Australian Bluewater Freediving Classic Results

Adreno was proud to sponsor the Australian Bluewater Classic once again this year, with over $2,000 in prizes. Here is a report from David Welch on how the spearfishing competition went.

On the last weekend of March 2014 the Australian Bluewater Freediving Classic was successfully held for the 20^th year. After a few recent years of poor diving conditions reflected by relatively poor attendances at the event, organisers this year were relieved to see some of the better conditions experienced for many years. The fishing also was some of the best for several years, with reports of Spanish mackerel so commonplace leading up to the Classic that some diehard locals were getting “bored” with spearing them!

Fourty one divers competed including a contingent from New Zealand with Dwane attempting to defend the title he won in 2013, and two of Brazil’s best spearfishers were making the arduous trek (55 hours travel time) to Coffs Harbour to dive the event. Also present were several of Australia’s top divers.

Catches comprised of the usual species with kingfish and Spanish mackerel very common. After Day 1 there was a clear leader. Kiwi Shane Fitzmaurice presented 6 species at the weigh-in, a catch that would normally be the leading score in a single day. However, Dwane Herbert produced a phenomenal haul of 9 species! This had only been achieved once before in 20 years of the event, and gave Dwane a strong lead with a day to go.

Junior diver Aaron Puckeridge came second overall!

The second day conditions were spectacular and divers again made the most of it with some even better catches. The top divers for the day caught 6 and 7 species, which once again was exceptional. Those who did well were Steve Wayne, who presented 7 species and the Puckeridge family with both Ian and junior Aaron bringing in 6 species each. Dwane top scored for the day again also with 7 species giving a total of 16 species over two days – a first for the Australian Bluewater Freediving Classic.

Dwane's catch was:

Day 1 - amberjack, Spanish mackerel, cobia, kingfish, tailor, big eye trevally, pennant fish, mack tuna and a mulloway.

A great evening was had by all at the presentation dinner on the Sunday night at the Woolgoolga RSL with everyone dressing up and most spearos becoming unrecognizable in their semi-formal attire. Dwane Herbert was a deserved winner successfully defending his title. Ian Puckeridge was runner-up with Steve Wayne coming in third. Full results and winners are given below.

The organisers acknowledge the fantastic support of the boaties and divers attending the Classic this year, especially those who travelled a long way including the Kiwis and the Brazilians. The Brazilians also pledged they would return next year to get their name on the trophy! Once again, the support from generous sponsors was outstanding. Thanks again to Adreno for their ongoing support.

Beuchat sponsored diver, Dwane Herbert, took out the competition with a new record of 16 species!

Next year will of course will be the 21^st year of the Classic and once we have dusted ourselves off we will begin preparations. Stay tuned via facebook! Finally, the organisers always strive to hold a competition that is fair, fun and affordable and each year we do what we can to make the next event even better. To help us achieve this we welcome constructive feedback from all divers.

Shane accepting his new Beucht reversible wetsuit sponsored by us.

FINAL SCORES:

Placing	Competitor Name	Age	Division	Total Bonus Points	Total Species	Total Weight	GRAND TOTAL
1	HERBERT, Dwane (NZ)	25	SEN	200	16	87.15	2671.5
2	PUCKERIDGE, Ian	48	VET	150	10	53.5	1685
3	WAYNE, Steve	44	SEN	150	9	61.8	1668
4	FITZMAURICE, Shane (NZ)	46	VET	50	10	50.6	1556
5	PUCKERIDGE, Aaron	17	JNR	0	10	36.3	1363
6	HERBERT, Herb (NZ)	58	MST	50	9	39.25	1342.5
7	LEWIS, Alex	40	SEN	50	8	34.1	1191
8	KALLMAN, Mark	48	VET	0	8	29.3	1093
9	HERBERT, Toby (NZ)	23	INTER	50	7	33.2	1082
10	LEESON, Evan	26	SEN	0	8	27.6	1076
11	LOFFREDI, Francisco (Brazil)	41	SEN	0	7	36.3	1063
12	McKENZIE, Scott	47	VET	100	6	34.9	1049
13	WARD, Justin	33	SEN	100	5	44.45	1044.5
14	SANTIAGO, Diego (Brazil)	32	SEN	50	6	38.4	1034
15	ARMOUR, Neil	44	SEN	0	7	28.1	981
16	HARRISON, Steven	40	SEN	0	7	25.1	951
17	RITCHIE, Alex	33	SEN	100	4	44.85	948.5
18	ERIKSSON, Allan	62	MST	0	6	18.85	788.5
19	GEORGE, Alan	73	GMAST	50	4	30.1	751
20	PAYNE, Tony	43	SEN	50	4	29.9	749
21	FEATHERSTONE, Michael	44	SEN	50	4	24.25	692.5
22	HACKETT, Brian	60	MST	0	4	20.8	608
23	WRIGHT, Darcy	73	GMAST	0	4	19.4	594
24	FORBES, Allan	41	SEN	0	4	15.7	557
25	HICKS, Rod	41	SEN	50	3	19.9	549
26	FARMER, Chris	31	SEN	0	4	13.55	535.5
27	DAVISON, Michael	57	MST	50	2	19.2	442
28	BRAY, Troy	41	SEN	0	3	8.15	381.5
29	DORFSTATTER, Paul	53	VET	50	1	12.15	271.5
30	JHUREEA, Daniel	21	INTER	0	1	8.1	181
31	ROBERTS, Grant	44	SEN	0	1	3.75	137.5
32	BRAZ, Shane	40	SEN	0	1	2.5	125
33	JACKSON, Toby	28	SEN	0	1	2.2	122
34	HARRIS, Gordon	38	SEN	0	1	2.15	121.5
35	McKENZIE, Jarrod	13	JNR	0	1	1.65	116.5
36	WELCH, David	47	VET	0	1	1.5	115
37	WISTAFF, Trevor	30	SEN	0	1	1.35	113.5
38	HARPER, Joseph	30	SEN	0	0	0	0
39	JONES, Paul	74	GMAST	0	0	0	0
40	MAY, Austin	28	SEN	0	0	0	0
41	MAY, Domonic	19	INTER	0	0	0	0

 

MAJOR AWARDS

Largest cobia: Allan Forbes, 6.1kg

Largest mackerel: Alex Ritchie, 18.2kg

Largest wahoo: Steve Wayne, 11.7kg

Largest jewfish: Dwane Herbert, 12.2kg

Largest tuna: Allan Forbes, 6.1kg

Largest kingfish: Dwane Herbert, 16.05kg

Largest samsonfish: Grant Roberts, 3.75kg

Largest fish award: Alex Ritchie, Spanish mackerel, 18.6kg

Committee’s Choice award: Steve Wayne, Yellowfin tuna, 3.55kg

 

Pairs

Dwane Herbert & Toby Herbert

Juniors

1^st Aaron Puckeridge

2^nd Jarrod McKenzie

Intermediate

1^st Toby Herbert

2^nd Daniel Jhureea

Seniors

1^st Dwane Herbert

2^nd Steve Wayne

3^rd Alex Lewis

Veterans

1^st Ian Puckeridge

2^nd Shane Fitzmaurice

Masters

1^st Herb Herbert

2^nd Alan Eriksson

Grand Masters

1^st Alan George

2^nd Darcy Wright