J. Hughes Narrowly Wins Pines Beach Surf Race

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30634, 28 December 1964, Page 12

J. Hughes Narrowly Wins Pines Beach Surf Race

The former Canterbury representative, J. Hughes (Waimairi), confirmed his fine reputation as a surf swimmer when he narrowly won the open surf race during the Pegasus inter-club carnival at Pines Beach yesterday.

Hughes was in the leading bunch on the outward journey, had established a small lead by the half-way mark and was able to hold it until the finish, in spite of a strong challenge by his club-mate, I. Greig. This was a fine performance, for Hughes, well known for his ability in a rough sea, gained little assistance from the choppy sea and had to swim the full distance. A former New Zealand surf ski rescue champion, he has been forced to retire from all surf ski competition because of a back ailment, and is now able to compete in swimming events only. Greig Disappointed Greig, who finished second about 10 yards behind the winner, was particularly disappointed. He said that he had been trying “really hard” because it had been at Pines Beach that he had swum in his first surf race when the last carnival was held there about eight years ago. On that occasion he had failed to finish and had been picked up by a canoe. However, Greig does not have to prove anything in spite of his withdrawal from his first surf race. Since that time he has become one of the province’s leading swimmers and has represented Canterbury on a number of occasions.

The open paddle board race produced a minor surprise when I. Johnson (Taylor’s Mistake) led T. Jay (Waimairi) across the finishing line. Jay

was third in the paddle board event at the 1963 national championships. Stepped In Pothole

Johnson paddled a fine race but in some respects was lucky to win. Jay led for most of the distance and was caught from behind a short distance from the finish by Johnson, who successfully managed to ride one of the few suitable shoots. Jay managed to catch the same shoot and the pair came in together, but Jay stepped off his board into some potholes and lost badly in the run out of the water- | South Brighton was out- | standing in the senior sixman rescue and resuscitation event, winning comfortably with a deduction of 8.5 points. The team, which also won the event at the first provincial championship carnival some weeks ago, has now established itself as a strong favourite to take the Canterbury title, decided over four contests. Taylor’s Mistake and Waimairi fought out a close battle for second place, the former finally being triumphant by only half a point. Taylor’s Mistake lost 10 points and Waimairi 10.5. Taylor’s Mistake also gave a very creditable performance in the four-man alarm, winning narrowly with a points deduction of four.

The Sumner club dominated the surf ski events, winning the open surf ski relay from Taylor’s Mistake and the junior surf ski race. F. Sloane (Sumner) and his club-mate, T. Clews, contested the major placings in the junior event, Sloane eventually finishing with a slight edge. The carnival, which was watched by a large crowd, was held by the Canterbury Surf Life-Saving Association to assist the recently formed Pegasus club at Pines Beach. A blanket was carried round by girls from the Waimairi club and more than £l2 was collected. Results were:— Surf Ski Relay.—Sumner 1, Taylor's Mistake 2. Waimairi 3. Open Paddle Board Race.—l. Johnson (Taylor's Mistake) 1, T. Jay (Waimairi) 2, C. Gurr (South Brighton) 3. Senior Six-man Rescue and Resuscitation Event.—South Brighton, 8.5 points, 1: Taylor’s Mistake, 10.0, 2; Waimairi, 10.5, 3. Open Surf Race.—J. Hughes (Waimairi) 1, I. Grieg (Waimairi) 2, T. Gaskell (Waimairi) 3, J. Turpin (Taylor’s Mistake) 4. Open Beach Sprint.—Taylor’s Mistake 1, Waimairi 2, South Brighton 3. Junior Surf Ski Race.—F. Sloane (Sumner) 1, T. Clews (Sumner) 2, Taylor's Mistake 3. Senior Four-man Alarm. —Taylor's Mistake, 4.0 points lost, 1; Waimairi. 4.6, 2; South Brighton, 5.5, 3. Open Canoe Race.—Waimairi 1, Sumner 2, Taylor’s Mistake 3.