Logs ruled the day at the inaugural Cobbles Classic. Lekker days surfing, with some seriously old sticks. Some pretty rad old school fin shapes around, with a coupla hand-made one's thrown into the mix too. Pretty core to make your own stuff. Reckon the ou's should get extra points for that! The day started off in light winds, but by midday PE was living up to it's name, the Windy City. Pity, cos some really fun swell hooking around the headland. Still some good rides though, a few nine's, the odd ten. Spectators were happy chilling on the dunes and outta the wind. Judges weren't as lucky on top of the dunes, and gonna take em a while to get the sand outta their ears. The early sessions saw the guys being true to the spirit of the comp, with a few retro wetties making an appearance. Josh was rocking a cool front zip number, but cool comes at a price. Got some serious nether region chafe action as a consequence. Great to have plenty of outta town surfers making the mission to PE for the comp. Their support is much appreciated, and kiff to have some fresh faces in the water. But let's hope the King & Queen of Cobbles can still be local. Cos local is lekker.
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The inaugural Cobbles Classic takes place this weekend. Vintage single fins and retro styling all the way. Props to EP Longboard Prez Gregg Clarke for making it all happen. If you log, you owe this man a beer! Check out his pre-comp wrap: "So we all rate we are soul surfers and say we understand the essence of the surfing culture. That’s until someone starts talking about roll bottoms, spoons, D-fins, 20kg surfboards, etc. and we then go, “why the hell would I wanna ride a board like that??!!” The reason is simple, to take your own surfing back to the original fundamentals that make surfing so beautiful to watch and to feel the glide under your feet! Surfing a “log” helps one draw new lines on a wave, and relies totally on ones own natural style and flow to evolve the way you surf a surfboard. There is no room on a log for arrogance and show boating, it becomes offensive to watch and looks forced- instead it is all about the wave and a surfer in its simplest form, having fun from take off to close out. This is why we have the re-birth of a traditional longboard contest, to bring the fun back into competing. Hence the Cobbles Classic… We have okes all over the country pulling in (from Cape Town to Durban), to be a part of SA’s first traditional single fin longboard contest. We have a total of 73 entrants and some serious prizes up for grabs and are expecting some top class surfing, with really good longboarding waves forecast for the weekend, 2-3ft long running waves with a light offshore wind blowing. Top contenders for the Cobbles King crown include locals Dean Simpson and Ryan Anderson, who will have to watch out for Plett’s Ludi du Toit and 2 x SA Champ, Justin Bing from Durban. Underdog and style master Jamie Morris has also been seen around the Cobbles area lately, spending a lot of time on the nose! I would not be doing this contest justice if I didn’t mention Cape Town legend, Bernie Shelly. At 65 years old she is a strong contender to win the Cobbles Queen crown, and to show all youngsters how to never stop riding waves. The weekend festivities kick off with an opening function/opskop at the Friendly Stranger on Friday night where the Cottonfields will be playing. Okes can enjoy some Jack Black beer, good chow and watch some classic surf movies! Gonna be big- even if you don’t surf- pull in!! Saturday morning the contest kicks off at 8:30am and is set to close around 4:00pm. Sat night okes are gonna be frothing from a days surfing and will be keen to klap a joll at the Island (Pine Lodge). Josh, owner of the Island “unfortunately” also has his birthday joll on at the same time, so those who hate a big joll should probably stay at home. There will be more bands, more surf films, more rubbish chatting….just good times. Sunday morning we kick off again around 9:00am and expect to be done around 3:30pm, with the winners being crowned King or Queen of Cobbles. We want spectators to pull in! Pay your R30 at the gate to the reserve (all money goes to conservation anyway!), come watch what could be arguably SA’s most enjoyable contest. See you there!" Gregg Clarke EPLSA President Follow all the action here: https://www.facebook.com/eeastern.provincelongboards Our neighbours to the east, Border, took out the SA Masters title for the 7th year in a row. Shot ou's. EP got a credible 5th possie, with some excellent individual performances by JBay's Kelvin Zehmke getting a 4th in the Senior Men (over 30), St Francis's Michelle von Kempen hooking a 3rd in the Ladies and PE's Mush Hide a 3rd in the Vet's. Cooking surf at Outers for the whole comp, with some solid days. Coupla ou's managed floaters onto dry rock, and Mush reckons he had to do at least 20 duck dives in his heat. Well done to all our ballies for charging!! Official wrap from Surfing SA
