Top Capt Christie down south

JOEL RITCHIE

ROUGH surf forced organisers to move the Captain Christie Ocean Swim for the second time in as many years.

Massive swells forced the cancellation of a number of life-saving events along the NSW coast, but organisers opted to move Sunday’s Captain Christie from Gerringong to Gerroa Beach.

Bulli’s Ben Allen won the overall men’s category convincingly from Alistair Day and Scotty Smith in a time of 16:50. Maddison Prior won the women’s division from Cara Mura and Tegan Makowski in 18:01.

The Christie and Saturday’s Bob Churton Surf Spectacular were the only surf lifesaving contests held in NSW over the weekend.

This year’s event was the second time in as many years the 1.8km ocean swim has been relocated – the only times in its 27-year history.

Organisers opted to shift the event south on Saturday night after studying both the surf and projected swell charts.

This year’s event attracted 180 competitors, down on 2007’s total of 260.

Gerringong Surf Club president Bruce Mackie attributed the fall in entries to uncertainty about beach closures.

“We usually get a lot of entrants from Sydney but all the beaches up there were closed,” Mr Mackie said.

“I think a lot of people didn’t come down because of the conditions.”

Despite the fall in entries and the conditions, Mr Mackie rated this year’s Christie “ten out of ten”.

“This is a traditional event; long-time competitors are now bringing their children along to compete and we are getting the younger generations coming through,” he said.

“The conditions were beautiful at Gerroa and there was a high level of competition.

“Everyone was happy, there were no dramas, and it was one of those weekends where everything went to plan.”