IT’S enough to drive a beach boy to drink.
Port Macquarie surfer Peter Hudson thought he had a case of beer in the bag in the over-60s division of the NSW Longboarding Titles, and he did, until the last wave of the heat.
The prize goes to the highest heat scorer, but Hudson was pipped at the post at the North Haven river mouth.
“And the guy that won it doesn’t even drink,” he laughed.
Hudson took consolation in the fact he will appear in the division final tomorrow.
He’s won the over-55s division four times previously, but that reign came to an end yesterday.
“I came last in the semis, unfortunately,” he said.
The pressure of being a local surfer might be
to blame, Hudson says ruefully.
He said plenty of family members came down to watch him in action, and some of the younger ones were disappointed he didn’t win his heat.
Hudson loves the friendly banter that goes on among competitors.
He and Garry Taylor – the NSW over-55 men’s champion – have a particularly “fierce” rivalry.
“We give it to each other,” he said.
“I’m sorry, that’s just the way we are.
“It’s good fun.”
When asked if the pair competed in the same division, he said: “Nah, he’s younger and fatter than me.”
The competition ramps up today, when the open men’s and women’s divisions move into round two, ahead of the finals tomorrow.