Border dominate the SA Masters Surfing Championships at Mossel Bay and win the South African Masters Cup title for the seventh year in a row. The Border Masters surfing team underlined their dominance of Masters surfing for the seventh year in a row when they won the 2013 South African Masters Championships which ended in consistent 4-6 foot surf at Outer Pool in Mossel Bay today (Sunday September 8). Not only did the team from East London comprehensively win the interprovincial SA Masters Cup by a massive margin but they also provided six of the twenty eight finalists with three of these finalists winning gold. The surfer who most impressed at the event was defending SA Masters Champion and current World Masters champion Greg Emslie, who has now won gold in the three SA Masters Championships he has competed in. Emslie posted a massive 16.25 heat score in the Masters (over 35) final which was the highest score of the day. Emslie (Border) beat Gary Van Wieringen of Southern KZN into second place for the second year in a row with Mike Frew of Zululand taking third spot and Paul Canning of KZN Central finishing fourth. Other Border champions were Wayne Monk, who won the Grandmasters (Over 40) title and Border Surfriders Chairman, Gareth Sepp who took honours in the Kahunas (Over 50) division. Monk won a unique Grandmasters final which saw three surfers who represented South Africa at the 1992 ISA World Surfing Games in Lacanau France face up against each other, Monk, the team captain in Lacanau, beat his ’92 teammates Carl Roux and Vince King into second and third place respectively. Roux (Southern KZN) was the runner up at the 1992 World Games and King (Zululand) was his caddy in the final in France. Ryan Ribbink (KZN Central) came fourth in the Grandmasters Final. In the Kahunas Final a delighted Sepp beat Border team mate Andre Malherbe by a mere ,40 points and snatched the title from the surfer who won a silver medal in the Over 45 division at the World Masters Championships in Ecuador earlier this year. Boland surfers Richard Heath and Johan Bredell were third and fourth respectively. In 2009 when Mossel Bay last played host to the South African Masters Championships, popular local surfer and coach Llewellyn Whittaker took honours in the Senior (Over 30) Final and earned himself and Southern Cape a gold medal. Five years later he did it again. Showing that local knowledge is invaluable Whittaker secured himself a gold medal and hosts Southern Cape’s only title when he beat defending champion Tyrell Johnson (Border) into second place. Alan Johns (Zululand) was third and Kelvin Zehmke (EP) came fourth. Former National team member Robin Lavery of Zululand made a welcome return to contest surfing with a victory in the Grandkahunas (Over 50) division. Steven Hair was second just ,15 ahead of Southern Cape teammate Colin Buitendag while another South African legend, Mike Burness (KZN Central) had to settle for fourth. 2012 SA Champion and five time World Champion Chris Knutsen was not able to compete in this year’s event. WP surfer Hans Kamhoot won the Veterans (over 55) division with 2012 finalist Gordon Harmer (Border) taking second spot. Mush Hide (EP) was third and Bushy Greeff (Zululand) came fourth. Former World Masters champion and multiple South African champion Heather Clark of Southern KZN turned the tables on 2012 SA Women’s Masters champion Tasha Mentasti (Southern Cape) to add another gold medal to her overflowing cabinet. Mentasti pushed Michelle Van Kempen (EP) into third spot with Tammy Robarts (Boland) taking fourth. In the team event Border posted a massive 31526 points which was 8253 points more than second placed Western Province. Western Province will be happy to have moved up from fourth place in Durban last year but disappointed that they were so far behind the champions on points. In fact neighbours Boland came third with 23133 points a mere 140 points behind Western Province while fourth placed Zululand were only 485 points behind Boland. Eastern Province came fifth, a mere 394 points behind Zululand while hosts Southern Cape will be happy to have moved up to sixth place after finishing last in 2012. KZN Central, hosts and third place team in 2012 slipped to seventh and Southern KZN slipped to eighth from fifth last year. The 2013 SA Masters Championships was presented by Surfing South African and hosted by the Southern Cape Boardriders Association. Heat results including finals are posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za Surfing South Africa is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is acknowledged by them as the governing body for the sport in South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the International Surfing Association (ISA). 2013 SA Masters Surfing Championships (Outer Pool, Mossel Bay) RESULTS SA Masters Cup 1. Border 31526 2. Western Province 23273 3. Boland 23133 4. Zululand 22648 5. Eastern Province 22254 6. Southern Cape 20062 7. KZN Central 17050 8. Southern KZN 9478 Women (Over 30) 1. Heather Clark (Southern KZN) 2. Tasha Mentasti (Southern Cape) 3. Michelle Van Kempen (EP) 4. Tammy Robarts (Boland) Senior Men (Over 30) 1. Llewellyn Whittaker (Southern Cape) 2. Tyrell Johnson (Border) 3. Allan Johns (Zululand) 4. Kelvin Zehmke (EP) Masters (Over 35) 1. Greg Emslie (Border) 2. Gary Van Wieringen (Southern KZN) 3. Mike Frew (Zululand) 4. Paul Canning (KZN Central) Grand Masters (Over 40) 1. Wayne Monk (Border) 2. Carl Roux (Southern KZN)) 3. Vince King (Zululand)) 4. Ryan Ribbink (KZN Central) Kahunas (Over 45) 1. Gareth Sepp(Border) 2. Andre Malherbe (Border) 3. Richard Heath (Boland) 4. Johann Bredell (Boland) Grand Kahunas (Over 50) 1. Robin Lavery (Zululand) 2. Steven Hair (Southern Cape) 3. Colin Buitendag ( Southern Cape) 4. Mike Burness (KZN Central) Veterans (Over 55) 1. Hans Kamhoot (WP) 2. Gordon Harmer (Border) 3. Mush Hide (EP) 4. Bushy Greeff (Zululand) Some pretty good swell heralded Day 1 of the SA Masters Champs being held at Outer Pool in Mossel Bay. Anyone who has surfed there know it can be a fairly gnarly spot when it gets bigger, so kudos to all the ballies who charged. Here's all the results from Day 1.
