JACKSON Baker has won the City of Newcastle Pro from Narrabeen veteran Nathan Hedge while Macy Callaghan won the AAP Consulting Women's Pro from South African-born Sarah Baum, a Newcastle resident in recent years.
It was an emotional and popular victory for the hometown hero, making Baker the first Novocastrian man to win Surfest.
The men's final was finished just as the sun set behind the Merewether hills in flawless glassy conditions as the westerly wind that had groomed the surf clean all day dropped away to nothing.
Baker raced to two quick waves and was never headed in the final, with the 42-year-old Hedge pushing Ryan Callinan into third place, with New Zealander Billy Stairmand the fourth surfer in the final.
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The AAP Consulting Women's Pro was won by Macy Callaghan, runner-up at the most recent event in 2020 and a Surfest junior's winner before that.
Her second wave, an 8.17 from two backhand re-entries took the final from Newcastle's Sarah Baum, who had led for most of the 20-minute battle, with Paige Hareb and Holly Williams in third and fourth.
Run in four-person heats to fit the bulk of the contest into a single day, various contests were decided after the buzzer as the judges scored last minute rides in often close contests.
The early women's heats had inconsistent waves but as the tide began to drop during the men's, the higher-ranked competitors began dropping much higher numbers.
Hometown favourite Philippa Anderson was eliminated in the quarters but amassed enough points to earn a place on the Challenger Series. On Saturday, Anderson had been one of very few surfers to brave five-metre waves at Merewether with some "step-off" waves from a jet-ski in giant conditions.
Baum, her good friend, has been living in Newcastle for more than three years but still competes for competition points on the South African circuit. The commentators said she was hoping her dominant performance today would earn her some wildcard entries into events.
In the men's, Baker and Callinan looked dominant throughout the day, clear winners of their heats and their quarters. Baker then won the first semi-final from Stairmand, while Callinan and Hedge took the second.
After three days were lost to chaotic weather conditions, Surfest organisers ran two days' worth of competition in a single day of beautifully clean Merewether surf, using compressed 20 minute heats and 25 minute finals that made wave selection, use of priority and luck even more important than usual.
Although the waves were occasionally inconsistent on the higher tides that peaked just after 9am, conditions improved throughout the day as tide lowered and Merewether looked close to its picturesque best.
The wind stayed an optimal northwest all day, dropping in the afternoon to leave beautifully glassy conditions.
The main signs of the departed damaging weather were the sand and beach debris still visible in places, and a brown rainwater tinge to the water. Big crowds filled Merewether Surfhouse and the promenade down to the contest site and Merewether SLSC. They were treated to some of the best conditions and most exciting surfing seen here for years.
The City of Newcastle Pro and the AAP Consulting Women's Pro were the final contests in this year's World Surf League's Qualifying Series (QS) for Australia/Oceania.
As highly-rated 5000-point events they had a big influence on progression to the Challenger Series (CS) - the entry to the top-flight Championship Tour (CT) - kicking off on the Gold Coast on May 7.
The CT resumes from April 10 at Bells Beach, with the Merewether contingent of Jackson Baker, Ryan Callinan and Morgan Cibilic needing big results there and Margaret River from April 24 to avoid being bumped back to the Challenger circuit.
