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Quiksilver Goodwave 2010 Entries Open

Entries for the prestigious, by-invitation-only 2010 Quiksilver Goodwave event to take place in Durban is now open at the event’s new and official website.

Thirty-two talented surfers will be selected according to their skill level and invited to participate in this seventh edition of the event, where they will vie for the R65 000 first prize. All in all there will be R100 000 of prize money up for grabs, and all the contestants will receive a monetary reward for their efforts.

Since this is an extremely physical event, held in typically challenging surfing conditions (GlobalSurfNews.com describes it as “grinding barrels that constitute a good day of surfing in Durban”), hopeful entrants will be subjected to a strict selection criteria which will include the surfer’s previous event performances and barrel riding experience.

Hopeful entrants have all January to submit their entries at the new website. On the entry page, surfers can state their claim as to why they should be selected to participate, upload an image of themselves. There is even a space for them to recommend three other surfers for the event.

The waiting period for the one-day event will run from beginning February 2010 to the end of December 2010.

SA Juniors Prepare For Billabong Showdown In Aus

South Africa’s top junior surfers are all heading to Australia to compete in the Billabong World Junior Championships in January.

Representing us will be Klee Strachan from Winkelspruit, ASP Africa Pro Junior champion Chad du Toit from Durban, Casey Grant from Scottburgh, Beyrick de Vries from Umhlanga and another Durbanite, Kyle Lane.

This will be Klee’s third appearance at the event. “Last year I made round three but got knocked out by Julian Wilson (Australia) who is an unbelievable surfer, so I was not too bummed,” Klee said. “It’s an awesome event and all the surfers in the contest surf really well. I am definitely looking to do well this year. I’ve had three years to see how the standard is so I’ve been training to do well.”

Among the women who will represent South Africa are Sarah Baum from Athlone Park and Bianca Buitendag from George. They will try to beat defending champion, Pauline Ado from France.

The event will kick off at Sydney’s Narrabeen beach on January 9, 2010.

International Coreban Summer Stand Up Surfing Series

Day one of the Coreban Summer Stand Up Surfing (SUP) Series kicked off at Canal Walk in Century City near Cape Town yesterday with over 80 entrants from around the world battling it out on the gruelling 4 kilometre course around the Century City village’s canals and waterways.

The four day event, which includes sprint racing, wave-riding, Le Mans Formula 1 racing and endurance racing, began with long distance stand up paddle board racing.

The men’s event was won by German Andreas von Blottnitz. Jonathan Rosslind and Greg Bertish managed to do South Africa proud by coming in second and third respectively.

Germany took the ladies’ event as well, with Gabi Ott coming in first. Karina Figl from Austria tied with Natasha Pietersmann for second place.

The SUP series will continue until Saturday. If you’re in the area for holiday gift shopping, take some time out to see some of the worthwhile, upstanding action. Today presents the Le Mans Formula 1 surf slalom while the wave riders will battle it out on Friday.

Bianca Buitendag Takes Roxy Wahine Cup

Sixteen-year old Bianca Buitendag from George managed to win both the U20 and premier Open divisions of the 2009 Roxy Wahine Cup at Suncoast Beach near Durban this past weekend, snatching up R12 500 in prize money and one of the most prestigious titles in South African surfing.

“It was a bit stressful surfing two divisions,” Bianca said after the final. “Saturday wasn’t too bad, because I only had a couple of heats to surf, but making both finals [on Sunday] meant I had to surf five heats. So I had to really conserve my energy, especially with the Open final being the last of the day, because that’s the one everyone wants to win. Fortunately I was staying at the Suncoast Hotel, so I was able to go back to my room between heats and rest to maintain my energy levels through the day.”

By winning the Open division, Bianca managed to defeat defending champion Tarryn Chudleigh from Kommetjie, who came second. Chantelle Rautenbach from Melkbosstrand came third and Tanika Hoffman – also from Kommetjie – came fourth.

In the U20 finals, Bianca beat New Pier’s Kirsty Delport, reigning South African U18 champion Alice McGregor from East London (who came third) and Tarryn, who ended up in fourth place.

The U16 final was won by South African Junior Team member and Warner Beach native Sarah Baum. Sabrina Scott came second, and Emma Smith and Cara MacDonald tied for third.

The U14 youngsters who battled it out were Channelle Botha, who beat Gina Smith, Jordan Vanhoutte and Tahra Uren.

