“Margs” delivers
The 2023 Margaret River Wave Classic was a memorable one. After being canceled in 2022 due to a bad forecast, things looked much better for the 2023 edition.
This year, Severne rider Federico Infantino was in the organiser’s seat while simultaneously competing in the men’s open/elite division.
The forecast looked good, and the stage was set for a great event. And “Margs” didn’t disappoint.
Despite a relatively moderate wind forecast, Margaret River delivered nuclear winds for the first part of the day. Many ended up sailing on 4,0 sails and down. The youth fleet was the first to hit the water, and big moves were being thrown right off the bat.
Not long after, masters, grandmasters, and legends fleet were on the water. Then followed the open/elite fleets.
As the day progressed, the conditions changed back to the more classical Margaret River conditions; cross offshore winds, and solid sets hitting the reef. By the time the finals had been completed, the result was clear. Once again, local legend Scott McKercher put together incredible rides to claim the win in the open fleet ahead of Bastian Escofet and Hendrix Stone.
The youth fleet was a tight battle between local grommets Jake Ghiretti and Oliver Desforges. This time, Jake took the win with impressive riding throughout the whole day.
Local Severne rider Jane Seman was very comfortable in all of the conditions that the spot threw at the riders. She won the women’s fleet and finished sixth in the elite/open fleet.
As the day progressed, the wind turned offshore, and bigger sets started hitting the point. This coincided with the finals in the open/elite and masters fleets and set the stage for some proper down-the-line wave action.
By the end of the day, everybody were “sailed out”, and all fleets had found a winner. On the following day (Sunday), a prizegiving was held on the beach followed by an expression session to cap off an action packed weekend.
Results
Open/elite
1. Scott Mckercher
2. Bastien Escofet
3. Hendrix Stone
4. Ricky Vandertoorn
5. Federico Infantino
5. James McCarthy
6. Jane Seman
6. Ash Nicol
7. Ivan Zecca
7. Ben Arthur
8. Jake Ghiretti
8. Oliver Desforges
Masters
1. Ash Nicol
2. Jonah Desforges
3. Peter Kenyon
4. Peter Tomsett
5. Serge Pillonel
5. Stuart Slocombe
6. Edward Debenham
7. Thomas Callenaere
Womens
1. Jane Seman
2. Santina Pillonel
Youth
1. Jake Ghiretti
2. Oliver Desforges
3. Camillo Pillonel
4. Zac Debenham
5. Santina Pillonel
Grandmasters
1. Paul Jackman Jacko
2. Raoul Abrutat
3. Darren Clark
4. John Koch
5. Andrew Pidden
Legends
1. Paul Jackman Jacko
2. John Koch
Expression Session
1. Bastien Escofet
2. Federico Infantino
3. Jake Ghiretti
4. Ricky Vandertoorn
5. Jane Seman
Best WipeOut
Ash Nicol
Rookie of The Year
Jake Ghiretti
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