Photos and words by Darren Longbottom.

The 2013 Corona Yorkes classic presented by Billabong was held at Chinamans in South Australia's Innes National Park. It was the 30th Anniversary of the Yorkes Classic.

The surf conditions saw a building swell in the 3-4 foot range with an onshore 15 knot south-west wind, regardless conditions were still thoroughly contestable.

The early heats kicked off early with some excellent performance surfing from all contestants. Throughout the earlier rounds solid performances were seen from local hero and past champion Brian 'Squizzy' Taylor and two-time current defending champion Teale Vanner looking for his third straight title. Late entry Heath Joske also posted some high first round scores to make a few of the local crew nervous.

With the building swell, conditions became a little trickier but standout surfers began to shine as the event progressed into the Semi Finals, eventually setting the stage for one of the best finals seen in the history of competitive surfing in South Australia. Defending Champ Teale Vanner performed solidly from the outset and made the final joined by Khai Adams and Philipe Didelot, both from Victor Harbor, and current WQS surfer Dion Atkinson whose form just got stronger throughout the day.

With the swell absolutely pulsing for the final it was an action packed heat as all surfers went blow for blow posting some of the event's biggest scores. Khai Adams futuristic surfing and Teale Vanner's effortless style contrasted with Dion Atkinson and Phillipe Didelot's more powerful styles suited to the Chinamans conditions. The final had everything a great comp should, consistent sets, excellent surfing and a vocal crowd to boot as the guys went wave for wave. The lead changed several times but it was the power and dominance of Dion Atkinson that proved too hard to beat with a near perfect 10-point ride and another excellent scoring wave that saw him take out his first Yorkes Classic Title.

The Open Womens Division was also a toughly fought contest with all five girls showing great commitment in the powerful conditions. South Australian girls Brinkley Davies, Tayla Hannak, Jamie Buchanan and Grace McDonald used their local knowledge to get some great waves and post some early scores in the testing conditions. In the end, however, it was the flawless backhand attack of Grace Styman-Lane from NSW that saw her post a swag of high scoring waves and jump to an unbeatable lead and subsequently take out the Open Womens division for 2013.

Results:

Open Mens Division 1st. Dion Atkinson 2nd. Philipe Didelot 3rd. Teale Vanner 4th. Khai Adams

Open Womens Division 1st. Grace Styman-lane 2nd. Tayla Hannak 3rd. Brinkley Davies 4th. Jamie Buchanan 5th. Grace McDonald

Massive thanks to major sponsors Corona and Billabong and all other sponsors that made the event the success it was. Also big thanks to the Swellnet crew for the spot on forecasts leading up to the event.