Port Stephens SUP challenge draws state's paddlers to Hunter coast

As Surfest kicks off in Newcastle, another premier surfing and racing event is drawing Australia's top stand-up paddleboarders to the famous breaks of Port Stephens.

The Port Stephens SUP Challenge kicked off on Thursday, launching four days of paddleboard surfing and racing.

While this iteration of the event is in its third year, One Mile and Birubi beaches have long been premier stops on the SUP Calendar after hosting State and National Titles since 2011.

The event is organised by the Newcastle SUP Club with the help of Surfing NSW.

Club president Noel Potter said competitors have been blessed by perfect weather and decent surf as early heats got underway.

"We had a great day yesterday with lighter winds and 2-3ft swell," he said on Friday.

Mr Potter said numbers were strong this year, with a number of competitors travelling from interstate.

"We have more than 50 registered this year and people coming from Victoria and Queensland."

The Port Stephens event, along with its sister event Scotts Head Paddle Games held each June, are both considered premier events for paddlers across Australia.

"There are more and more events happening across Australia but this is one of the premier events for sure," Mr Potter said.

Competitors took to the water in the longboard over 10-foot category on Friday, with the focus on smooth turns and nose rides as windswept waves began hitting close to three feet on the sets.

"We had the shorter boards yesterday in great conditions and the longer boards today before we move into finals on Saturday," Mr Potter said.

After the surfing events are decided, competitors will be swapping out their surfing equipment for the longer 14-foot dedicated racing boards.

Saturday afternoon will boast the technical "battle of the paddle" style racing in and out of the surf at One Mile beach before proceedings shift into Shoal Bay on Sunday for the nine-kilometre distance races.

"The technical race is always a great one for competitors and spectators, with plenty of carnage and wipeouts on the longer and skinnier racing boards," Mr Potter said.

Competitor and early Aussie SUP adopter and dealer Dylan Henry recalled the first year of the NSW state SUP titles in 2011, when competitors were met with huge conditions at One Mile.

"I still have the pictures on my phone with one guy's 12-foot board tip to tip going up this wave as big as the board was long," he said.

"It was huge."

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