Whatley made his debut at the event 12 months ago as his recovery from a broken neck continues following an accident at Flynns Beach.

Another 12 months on, he qualified for the men’s open B-division final where he just fell short in four-foot waves at Rainbow Beach.

“I thought I surfed okay because there were some pretty good surfers out there,” he said.

“The swell cleaned up a bit on the second day so the waves were a bit better.

“For me, I knew I was never going to make A-division and I surfed pretty average on the first day.”

The 30-year-old was defeated by the evergreen Ian Branch, but he had a lot of fun.

“There were definitely a few good waves out there to be had,” he said.

Whatley came up with a strong score on his first wave, but was unable to back it up on the second.

Organiser Geoff Branch said Ben Hucker took out the overall Bird Rock Surf Classic event after claiming the open, junior and Mick Branch hammer and tong awards.

Branch said they couldn’t have received better conditions for the weekend.

The weather event of the century went around us and we were blessed with great conditions,” he said.

“There was some really high class surfing that went on.”

Surfing quality from around the Hastings has improved significantly over the last three to four years and Branch said there was one aspect which set Bird Rock apart.

“Over the years we’ve had surfers like Darren O’Rafferty and Mick Campbell who have moved away from the area for work, but they always come back,” he said.

“The thing about Bird Rock is that you always have kids that move away for uni or work, but when they come back it’s like they never left – that’s what Bird Rock is about.

“It doesn’t matter when you come and go, it is like one big family.”

Head judge Ken Williams was impressed with the level of surfing on show.

“He has judged at national and international level and he said the quality of surfing was really impressive,” Branch said.

“All our cadets and junior girls that have come through over the last three or four years have really improved.

“They’re now competing against the best in the open divisions and snapping at the heels of those that have been there for years.”

80 competitors competed across 24 hours of surfing throughout the three days.

Kai McKenzie won the best manoeuvre of the competition, Morris Lotter took out the best barrel and Tom Lewis won the Greg Froud junior excellence award.