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. 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
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Champions Decided at Billabong Junior Series pres. by All Aboard Travel in Seal Point this Weekend
The champions in the 20th annual Billabong Junior Series presented by All Aboard Travelwill be crowned this weekend when the country’s best 18-and-under surfers take to the fabled waves of Seal Point in Cape St Francis to compete for prestige, rankings points and prize money. The world’s longest running junior surfing series has nurtured the competitive careers of countless South African surfers including current World No. 1 Jordy Smith, former WSL Women’s No. 4 Bianca Buitendag and Championship Tour campaigners Travis Logie, Royden Bryson, Ricky Basnett, Rosy Hodge and Nikita Robb as well as current QS standouts Beyrick de Vries, Michael February and many more Scheduled for Friday to Sunday, September 29 - 1 October, the fourth and final event in the 2017 series features World Surf League (WSL) Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 1,000 rated events for U18 men and women, alongside 3A rated Surfing South Africa (SSA) SA Surf Tour (SAST) events for U16 and U14 boys and girls and U12 boys. “We are excited to be crowning the 20th annual Billabong Junior Series champions at Seal point this weekend,” said Billabong Marketing Manager Chad D’Arcy. “It’s great to be a junior surfer in South Africa at the moment, and Billabong is proud of our junior surfing legacy.” Jake Elkington (Kommetjie) holds a substantial rankings lead in the U18 boys division after victories in the Port Elizabeth and Cape Town legs of the 2017 series. His younger brother Max currently fills the runner-up berth after finishing second in both events. Fellow Kommetjie surfer Ethan Fletcher is in third spot, just ahead of defending series champion Adin Masencamp (Strand) and Joshe Faulkner (Jeffreys Bay) who is fifth. Sophie Bell (Salt Rock) looks set to defend her U18 girls’ series title successfully with Kayla Nogueira (uMhlanga) her closest challenger and Kirsty McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) is another 500 points further adrift in third place on the rankings. The U16 boys title will go down to the wire with Dellin Hendricks (Jeffreys Bay) just five points ahead of Eli Beukes (Kommetjie) and Luke Slijpen (Llandudno) is 100 points adrift of the top pair. Nogueira holds an unassailable lead in the U16 girls after winning all three events to date. Kyra Bennie (Vredehoek) has also completed a clean sweep of victories in the three U12 boys’ events while in the U14’s Daniel Emslie (East London) and Ceara Knight are the odds on favourites to collect their first series awards. The Billabong Junior Series pres. by All Aboard Travel runs from Friday to Sunday when all the event and series champions will crowned at the awards ceremony on the beach. The U18 boys’ and girls’ series champions win a coveted trip to the tropical paradise of Bali thanks to All Aboard Travel, while the exciting VonZipper Airshow will also reward the surfer landing the best aerial manoeuvre with a winner-takes-all R2,000 prize purse. Results from the JQS1,000 (U18) events will also determine the 2017 WSL Africa Junior champions and the selection of the top four men and two women who will represent the region at the WSL World Junior Championships in Australia in January. Competitor registration takes place at the event site from 2pm on Thursday and continues on Friday morning. The Billabong Junior Series pres. by All Aboard Travel is supported by BOS, VonZipper, Zigzag, Surfing South Africa and the World Surf League. Billabong Web: Facebook: Billabong South Africa: www.facebook.com/Billabong Billabong Women’s South Africa: www.facebook.com/BillabongWomens Hashtag: #BillabongJNR Cape Town Surfriders win the annual Vic Bay Quad in memory of John Pfaff for the second year in a row
A strong Cape Town Surfriders team successfully defended their title at the 2017 Vic Bay Quad in memory of John Pfaff when they beat the event hosts,Eden Surfriders, into second place. Former champions Nelson Mandela Bay were third, Cape Winelands came fourth and Buffalo City was fifth. The Cape Town team also produced the Open Men’s Champion in Brandon Benjamin who added the Vic Bay Open Men’s title to the National crown he won at the Mercedes – Benz SA Championships which was hosted at Nahoon Reef by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality a month ago. The contest was held in tough but highly contestable Victoria Bay conditions. In the individual finals South African National Team member Benjamin beat the Buffalo City trio of Tyrell Johnson, son Michael and father Wayne Monk, into second, third and fourth place respectively. Local girl Nina Harmse won the Women’s title with Britney Linder of Nelson Mandela Bay taking second place. The Cape Winelands duo of Penny Stemmet and Danielle Johnson were third and fourth respectively. The Over 30 Men’s gold