Crystal Cylinders
Local Lennox Head surfers Mikey McDonagh and Nyxie Ryan posted solid results at the WSL QS 1000 Mothernest Great Lakes Pro, which started at Boomerang Beach in fun waves last week.
But the influence of cyclone Oma on conditions forced organisers to move to Tuncurry breakwall, which offered competitors some semi-clean, wedgy one-metre peaks.
McDonagh finished in equal ninth position while Ryan scored an equal thirteenth finish.
Both McDonagh and Ryan are still in the junior ranks and were up against much older and more experienced competitors. The event also served as a great warm up for their next event, the Key Sun Zinke Sydney Pro Junior at Manly, on 16 March.
Mikey and Nyxie will both feature as some of the top seeds of the event.
Locals join Slater
The 2019 Vissla Sydney Surf Pro World Surf League Qualifying Series 6000 event has been bolstered with eleven-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater confirming that he will return to Manly to compete this March.
Slater won the event in 1997 and will use the event as a warm-up for the first WCT event at Snapper Rocks in what may be one of his last years of full-time competition.
He was out for the majority of 2018 owing to injury, and along with John John Florence received an injury wildcard for 2019.
Byron surfers Soli Bailey and Kyuss King will also compete at the event along with Lennox Head’s Stu Kennedy.