Surf’s up for pupils at Agnes Water during SUNfest
EACH year Reef2Beach Surf School at Agnes Water gets SUNfest kids into the water and up on a wave.
And yesterday was no different, with a class of 30 from Gladstone revelling in the perfect learner conditions.
"Mate, they just love it, and by the end of the lesson they're catching waves by themselves,'' said Reef2Beach owner Wayne 'Grom' Mellick.
"It's great for the kids getting outside. .. a bit of exercise and heaps of fun. It's the 50th anniversary of Surfing Australia and part of that is helping people learn to surf.''
Grom and his team of fully qualified instructors take surf classes every day at Agnes' main beach; and for two hours they paddle, surf, wipe-out and laugh a lot.
Yesterday a bus load of kids from Gladstone and all over the Gladstone region descended on Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy as part of the SUNfest program of holiday activities organised by the Gladstone Regional Council.
A big group went kayaking with 1770 Liquid Adventures in the morning and then the surfers took to the waves with Reef2Beach before a big barbecue lunch.
Gladstone Regional Council youth development officer Vernetta Perrett, in Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy with the kids yesterday, said the surfing and kayaking were always popular and they had no trouble getting the numbers.
"We are only limited by the number of kayaks and surfboards,'' Perrett said. "It's always a really popular part of the SUNfest program.''
And 14-year-old Callum Dominguez, from Tannum Sands and 12-year-old Matilda Moore, from Gladstone, were glad they had made the trip as they both got up on a surfboard and rode waves in almost perfect conditions for beginners yesterday at Agnes Water's main beach.
The sun was shining, the water was almost crystal clear and the small, but clean waves rolled into the busy break as the school of learners revelled in the surf.
