrow morning, with an exciting forecast set to create a memorable finish to the Cape Naturaliste Pro presented by Creatures of Leisure. Clean off shore winds and an overnight kick in the swell should make for an epic day of surfing in the South-West of WA.
You can stay up to date with the Cape Naturaliste Pro presented by Creatures of Leisure via the World Surf League mini event site: www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2022/mqs/4171/Cape-Naturaliste-Pro
The WA Pro Surf Series is brought you in partnership with Surfing WA, World Surf League, City of Mandurah, Visit Mandurah, City of Busselton, the Western Australian Government through its Regional Events Scheme (RES). The Cape Naturaliste Pro is presented by Creatures of Leisure and is proudly supported by Rusty, Vans, Otis Eyewear, Mandurah Mazda, Minute Man Press Perth, Caves House Hotel and Caves Road Construction.
For more information on this and other surfing events held in WA be sure to checkout: www.surfingwa.com.au
About The West Australian Pro Surf Series:
The WA Pro Surf Series is set to return in 2022 and has been established for local, Australian and international surfers to gain ranking points and prize money on the WSL Junior Tour and Qualifying Series. The series also creates a WA coastal road trip for surfers to explore the wide variety of waves, amazing local communities and unique surfing culture of Western Australia.
