Noosa Festival of Surfing: Body Bash Recap C/O @Captain_Kookman

On March 3- March 11th 2017 Noosa Festival of Surfing in Queensland Australia returned for 8 days of pure stoke.

Slyde Team Rider Daniel Carr aka @Captain_Kookman took part in a weekend of fun & was amped to share with us a recap of the adventures below.

What were the conditions like:

The weather was perfect and hot in the sun, early to mid 30s Celsius, warm water.
Dave (Garage Handplanes) and the organizers did a great job and the competition ran really smoothly.  Though the small swell, around 1ft range it was a real struggle for a bodysurfing competition, which was a shame.  As having Noosa first point to yourself and 5 other competitors was great, but from as a spectator perspective it didn't really highlight the sport (other than Kanealii throwing and 360 Bellyspin and scoring a 5 point ride for it) but the guys and girls made the most of it with some long rides and Tom Marr scoring it three years in a row.

Was this your first time attending?

Yes, this was my first time attending, always had a concern with Noosa catching the swell as it's been similar conditions for the last 2yrs.

What were your top 3 fav highlights from the event?

Overall, the vibe was fantastic, highlights were:

Saturday and Sunday the Dafin tent was the place to be, so meeting all the people and talking about fins and bodysurfing. The groms were lapping up using the demo fins and boards which was awesome. 

Chatting and/or sharing water time with the Kenui, Mark, Tim and Kanealii was awesome other than Mark I hadn't meet the other guys in person before. It was also good to meet the whole Marr clan (super cool family), lady and legend of the ocean Belinda Baggs, bodysurfing devotees John & Nick Watson as well as putting faces to a few Instagram acquaintances and other bodysurfing friends I've made. 

I shared a "touching" moment with the great MC as we shared swimmers after we realized the custom Dafin cossies we had made were very snug and he needed to upsize to my pair lol, not sure if it's a claim to fame but basically MC got in my pants.

What was the turn out like for the "Dirty Old Wedge" and how did people respond to the movie?

The screening of Dirty Old Wedgewas awesome, Tim and I have a few mutual friends in the States so great to meet him and discuss the movie and history of the wedge. I've watched it quite a few times now :) but the "ohhhs and ahhhs" as everyone watched some massive waves was great. There was probably around 200+ for the screening and majority were actively watching the movie whilst consuming a few drinks.

Best place to get a beer in Noosa?

Noosa Surfclub was great spot for a cold beer or cider throughout the day and a feed

Best place to stay? did you camp?

The 3 Aussie Dafin boys shared a Airbnb 5min walk from the beach, actually didn't spend much time in it really other than sleeping as basically we spent the entire day on the beach.

Tell me the 3 best things about you (don't be shy) 

I'll give you four things, Lauren, Toby, Darcy and Edie :)

What's your next bodysurfing/handboarding event you plan to attend?

Not sure really, from a competition perspective there is not much on. Waiting to see if the Flatrock Invitational gets legs this year and maybe/hopefully some new slabs to venture to. Speaking with the Kanealii (such a nice dude) got me really pumped for a trip to Hawaii to hunt some waves (one for the wish list.

Lastly, I've got to thank Kenui from Dafin HI and Russel & Ala from Dafin Australia for the opportunity and support over the weekend.