The Novice Division, open to girls who had never surfed a contest before, was won by Jelaine Hermitte, who managed to secure herself a year-long Roxy sponsorship. Jamie-Lee Glazer was runner-up, Holly Konig came third and Michelle Verreynne came fourth. We’re sure that we’ll be seeing more of these names in future!

Surfing Community Mourns Death of South African Surfing Pioneer

The local surfing community is in mourning following the death of a local surfing veteran hailed by many as one of the country’s pioneers for the sport.

Shorty Bronkhorst died in Jeffreys Bay this past weekend. He was 73 years old.

According to the Weekend Post Online, Shorty began surfing in the summer of 1949 in Durban and was still doing it more than 50 years later at Super Tubes and Surfers Point. While working as a professional lifesaver in Durban, he surfed on 5m boards made out of plywood.

In 1956, at the age of 19, Shorty and a friend hitchhiked their way across Africa and eventually ended up in London. In the UK, he began building surfboards and was eventually invited to do promotions for a travel company. “Big tour buses full of spectators arrived to watch Bronkhorst and his friends from the long breakwater,” reports the Weekend Post. They were soon dubbed the “Hawaiian surferboard riders from South Africa”.

Shorty was a big advocate of keeping surfing a ‘noble’ sport. “We should try to keep it that way. Tell the youngsters to be polite in the water. Show some respect towards others and you will be appreciated much more than if you just drop in on everybody else,” he said.

“It’s unnecessary to sneak around the waiting surfers and catch a sly wave. Rather just get in line and wait your turn. The guys will think more of you if you do so.”

He is survived by his son Glen and daughters Kim and Lisa.

This coming Saturday, November 28, there will be a paddle-out at Surfer’s Point in Jeffreys Bay (Shorty’s home for the last 15 years) in honour of Shorty. All his friends are invited to participate. His ashes will be scattered in the sea off the beach where he did most of his surfing.

Volunteer & Learn To Surf In South Africa

A global travel company is giving willing volunteers from the States, the UK and Australia the opportunity to learn to conquer our magnificent South African surf and then pass their new-found surfing skills on to deserving, underprivileged kids.

Volunteers can sign up for between two and eight weeks for i-to-i’s “Surfing experience with disadvantage children in South Africa” project. They’ll come out to the gorgeous Muizenberg beach near Cape Town where they will be taught the sport before teaching it in turn. No previous surfing experience is necessary, because the first week is orientation during which the volunteers will be taught to stay upright on a board while in the water. During the orientation, there will also be time to do some sight-seeing around Cape Town.

The second week – and all the time the volunteer has signed up for after that – will be spent teaching local disadvantaged kids how to surf. But not to worry, qualified instructors will be on hand the entire time.

During their stay, volunteers will be accommodated in the Fish Hoek youth hostel. The cost of the project is $1549 for the first two weeks, with additional weeks costing $420. This includes accommodation; airport pickup; the services of the in-country co-ordinator; orientation; training and 24-hour emergency support, as well as a contribution to the project.

For more information visit www.i-to-i.com

Amputee Surfer Gets Back On Board With Special Prosthetic

A photographer and surfer who lost his leg following a hit-and-run accident earlier this year, was cheered on by family and friends as he went surfing on a regular surfboard again for the first time since his accident.

The Dispatch Online reports that Jean-Paul Veaudry went “knee-surfing” for a couple of days before he decided to go all-out again for the first time since recently being fitted with his prosthetic leg manufactured especially for a surfer designed by Roland Toogood, a medical orthotist/prosthetist. He came up with a special lightweight prosthesis with a foot that has energy storage and that is able to absorb shock.

“I’m a bit nervous because paddling on a surfboard is not quite the same as surfing. I missed surfing and I felt like a fish out of water… it is something that only surfers would understand,” he told the Dispatch.

On May 23 this year, the motorcycle Veaudry was riding was involved in a collision with a car which sped away from the scene. The driver of the car is still at large.

So how did Veaudry’s first time back on the board go with his new leg? “The whole experience was awesome, but I kept on dragging my leg in the water and I didn’t realise it,” he told the Dispatch after his session in the water. “It was also strange not being able to feel the board the same way I used to. The waves weren’t too exciting either, but I will come back.”

