The second event of the WSL’s Australian Grand Slam saw the hallowed sands of South Stradbroke Island host elite competitive surfing for the first time – get the lowdown from Mick Fanning and co now.
Written by Chris BinnsPublished on
The first leg of the WSL’s Australian Grand Slam series was the Tweed Coast Pro, a hugely successful event at Cabarita, in New South Wales. After that the eligible Australian surfers – plus stranded South African Matthew McGillivray – moved north to Queensland for event number two, the Gold Coast Pro.
South Stradbroke Island, a short and sharky paddle across the Southport Seaway, was the venue of choice and the uninhabited sand spit served up a solid dose of the beach break barrels it’s famous for as competition went off.
On the women’s side of proceedings soon-to-be-tour-rookie Isabella Nichols piloted her way through pit-after-pit to plant herself atop the podium, while resident tour wild child Mikey Wright took the trophy for the men.
As always, we sent the crew from Stab along to roam the fringes of the event – and with Stradbroke Island hosting high-level competition for the first time, there was always going to be plenty of gold to report.
This edition of No Contest includes three-time world champion Mick Fanning giving us the rundown on the waves at the northernmost tip of the Gold Coast, his longtime shaper Darren Handley headlining our list of notable local jet ski drivers taking surfers to the island and a meeting with local GoPro exponent, Joel Scott, a self-proclaimed #InstaSurfer and tube pig of the highest order.
To bring the show to a close we present a recap all of the event’s highlights and lowlights, celebrate the winners and losers and tell the tale of competitor, Mitch Crews, who strips half-naked in his heat, flips his jet ski on the way home and suffers the ultimate indignity when he finally makes it back to his car.
Watch the full episode right now and stay tuned for more from No Contest when competition resumes. Enjoy!
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