Cobbles Classic wrap

The Second day of surfing saw perfect conditions again with smaller swell, but still totally ridable (especially on the logs we were riding). It was a full day of surfing with the Mens division splitting at the 6th round into a main and plate event. The plate event was won by longboard extraordinaire Ryan Anderson, who was one of the guys (along with Dean “Porp” Simpson), who birthed the idea of the Cobbles Classic. The main event was won by myself, which was a truly humbling event, because I regard all the guys around me at the event as excellent surfers who I don’t mind losing to at any time. Jamie Morris has managed a 4th place all 3 years since the contest started; Ludi Du Toit won the first event and came 3rd this year; and Porp won the second year and came 2nd this year.

​The ladies event was won by Shannon Bolotin from California, who won the first year as well. So far this event has only been won by foreigners, because an Australian girl won it last year.  There were a number of stand-outs in the contest and they received special awards. Another new concept introduced this year, was a mens elite "top 8" and a ladies elite "top 4", which saw top surfers literally getting capped for this impressive result as the logging standard has shot through the roof over the past 3 years in South Africa. These surfers get a free invite to next years contest and get seeded for the event.

The RVCA Cobbles Classic was hosted by the Loggers Union. The weekend started with the “Hog-a-Log” session on Thursday afternoon, where people came to Cobbles and surfed whatever boards they liked. This gave people an opportunity to try other people’s boards and play around. Once again Cobbles greeted us with classic waves! We were blessed with sunny, clean runners allowing for some great surfing. The opening function was held at Pine Lodge on Thursday evening with live music by Charlie Finch.
 
With a huge wind predicted for Sunday we made a mission to surf the contest on the Friday and Saturday. With the Christian Surfers praying hard, the contest started with epic conditions on the Friday: light offshore winds and perfect swell. The men’s event was run all day Friday with the ladies surfing in the late afternoon. As always, the competition was extremely tough, but the vibe was so chilled and happy. The large number of Cape Town surfers was amazing, with legends of the sport, like Bernie Shelley bringing a bevy of beauties with her. One lady hadn’t surfed for 40 years and the Cobbles Classic got her so stoked, that she is like a 12 year old grom again!

The 2 judges from Cape Town were amazing (Kwezi and Johnno) and Des Sawyer took the reigns as the head judge. Gregg Clarke was the contest director and (as always) did an incredible job. The sponsors of the event were excellent with RVCA being the headline sponsor this year and Des Sawyer making a custom board for the first prize. Other sponsors included Sector Nine Skateboards, Red Bull, Above and Beyond Sound, VZ Sunglasses, Pine Lodge, Cork Wine Bar, Surf Centre, DPI Signage, Bings Brew, Surf Lock Board Racks, Mike Meyer Surfboards (he made the amazing trophies).
 
We are really looking forward to the event next year with people like Miles Gilham already starting his countdown the day after the event.
 
The results for Cobbles are as follows:
 
Loggers Union TOP 8:
Mens 1st Place - Cobbles Classic King - Craig Cuff
Mens 2nd Place - Dean Simpson
Mens 3rd Place - Ludi Du Toit
Mens 4th place - Jamie Morris
Tie 5th Gregg Clarke & Matt Macleod
Tie 7th George Bunting & Greg Smith
 
Loggers Union Top 4:
Ladies 1st Place - Cobbles Classic Queen - Shannon Bolotin
Ladies 2nd Place - Margreet Wibbelink
Ladies 3rd Place - Michelle Hill
Ladies 4th Place - Mia Baard
 
Plate Final:
Mens Plate 1st Place - Ryan Anderson
Mens Plate 2nd place - Paul O’ Connell
Mens Plate 3rd Place - Shaun Simpson
Mens Plate 4th Place - Darren Ball
 
Specialty Awards:
Mens Stylemaster Award - Miles Gilham & Oliver Fuchs
Mens Noserider Award - Matthew Macleod
Ladies Sylemaster Award - Susannah Leigh
Ladies Noserider Award - Simone Robb
Surfers Surfer Award – George Bunting

You can check out all the shots from the event here.
​http://www.millerslocal.co.za/comp-news/cobbles-classic-shots