2009 South Coast Surf Carnival

All of South Africa’s hottest up and coming young surfing talent is gathered in the KwaZulu-Natal town of Scottburgh this weekend for the seventh annual South Coast Surf Carnival. The event has grown to become one of the province’s premier water sports events dedicated to longboarding, Kitesurfing, Stand-up-paddleboarding, and, for the first time this year, kayak fishing.

The event will see South Africa’s current junior longboarding champion Scott Lefevre from Umhlanga vying to snap up yet another title. He will have to contend with Kane Bennewith and Jago England, both from Durban.

Bryce Rawlings from Umhlanga will also be there to defend his junior kitesurfing title. The kitesurfing component of the carnival is the longest running kitesurfing event in South Africa and will take place at Scottburgh’s main beach in front of the Cutty Sark Hotel.

Apart from the contest part of the Carnival, there will also be surfing lessons provided by uShaka Surf and Adventures. The clinics are open to everyone who want to learn how to surf. There will also be Stand-up-paddleboarding in the lagoon. The clinics will be run by qualified instructors and is great for helping novice surfers who wish to find their feet on the water.

The event kicks off tomorrow, 7 November and runs through Sunday, the 8th.

SA Surf Champ Injured In Car Crash

South African surfer Heather Clarke, who is the reigning International Surfing Association (ISA) world masters surfing champion, has been hospitalised after being injured in a car crash near her home in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal last night (October 22).

According to her mom, Dawn Clark, an alleged drunk driver hit Heather’s car so hard that it was smashed into two pieces.
“At this stage we are not sure the full extent of her injuries or how it will impact on her surfing career in the long term,” IOL.co.za quoted Dawn as saying. “[She] is currently undergoing numerous scans and X-rays [at] the Hibiscus Private Hospital, in Port Shepstone, to determine the degree of her injuries. She has already had 22 stitches to her head. She is conscious, in a lot of pain, but is trying to stay upbeat.”

The alleged drunk driver was arrested after the incident and spent the night in jail.

Global Surf News reports that Heather has no medical aid. They’re urging anyone who is able and wants to help her with the huge medical costs to contact Surfing Souh Africa at surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

Heather has been surfing professionally for 12 years. She is the only South African surfer to have won the prestigious Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii.

Good luck, girl. We wish you a swift and complete recovery!

Border Team Wins 2009 SA Reef Wetsuit Masters

The elder statesmen of South African surfing (and when we say ‘elder’, we mean over 30) showed off their surfing prowess at the fifth annual South African Reef Wetsuit Masters Championships which took place in Mossel Bay this past weekend.

The guys showed that years have not diminished their skills. Especially the guys from East London, who managed to nab the Masters trophy for Border for an impressive third year in a row! Central KwaZulu-Natal had to contend with second place. Western Province came third, host province Southern Cape came fourth, Eastern Province fifth, Boland sixth and Southern KwaZulu-Natal came seventh.

As far as individual winners are concerned, Llewellyn Whittaker from the Southern Cape scored the highest winning margin for the day in the Senior (Over 30) final. Craig Els from Southern KwaZulu-Natal came second, Paul Proctor of Border came third and Graeme Field from Western Province (WP) came fourth.

In the over 35 Master’s Andrew Banks from Southern KwaZulu-Natal beat defending champion Wayne Monk from Border. Gary van Wieringen of Southern KwaZulu-Natal came third and Stephan Lindeque of Boland came fourth.

David Malherbe, last year’s defending Grandmaster’s champion, managed to retain his title. Rob Moore from Central KwaZulu-Natal came second, André Malherbe and Gareth Sepp, both from Border, came third and fourth respectively.

In the Kahunas division (over 45) Nick Pike of Border came first, Western Province’s Sean Jerram came second, Michael Brent of Border came third and Trevor Hansen of Eastern Province came fourth.

In the Grandkahunas (over 50) final, Chris Knutsen beat fellow Central KwaZulu-Natal surfer Grantley Read. Jeremy Zinn of Western Province came third and Nick Krone of Southern Cape came fourth.

Glen Bowles of Eastern Province won the Veterans (over 55) final. Leonard Giles came second, John Elliott of Eastern Province came third and Heinie Meiring of Border came fourth.

Congratulations to all of them!

Mossel Bay Hosts 2009 Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Champs

The picturesque Southern Cape town of Mossel Bay begins hosting the fifth edition of the 2009 Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships today, 15 October 2009. The event, which will see some of South Africa’s surfing legends in action, will last until Sunday, 18 October 2009.

