Cobbles Classic 2017

Words by Ryan Anderson. Images by Kody McGregor.

There’s a saying which I’m sure you’ve heard many times, “The best surfer in the water, is the one having the most fun!” This adage certainly describes the vibe at the Cobbles Classic event and has gladly been adopted as the mantra for our gathering. 

If a weekend of cruising waves, talking story, beach vibes and music sounds like a good time, then this is the event for you! There aren’t many surfing events that leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling and a wide smile. The comradery, community and love of the glide keeps both old and new, coming back to the Cobbles Classic year after year!

As an addition to the surfing and beach vibe of the Cobbles Classic, this year saw the introduction of the Cape Recife Music Festival on the Saturday night. Some great local bands in The Brothers & Too Many Chiefs, as well as national artists such as Charlie Finch, Farryl Purkiss, Desmond & The Tutus and Matthew Mole entertained into the night.

Hidden within the Cape Recife reserve is a surfer’s playground. The most alluring for the logger, is a beautiful cobble stone point with waves that were made for dancing a single fin down the line. Cobbles offers a wide playing field, with a dominant cobble stone point break as well as a couple reef breaks offering some shapely rights and lefts. 

All these options allow us to surf two venues in tandem. This means that the action is always on and surfers get to surf the entire range of waves on offer at Cobbles over the weekend. With various divisions to surf in the event, there is a space for everyone to come and enjoy the vibe.

​After a weekend of great surfing through the early rounds in some tricky conditions, we checked the surf forecast in anticipation for the final day. Conditions were lining up for an epic end to the event on the public holiday, with a rising swell and offshore winds predicted. Monday dawned over the Cobbles point with ideal conditions! The swell was up and the waves were peeling. This is the what Cobbles is all about and why it’s considered to be the logger’s pilgrimage. 

After an incredible display of surfing on the final day, our winners were crowned at a festive prize giving at Ziggy’s.

In a nail biting encounter with exceptional surfing by all the finalists, the Men’s Elite victory went to Michael “Hill Billy” Hill of St Francis Bay, who was crowed “Cobbles King” for 2017, with his second consecutive Cobbles Classic win. Hillbilly’s legendary reaction to the win said all you needed to know about how much it means to win this event!

With some outstanding surfing in the Ladies Elite final, Shannon Hughes of Jeffrey’s Bay, was crowned the 2017 “Cobbles Queen” for the third time. 

Allen Harris from East London took out his first win at the Cobbles Classic event in the Men’s Cruiser division title with some smooth logging. Cobbles local lass, Kia Fenton glided her way to victory in the Ladies Cruiser division. Men’s Legends title was won by the evergreen Greg Smith.

The Cobbles Classic specialty awards are as coveted as the division wins. These were our specialty award winners for 2017.

Nixon Men’s Stylemaster – Liam Bulgen
Nixon Ladies Stylemaster – Margreet Wibbelink
Stance Men’s Noserider – Gallad Smith
Stance Ladies Noserider – Mia Baard
Nixon Surfers Surfer – Levi Mayes

A big thanks to our presenting sponsor RVCA South Africa and their team for helping us put on another classic event this year.
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We would also like to thank all our other partners: St Francis Brewing Co, Mohair South Africa, Nixon, RYD Accessories, Stance, Wazoogles Superfood, Surf Sense Boardbags, Sticky Bumps, Faithful to Nature, We Care Collective, D’Blanc, Surfers Pledge, The Water Boy, Ziggy’s Rock & Reggae Bar.
 
The contest results were as follows:

Mens Elite
1st Michael Hill 
2nd Craig Cuff 
3rd Gregg Clarke 
4th Gallad Smith 

Ladies Elite
1st Shannon Hughes 
2nd Marishka Diebold 
3rd Crystal Hulett 
4th Margreet Wibbelink 

 Mens Cruiser
1st Allen Harris 
2nd Liam Bulgen 
3rd Simon Fish 
4th Matthew Hancock 

Ladies Cruiser
1st Kia Fenton 
2nd Tash Mentasti 
3rd Margot Saunders 
4th Charmaine Adams 

Mens Legends
1st Greg Smith 
2nd George Bunting 
3rd Paul O' Connell 
4th Volke Diebold