medal went the way of a stoked Bruce Campbell of Nelson Mandela Bay with Tyrell Johnson adding a second silver medal to his cabinet. Neil Zietsman of Cape Town Surfriders was third and Jono Bruton of Buffalo City took fourth. SA Champion Wayne Monk of Buffalo City won the O40 Division for the fourth time, beating team mate Tristan Johnson into second spot. Shane Pratt of Cape Winelands came third and Ryan Kuhn of Cape Town Surfriders was fourth. Over 50 Division honours went to Victoria Bay local and Eden Surfriders stalwart Stephen Hair. Hair beat Andre Mory of Cape Town Surfriders into second place. Hair’s Eden teammate Patrick Cuthbert was third and Jeremy Zinn of Cape Town Surfriders came fourth. The first Vic Bay Quad took place back in 1976, ironically not at Victoria Bay but at Wilderness Beach. It was originally contested by Southern Cape (known as South Western Districts back then), Western Province, Eastern Province and Border. In the early 1980's Boland joined the event but it retained its name as the Vic Bay Quad even though there were five teams taking part. At one stage a team from the SA Defence Force also competed in the event but it has always been known as the Vic Bay Quad. After a break of nearly a decade the Vic Bay Quad was added to the Surfing South Africa calendar in 2012. The original format for the event has been retained with surfers competing Open Division for Men and Women as well as Over 30, Over 40 and Over 50 Men's Divisions. At the end of the contest every surfer’s allocated scores are totaled to determine the team champions. The John Pfaff Trophy, created by local surfer Steven Hair, is awarded to the winning team. The Vic Bay Quad is held annually and named in honour of Southern Cape surfing legend, John Pfaff, who passed away suddenly in 2012. Full results and photos will be posted on the Surfing South Africa websitewww.surfingsdouthafrica.co.za The 2017 Vic Bay Quad in memory of John Pfaff was presented by Surfing South Africa and hosted by Eden Surfriders. The event was supported by the Eden Sports Council, the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs. Sponsorship for the event came from the Wilderness Bush Camp, SBS Brokers, Gul Wetsuits, Primi Piatti and FTB. Surfing South Africa is recognized by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the International Surfing Association SAN CLEMENTE, California/USA (Friday, September 15, 2017) - Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Silvana Lima (BRA) have claimed victory today at the Hurley Pro and Swatch Pro at Trestles in three-to-four foot (1 - 1.2 metre) waves at the famed cobblestone break of Lower Trestles. Lima’s win over CT Sophomore Keely Andrew (AUS) in the Final came after a thrilling week of competition at Stop No. 7 of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), while Stop No. 8 saw Toledo defeat defending event winner and current World No. 1 Jordy Smith (ZAF) in the Final for a Brazilian sweep. Toledo put on spectacular performances for the San Clemente crowd with his powerful turns and big airs throughout the event. Today’s Final Series witnessed Toledo continue to turn up the heat en route to the 5th CT victory of his career. Prior to taking down Smith in the heated Final match-up, Toledo knocked out 2016 WSL Champion John John Florence (HAW) in the Semifinals andKanoa Igarashi (USA) in the Quarterfinals. “Finally! This is a very special moment right now,” said Toledo. “I always get stopped in the Semis and beating Jordy [Smith], the one who beat me last time, is an incredible feeling. I’m so thankful for all my friends to be here and thank God for all the waves he sent to me. This event is always so entertaining to watch. I am so excited to win with my friends and family all here.” Toledo, who earned first place at the Corona Open J-Bay, is now the only male surfer to win two CT events this season. The Brazilian is now back in the World Title conversation, as his result improves his ranking by two spots up 7th on the Jeep Leaderboard. “The World Title is definitely my main goal and it feels really amazing to be the only one to win two events of the year,” continued Toledo. “It’s been a crazy run for the World Title and I think it’s going to be one of the best once we get toward the last event -- and I’m going to be there. Family means a lot to me and especially now with a second baby coming, it feels amazing to have them here and this is for them.” Although Smith was not able to defend his event win, the runner-up result will keep him in the Jeep Leader Jersey with 45,850 points on the leaderboard. The South African is 2,450 points above No. 2 Florence and 8,650 points above No. 3 Julian Wilson (AUS). Smith will now prepare to best last year’s 25th place finish at the Quiksilver Pro France. “I would’ve liked to get a couple more waves in that heat, but today wasn’t my day, unfortunately, and Filipe [Toledo] just surfed really well,” Smith said. “I went out there with a strategy and executed it pretty much as perfectly as I could, but in surfing, there are some things you can’t control and that’s Mother Nature. In that 35-minutes, I just didn’t get a second chance. Now I will just try to focus on the next one and live every moment for what it is and what’s to come. It’s time to get ready for Europe where it’s very happy-go-lucky and I like just roaming those lineups and just being there.” Hurley Pro Final Results:
1 -Filipe Toledo (BRA) 15.67 2 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9.80 Hurley Pro Semifinal Results: SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.33 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 10.17 SF 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.90 def. John John Florence (HAW) 12.66 Hurley Pro Remaining Quarterfinal Results: QF 3: John John Florence (HAW) 14.84 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.80 QF 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 15.26 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 11.10 2017 WSL Men’s Jeep Leaderboard (After Hurley Pro at Trestles): 1 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 45,850 pts 2 - John John Florence (HAW) 43,400 pts 3 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 37,200 pts 4 - Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 36,450 pts 5 - Owen Wright (AUS) 35,850 pts Nearly that time of year again - the super awesome Cobbles Classic will be happening next weekend and there are still a few slots open so get those entries in. There's a division for everyone, whether you a serious competitor or just wanna paddle out and have some fun. Check out the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1246339655478059/ ENTER HERE: https://www.easyreg.co.za/users/sign_in
Just log in using FB, and then choose the 2017 Cobbles Classic from the Drop Down list of event options. The Something Good Classic 2017 was a super lekker comp held at Pipe over the weekend. It's like fine wine and just keeps getting better every year. Fun waves, plenty happening on the beach, great chow and sunny skies. Followed by a phat jol at Something Good that evening. Ticks all the boxes. If you missed it make sure you come next year! Well done to Joshe Faulkner (above) who took the win in the main event. Rest of the results below. Thanks to Merv and Andre from the Pipe Surf Club for hosting a great comp. Photo'sImages by Petronel Posthumus Images by Heather Nel Images by Johann Stassen | Jays Knots Something Good Roadhouse in collaboration with the Pipe Club will be hosting the 3rd annual Something Good Surf Classic on Saturday, 9 September 2017 at Pipe Beach along 10th Avenue, Marine Drive in Summerstrand.
The Something Good Surf Classic has become the Eastern Cape's biggest surfing competition, featuring the biggest number of sporting codes - long board, short board, body board, SUP and skateboard divisions. Starting times are as follows: Short Board Division: 7am SUP and Long Board Divisions: 8am Skateboard Division: 2pm First price is a R3,000.00 cash prize from Something Good Roadhouse along with an additional R2,000.00 cash prize for the best air sponsored by Red Bull along with loads of other awesome prizes, lucky draws and spot prizes. The entrance fee is R200 which includes a free t-shirt for the first 100 entrants. Visit the Facebook page for more details Something Good Surf Classic. FINAL RESULTS FROM MERCEDES - BENZ SOUTH AFRICAN SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED by BUFFALO CITY
Shot to Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders (NMBS) Masters team for their 2nd place at SA Champs - getting pipped by Border. The NMBS Open team came 5th, so overall standing for NMBS was a 3rd spot. Men's Open Final: 1st Brandon Benjamin - 15.75 2nd Greg Emslie - 14.75 3rd Cody Coetsee - 8.85 4th Llewellyn Whittaker - 5.45 Women's Open Final: 1st Olivia Brand - 17.25 2nd Heather Clark - 16.75 3rd Danica Stockigt - 11.35 4th Maya Shefer Boswell - 8.95 Men's Over 35 Final: 1st Tyrell Johnson - 18.4 2nd Llewellyn Whittaker - 11.45 3rd Orrin Johnson - 10.65 4th Etienne Potgieter 10.35 Men's Over 40 Final: 1st Greg Emslie -16.25 2nd Tristan Johnson - 15.25 3rd Justin Maisch - 8.25 4th Warwick Heny - 8.0 Men's Over 45 Final: 1st Wayne Monk - 14.5 2nd Carl Roux - 13.75 3rd Gareth Sepp - 11.15 4th Rob Moore Boyle - 8.5 Men's Over 50 Final: 1st David Malherbe - 18.5 2nd Daryl Adamson - 15.0 3rd Richard Heath - 12.5 4th Andre Mory - 5.0 Women's Over 30 Final: 1st Heather Clark - 18.75 2nd Michelle Van Kempen - 12.2 3rd Lynne Mackey - 10.65 4th Tasha Mentasti - 8.05 Men's Over 55 Final: 1st Chris Knutsen - 17.4 2nd Trevor Hansen - 14.25 3rd Andre Venter - 8.75 4th Bruce Anderson - 4.25 Men's Over 60 Final: 1st Gordon Harmer - 14.25 2nd Jeremy Zinn - 13.25 3rd Dave Lipschitz - 5.35 4th Warren Wareing - 4.85 All images Ian Thurtell/SA Surfing Huge surf pounds East London's Nahoon Reef forcing organisers of the 2017 Mercedes - Benz SA Surfing Champs hosted by Buffalo City to move to a safer venue