This is the first time ever that a national inter-provincial surfing tournament will be held in Mossel Bay, reports Surfing South Africa.

More than 100 surfers from seven provinces will compete as individuals across six age divisions. Which province ends up winning the Inter-provincial team trophy will be determined by a combination of all the team members’ scores.

Some of the Over 30 Senior Men division surfers will include guys like Paul Procter and Philip Malherbe of Border, Craig Els from Southern KwaZulu-Natal, Graeme Field of Western Province (WP), Llewellyn Whittaker of Southern Cape and Michael Moore of Boland.

The Over 35s Masters will see the likes of defending champion Wayne Monk of Border, who will try to retain his title against guys like Gary van Wieringen and Andrew Banks of Southern KwaZulu-Natal, Carl Roux and Mike Frew of KwaZulu-Natal, Robert Pollock of Southern Cape and Andrew Preen of WP.

The Over 40 Grandmasters division will see 2007 and 2008 Grandmasters champion David Malherbe and his brother, fellow SA Masters team member Andre, compete against Gareth Sepp of Border.

The Over 45 Kahunas will see Steven Hair of Southern Cape, David Stubbs and Glen Row of WP, Mike Brent of Border, Mickey Duffus of Boland and David Hansen of KwaZulu-Natal.

SA Surfing reckons that current Over 50 World and SA champion Chris Knutsen of KwaZulu-Natal won’t have a lot of competition, although they acknowledge that his competitors in the age division, such as Brian Heathcote of Border and Grantly Read of KwaZulu-Natal, could come up with surprising performances in this Grand Kahunas division round.

The Veterans Over 55 division will see Dave Fish of Border going head to head with Leonard Giles of the Southern Cape.

The event will be presented by Ocean and Earth. Good luck, gentlemen!

Junior Saffas Take Reunion Island Challenge

Last weekend saw our local junior 2010 team fare extremely well in the team contest in the Reunion Island Challenge that took place at Kalk Bay Reef in Cape Town on Sunday.

Western Province, the hosts, took second place and the visitors from Reunion Island came third. The Emergin South African team came fourth and Boland came in at fifth place.

The U18 Boys Final title was snatched up by South African junior team member David Brand, who managed to beat current SA champion Matt Bromley of Western Province, pushing him down to second place. Hugo Dubosc of Reunion Island came third and Mikey February, another member of the South African team, came fourth.

This victory has managed to distinguish Brand as the top seed in the U18 SA Team when they compete in the ISA World Junior championships in New Zealand in January 2010.

The U18 Girls’ Final title went to Sarah Baum of the SA Team. She beat Camilla Davila of Reunion Island, who came second. Heidi Palmboom of the SA Junior Team came third and current U18 Girls’ champion Alice McGregor of the Emerging SA Team ended up in fourth place.

The U16 Boys’ finals saw the title going to Daniel Wilson of the Western Province. South African team members Steven Sawyer and Jarred Veldhuis came second and third. Fourth place went to another WP surfer, Benji Brand.

The U14 Boys’ Final victory also went to a WP surfer: Max Armstrong. He beat SA Emerging team member Benjamin de Castro. Lucas Jannier of Reunion Island came third and Brandon Benjamin of the Emerging SA Team came fourth.

The Reunion team members have been spending this past week training in Durban, where they will take on the SA team again, as well as a team from Central KwaZulu-Natal and Southern KwaZulu-Natal in Durban tomorrow and Saturday. The Reunion Islanders return home on Sunday, but they’ve already promised to host a reciprocal event on their home turf next year.

Well done Junior SA Team! Hopefully this weekend’s challenge against Reunion Island and the KwaZulu-Natal teams will see a stellar repeat performance!

Nixon Picks Holmes For Surf Team

Global Surf News reports that Nixon South Africa has signed local surfer Sean Holmes to be a part of their surf team.

The Wilderness native has been hailed by the international premium watch and accessories brand as an ‘accomplished, all round surfer’ and they said that he’ll make an awesome asset to the team. Holmes’ accomplishments include a quarter final result at the recent 2009 Billabong Pro Jeffrey’s Bay, being a multiple SA & WQS event champion. In 2000, he was also the winner of the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event at Dungeons in Cape Town.