The ballies are bailing for Mossels. EP has got a strong team of toppies this year, so let's hope they can kick some butt. Conditions are looking pretty good with some solid swell set to pull in from Friday. Tis cool, cos our guys n gals are more than happy in the big stuff. Pity that Mike Hill is still stuck in Nam cos of some car issues & has had to withdraw from the team, although not sure if he can remember how to surf rights anyway after nearly 2 months going backhand barrel hunting. Good luck team!! From Surfing South Africa:
The ninth annual South African Masters Surfing Championships will take place in Mossel Bay on the Southern Cape coast starting tomorrow (Thursday) and ending with the finals in the six divisions on Sunday. Over 120 surfers from eight provinces are making their way to this Southern Cape surfing town to compete in a this popular tournament which features surfers from as ‘young’ as 31 to over 60 years of age. Border, the defending champions and six time winners of the Masters Cup, have once again assembled a side that looks almost unbeatable. Star attraction in the team from East London is current World Masters Champion Greg Emslie. He is backed up by 2013 National Masters teammates Andre and David Malherbe and Wayne Monk and former National Masters team representatives Nick Pike, Mike Brent and Kevin O’Brien. Other stars in the team include Gareth Sepp, Brian Heathcote and Tyrell Johnson. Eastern Province have also put together a solid side which includes some former champions and fine all round performers such as Michele van Kempen, Kelvin Zehmke, Trevor Hansen,Kurt Buchner,Duncan Scott,Wayne Klerck and Mush Hide. Western Province will be hoping to improve on a poor 2012 performance in Durban and have a solid group of surfers in their squad. Former National team member Graeme Field and top contest surfers Stephan Lindeque, Andrew Preen, Sean Jerram, Andre Mory, Jeremy Zinn and Carolyn Dent lead the WP charge for glory while neighbours Boland will be hoping to repeat their good result of 2012. Their team is headed up by Shane Pratt, Richard Heath,Gunther Schultz, Matt Marais, Johan Bredell, Jaimii Hamlin and Tammy Roberts. Southern Cape, the hosts this year, have included defending Women’s champion Tasha Mentasti in their side along with Mossel Bay local Llewellyn Whittaker who won his division when the SA Masters was last held in Mossel Bay back in 2009. Also in the Southern Cape group is former National team member Colin Buitendag, loyal Southern Cape surfer Steve Hair, provincial chairman Mike Sheppard, Charles Reitz, Barry Delport and Lloyd Chapman. Last year’s hosts, KZN Central, have included SA Champion Warren Dixon in their side as well as former National team member Rob Moore Boyle as well as two former National team members, Mike Burness and Paul Canning but the team is short of a few surfers and might not do as well as last year. Southern KZN will only be represented by five surfers in Mossel Bay but three of the five are stars of the Masters Championships and National Masters teams. Heading the group is former World Masters Champion Heather Clark who is joined by 2013 SA Masters Team members Gary Van Wieringen and Carl Roux. All three could win gold this year and despite the size of their team they could challenge the bigger provinces in the individual finals. The eighth team competing is Zululand who have put together a full team to make the long journey from Richards Bay to the Southern Cape. As the confirmed hosts of the 2014 SA Masters Championships, the team from Zululand are out to impress and the team expects to do well despite losing the services of stalwart Fred Le Roux who sadly broke his leg 10 days ago and cannot compete. Their stars are Alan Johns, who won a magnificent Nixon watch for the highest wave score in the recent Jeffrey’s Bay Open, Marc Jackson and Robin Lavery and Vince King, all of whom are former South African team surfers, Mike Frew, Darryl Adamson, Bushy Greeff and Calla Esterhuizen. who sent a small team to East London last year and finished in an uncomfortable last place, will be aiming to rectify this. The 2013 SA Masters Championships will decide seven individual champions and determine the top Provincial team. Each team member’s points will count towards the Masters Cup, which was won by Southern KZN in 2005 and 2006 and by Border in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Teams in the SA Masters Championships will gather at Big Blu in Mossel Bay at 7pm tonight for a social function. The first rounds will get under way at 7.30am on Thursday September 5th |
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