The predicted massive swell arrived in East London with a vengeance on Day Three of the Mercedes -Benz SA Surfing Championships hosted by Buffalo City forcing organisers to move the event away from an out of control Nahoon Reef to Nahoon Corner. This decision was made by experienced Surfing South Africa Contest Director Cyril Nel who described the conditions at Nahoon Reef as "the biggest I have seen it in 30 years". Continuing with the contest at Nahoon Reef would have put contestant's lives at risk and moving the rounds to the relative calm of Nahoon Corner was met with applause by the surfers. As the mayhem continued to build along the East London coastline the SA Championship the twenty two Day Three heats ran in the relative four foot tranquility of Nahoon Corner which will probably be the venue for Day Four as the huge surf continues to pound the better known surf spots. . The Open Women Semi Finalists were decided on Day Three and the first of these semis is made up of Olivia Donald and Samelikiswe Cele ( both eThekweni), Danica Stockigt ( Buffalo City) and Tasha Mentasti (Eden). The second semi consists of eight time SA Champion Heather Clark (Ugu), Britney Linder (Nelson Mandela Bay), Lynn Mackey (eThekweni) and Maya Shefer - Boswell ( Cape Town). The top two from each semi will compete for the SA Championship title in the Final on Sunday. Qualifying for the first Over 35 Men's Semi Final are Tyrell and Stuart Fowles (both Buffalo City),Rene Terblanche (Cape Winelands) and Etienne Potgieter (Nelson Mandela Bay). Defending champion Llewellyn Whittaker (Eden) is joined by Orrin Johnson (Buffalo City), Jon Sam Caswell (Cape Winelands) and Calvin Moore (Ugu) in the other Semi Final. The Over 40 Quarter Finalists are Greg Emslie, Tristan Johnson,Philip Malherbe and Greg Harris (all Buffalo City), Warwick Heny, Simon Owen and Andrew Donaghy (all Nelson Mandela Bay), Graeme Field, Rory Heard and Ryan Kuhn (all Cape Town), Karl Ribbink and Ross Solomon (eThekweni), Justin Maisch and Gary Van Wieringen (both Ugu), Luke Meiring (Eden) and Dave Petersen (Ilembe). The Qualifiers for the Over 45 Quarters are Gareth Sepp, Andre Malherbe, Kevin O' Brien and Wayne Monk (all Buffalo City), Jacques Terblanche, Ryan Ribbink and Rob Moore Boyle (all eThekweni), Pieter Ben Van Rhijn and Mickey Lindsay (both Nelson Mandela Bay) and defending champion, Carl Roux (Ugu). Day Four will see surfers in the Over 30 Women's Division, Over 55 and Over 60 Division joining the contest for the first time this week. All the results and photos are posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za and heat results with scores are posted on the Surfing SA Facebook page immediately after they are completed. The 2017 Mercedes - Benz SA Surfing Championships is hosted by Buffalo City and supported by the Department of Sport and Recreation SA and the National Lotteries Commission. The event is hosted by the Buffalo City Surfriders and presented by Surfing South Africa ,the recognised governing body for the sport. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). Accelerate Sport is Surfing South Africa's marketing partner. Huge surf pounds East London's Nahoon Reef forcing organisers of the 2017 Mercedes - Benz SA Surfing Champs hosted by Buffalo City to move to a safer venue The early rounds of the 2017 Mercedes – Benz SA Surfing Championships hosted by Buffalo City began in challenging conditions at Nahoon Reef in East London today (Tuesday August 22) The 52nd Edition of the premier Surfing South Africa National Championships features over 160 surfers from nine Districts who are competing for nine individual titles as well as Team honours. Strong winds and changing conditions, which improved throughout the day, produced some fine individual performances and high scoring heats. Standout surfer on the day was Heather Clark of UGU Surfriders. who posted a remarkable 19 out of a possible 20 points in her Round One heat. Clark is attempting to secure her 9th South African title since winning her first one at Nahoon Reef in 1989. Another standout on Day one was five time and defending SA Mens Champion Greg Emslie of Buffalo City Surfriders who posted the highest heat score in Round One.
Joining Emslie in Round Three as Heat winners are teammates Michael Monk, Devyn Mattheys, Luke Malherbe and Thomas Lindhorst. Others who won their first round heats were Cody Coetsee and Derek Horlock (both UGU), Adin Masencamp (Cape Winelands).Jerry Van Wyk and Joshe Faulkner (Nelson Mandela Bay) and Llewellyn Whittaker (Eden). Joining Clark in Round Three of the Womens division are Olivia Brand (eThekweni),Danica Stockigt and Tayla de Coning (both Buffalo City) and Britney Linder (Nelson Mandela Bay). The South African Championships ends with the finals on Sunday. Day One results are posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za Surfing South Africa is the recognised governing body for the sport of surfing in South Africa and is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) |
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