Well done, dude!

Surfers Break Guinness Record In Cape Town

A few weeks ago we told you about the overwhelming interest surfers expressed in participating in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the “Most surfers riding the same wave” in Cape Town.

Well, we were elated to hear that they did it! Yesterday, more than 100 surfers hopped onto the same wave at the Earthwave beach festival that took place in Muizenberg this past weekend.

The initial estimate was that there were more than 120 surfers on the successful attempt, but from the photographs, the correct tally seems to be closer to 103 – which is still better than the 100 that were set by Earthwave in Brazil last year. So provisionally, South Africa has broken the record yet again!

According to the report on IOL, it was initially a bit of a struggle to get all the surfers on the one wave. “The first wave was chaos. Some yelled “go, go”, others said, “no, no – back wave”.”

Earthwave’s local organiser, Paul Botha, told IOL that the secret to reaching success is to not have the surfers clumped together. “They need to stay in a line, spread out along the beach, so that when they turn and paddle, they don’t paddle into each other.”

The Earthwave festival is an annual event to promote awareness of climate change and sustainable lifestyles.

Video footage and photographs will be sent to Guinness to have the record updated and ratified.

Flood of Enquiries To Help Break Earthwave Surfing Record

The founders of the Earthwave surfing and sustainable lifestyle festival have been inundated with enquiries from Capetonian surfers who wish to be part of a potentially record-breaking event.

The surfers want to help South Africa break the Guinness World Record for ‘most surfers riding the same wave’ at Muizenberg beach near Cape Town on 4 October. The attempt will form part of the two-day Earthwave global environmental festival held there on the weekend of 3 and 4 October.

South Africa wants to reclaim its 2006 Guinness World title when 73 surfers managed to ride the same wave at Muizenberg. Brazil snatched the title with 84 surfers breaking the record in 2007. In 2008, they broke their own record with 100 surfers.

Picture: Jim McLagan/Argus

Young Surfers Gear Up For Billabong Junior Series

South Africa’s hottest under 20 surfers are going to convene at Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape next week (23 – 26 September) to battle it out during the 13th annual Billabong Junior Series championships.

Apart from determining winners in the U20 category, there will also be U16, U14 and U12 categories. The event will also determine the ASP Africa Pro Junior champions for 2009 and who will be selected for the ASP Africa squad that will be taking part at the Billabong ASP World Championships in Sydney in January – which is THE top event in junior surfing.

Surfers who will be taking part include Casey Grant (20) of Scottburgh, Shaun Joubert of Mossel Bay, Matt Bromley of Kommetjie, Brendon Gibbens (also of Kommetjie), Klee Strachan of Winkelspruit, Chad du Toit of Durban, Dale Staples and Nick Godfrey of Cape St Francis, Kyle Lane of Umhlanga and another Scottburgh surfer, Haydn MacNicol.

The girls include Victoria Bay’s Bianca Buitendag, Tarryn Chudleigh of Kommetjie, Sarah Baum of Athlone Park, Heidi Palmboom of the Bluff, Chantelle Rautenbach of Melkbosstrand, Tanika Hoffman of Kommetjie, Alice McGregor of East London and Faye Zoetmulder of Port Elizabeth.

The U16 boys event will see the likes of Michael February of Kommetjie, Dane Staples of St Francis Bay, Steven Sawyer of Jeffrey’s Bay, David van Zyl of Glenashley and Capetonians Jarred Veldhuis and Daniel Wilson in action.

The U14 boys are Daniel Buitendag of Vic Bay, Benji Brand of Kommetjie, Slade Prestwich of Park Rynie, Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand, Max Armstrong of Scarborough and Dylan Lightfood of Jeffrey’s Bay.

The U12 boys will include Shane Sykes of Salt Rock, Donovan of Marina da Gama, Jody Maree of Kalk Bay, Ethan Fletcher and Jonah Paarman – both from Kommetjie – Matthew McGillivray of Port Elizabeth, and Steffen Burrows of the Strand.

The event will coincide with the Von Zipper Air Show, where selected surfers will show off and be rewarded for their skill at performing aerial manoeuvres.

Mr Price South Africa Open Results

The sixth edition of the Mr Price South Africa Open surfing championships took place at Nahoon Reef in East London this past weekend with more than 50 of South Africa’s professional surfers turning up to compete.

