Debrief: Byron Bay’s Raucous Weekend Of Surf Fezzing

The inaugural Australian leg of the 24-year-old Cosmic Creek surfing event that pays homage to the surfboard shaping community has come to a raucous end at Byron Bay.

The event, in which surfers ride supplied boards crafted around the 1970s and early 1980s, was surfed in small, peeling right handers at Clarke’s Beach at the end of the iconic break The Pass.

All surfers in the event competed on both single fins and twin fins, with the surfers’ best combined scores across both craft determining the winners.

Cosmic Creek founder Eric Diamond, from Dana Point in California, was on hand to oversee the event and provide both insightful and humorous stories of the surfboard shaping community along with local expert Tappa Teece.

They were joined at times by special guest including shapers Gunther Rohn and Tony Cerff whose boards were among those being ridden on the day.

The Open Mens division saw Quinn Bruce, a former winner of the Burleigh Single Fin event, take out the title ahead of Kalani Ball, former tour surfer Mitch Crews, Hinata Aizawa, Louie Hynd and shaper Luke Daniels.

The Open Women’s division was won by standout performer Lucy Callister ahead of Courtney Dunlop, Sammy Walker, Kelly O’Callaghan, Avalon Starick and Sky Presley.

The 20-30 division saw Toby Mossop get the win over Kalani Ball, Will Reichel, surfboard glasser Jason Jameson, Owen Milne and young shaper Nat Speir.

The 31-40s was taken out by Lennox Head local Joel McCabe ahead of Byron stalwart Robbie Warden, Luke Madden, Jesse Baily, Josh Kirkman and Adam Huban.

The crew who grew up in the type of boards being ridden in the event – those aged over 41 – was taken out in explosive fashion by Damien Healy ahead of Geoff Booth, Mark Lacey, Julian Blanchard, Ben Matley and Daniel Salfield from Byron’s Bay FM radio station.

A special field of creators and innovators saw Jason Jameson take the win ahead of Luke Daniels, event artist Jason Woodside and progressive shaper Alex Crews.

A special award for the surfer of the event was won by Quinn Bruce, who received his prize at a wild off-beach celebration at The Rails hotel as part of the Byron Bay Surf Festival.

All winners were announced following a performance by Takaicardia – a band in which two of the three members performed in the event – and a closing performance by Le Shiv, another band full of surfers and on the road to international success.

Cosmic Creek photos below