Cobbles Classic

Comp report by Gregg Clarke. All photo's Dirk Tolken unless otherwise stated.
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So Cobbles is a super consistent longboard wave, the only conditions it won't handle is an onshore or any big ground swell….Pretty much exactly what we got, except it was a spectacular 15 ft on the outside, with the last day adding a stiff onshore to the mix, to complicate matters even more!

​None the less, when the country s best loggers pull in to the Bay for a classic weekend of jolling and surfing- you can expect the conditions to have very little affect on the surfing. Many surfers still scored in the excellent scoring range.
 
Well over 40 contestants were from out of town, and we were really hoping that the Classic would be, well….classic, and as always, it was! The okes were super stoked with the weekend.

​We have said this many times before, it is also the only contest were someone will get knocked out of the event only to be sitting 5 minutes later on the beach with a big smile on their face watching the classic surfing that goes down. Surfing is always celebrated here, and not only the winners.! Guys were really so stoked to all hang out together and look at the different boards, appreciate the subtle differences in styles and learn more about the art of styling a classic longboard.
 
This year the whole format was amended. The idea was to focus more on the surfing and less on the winning, so we introduced the session based format. Every surfer got to surf 3 heats/sessions with points being allocated for each position as well as an aggregate heat total which decided the top 16 mens and top 12 ladies who would then go into the standard elimination rounds. We also added the Old Mal division, which saw surfers having to ride legitimate 60’s boards. We saw some Whitmores, Seal Points, Max Wettelands, Bobby Jouberts and a Baron being ridden. I’m sure some of those boards have never been turned or nose ridden like those dudes rode those boards. It was insane to watch.

​Anyway lets get down to the surfing! The standard this year was incredible and it seems like every year the bar is being raised…another important reason we do the classic- to grow classic longboarding. To make the final cut from the 48 men and 20 ladies was a tough ask. Stand outs at this stage were Shaun Simpson, Craig Cuff and Mia Baard who were all top of their respective divisions. 

The mens final saw two familiar faces, Dean “Porp” Simpson and Ludi Du Toit, with two new faces to the finals, Matt Macleod and Sam Christonson. Porp had started off a bit slow in the event with no real sign of what was yet to come....But then Porp decided to show up, albeit a little late! The 30 min final was the Porp show, with some excellent scoring rides he was able to secure a comfortable win, with Sam from Durban finishing second. Matt pulled a third, with Ludi finishing fourth.

​The ladies final saw completely new faces from last years final, Crystal Hullet, Susannah Leigh, Michelle Von Kempen and Caitlyn Broukert. The tough conditions definitely opened up the playing field which suited Crystals approach to heats. She was able to dominate the final with the type of clever surfing which has seen her win so many events in both shortboarding and longboarding. In a close second place from Cape Town, was Susannah Leigh who was able to log with grace and style in really tricky conditions. Michelle secured third place, which was exceptional after the board drama she encountered, having to ride a borrowed board in the final. Caitlyn from the South Coast finished fourth.
 
The Old Mal was won by Ludi Du Toit with Matt Macleod taking second place. 

Special awards:
 
The Best Noserider of the event: Dylan Swindale (from CT)
Style Master: 12 year old Levi Mayes (from CT)
Surfers Choice: Your truly, Gregg Clarke
 
I quick thanks to the following sponsors:
 
RYD Land and Sea
Loggers Union
Relik Surf Store
St Francis Brewing Company
O Neil
Nixon Watches
Timberblock
Techni Construction
Sharkbanz
Surfsense
 
The prizes this year were amazing with a combined value of about R 40 000! Again an event like this is simply not possible without the involvement from the sponsors, so ja, on behalf of the 70 odd surfers a big thank you all!!!
 
Till next year,
 
Gregg Clarke