FAKE SHARK NEWS AT BELLS BEACH
AUSTRALIA’S women came out punching while the men gave a lesson in how to perform under pressure on a day interrupted by a close encounter with a fake shark at the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro at Winkipop in Victoria.
Defending champion Stephanie Gilmore scored the highest heat of the day (15.50) as she and Phillip Island local Nikki Van Dijk led fellow Australians Sally Fitzgibbons, Macy Callaghan and Kobie Enright directly to the third round of the women’s event.
It was the first surfing for the women in four days and the first in the men’s in three due to inconsistent conditions.
Callaghan, the NSW Central Coast teenager in her rookie year on the world tour, had only just left the water when a scare went through the competition arena with athletes reporting a “big dark shadow’’ they believed could be a shark.
“Jack (Freestone) saw it, I saw it and the jet-ski driver saw it so we jumped on the jet-skis just in case,’’ said Owen Wright, who then went on to win his elimination heat when the shadow was later identified as an enormous clump of weed.
Wright, who is bidding to win his first Bells trophy, said he was relieved to have made it through his difficult heat.
“I just wanted to get through as I am around for the big swell later this week.’’ Wright said.
New swell is forecast to hit the area Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the competition window closing on Saturday.
Wright was one of six Aussie men progressing from the elimination round, along with world tour rookie Soli Bailey.
with Andrew McKinnon