Surfers were protected by three battery operated shark shield devices which were attached to buoys at the backline of Nahoon Reef. Local Lifeguards replaced the Shark Shield batteries every four hours which means that the electronic force field produced by these devices were in place during every heat. The devices were not used because there was any threat of shark activity during the event, but merely as added protection. According to a report on Global Surf News, Surfing South Africa plans to use these devices during sanctioned events at appropriate surf spots around the country in the future.

With the added protection in place, the surfers were free to focus on delivering their best performances. Focus and a home surf advantage and therefore intimate knowledge of the Nahoon Reef certainly seemed to pay off for Wayne Monk. The 40-year old former two time South African champion rose to victory, blowing younger competitors such as fellow East Londoner Clinton Gravett, Klee Strachan of Winkelspruit and Gary Van Wieringen (Scottburgh) out of the water to clinch his first Pro Surf Tour title.

Klee Strachan grabbed his chance at victory during the under 20 junior division rounds. The former Capetonian surged to victory ahead of Nick Godfrey from Cape St Francis, Jaco Steyn of Melkbosstrand and Chris Leppan of Umhlanga.

The women’s division title went to talented teen Bianca Buitendag of George. She beat current SA Champion Heather Clark of Port Shepstone, Chantelle Rautenbach of Melkbos and Tarryn Chudleigh, who came fourth.

How To Surf In South Africa By Miles Masterson

South African writer and photographer Miles Masterson’s debut book about surfing has been out for a few months and it certainly seems to have made a bit of a splash among critics.

With beach and Christmas season right around the corner here in South Africa, Masterson’s book, “How To Surf in South Africa” (released by Penguin), is being hailed as a perfect gift for anyone from a novice surfer, to those who have never surfed, to those already getting a handle on the sport. Masterson, who himself has 25 years of surfing experience all over the world, writes step-by-step, easy to read instructions, accompanied by clear illustrations, on how to get going with the basics of the sport – all while keeping the South African wave conditions in mind.

The book is available for approximately R140 from both online book retailers and physical bookshops throughout the country. Visit the book’s page at Penguin here.

Shark Kills Saffa Surfer

On Saturday, Gerhard van Zyl went surfing with a friend at Outeniqua, a beach close to the Southern Cape towns of Mossel Bay and George.

Just after 3 o’clock, Gerhard became the first shark attack victim in that area in more than 20 years. After the attack – in which his right leg was completely bitten off above the knee – his buddy helped him to shore where a Netcare 911 paramedic tried to save his life. Despite the on the scene help and being airlifted to a hospital in nearby George, 25-year old Gerhard unfortunately succumbed to his injuries, becoming the first shark attack fatality in South Africa this year.

Horrifically enough, this is the second time the devastated Van Zyl family has lost a son in a beach-related incident. Only three years ago, Gerhard’s youngest brother Christo died when he fell from a cliff into the ocean on the St Blaize hiking trail outside Mossel Bay. He was 17 years old.

Although no one is sure exactly what shark species attacked and killed Gerhard, experts agree that it can probably be attributed to a Great White since they are known to frequent that area this time of year.

Ever since the movie Jaws scared the wits out of movie-goers worldwide, sharks have had the reputation of being blood-thirsty man-eaters. That isn’t actually true.  According to Stephan Swanson of Oceans Research in Mossel Bay, sharks are opportunistic hunters “who investigate anything that might be edible. To determine whether an object is edible, they first smell and ‘taste’ it.”

He told News24 that shark researchers have tagged approximately 400 great white sharks in that area over the past three years, in order to determine their behavioural patterns. About 98% of these sharks are between 2m and 3m in length. The smaller sharks in particular are nomadic and migrate to Gansbaai and False Bay, returning to Mossel Bay in August and September.

Gerhard is survived by his parents and a brother, 23-year old Johan.

Chef Named SA’s Top “Underground” Surfer

Adin Jeenes is used to cooking and boiling up a storm – what with being a professional chef in Wilderness and all.

The dude has proven that he is just as at home in the surf as he is in the kitchen. The 28-year old has been named South Africa’s top “underground” surfer after beating about 300 other hopefuls to win the Zigzag/Hurley Sponsor Me Shootout. The aim of the contest is to uncover South Africa’s top unsponsored surfer – someone unknown to the surfing media who isn’t a professional surfer. It began in April and competitors were able to develop a personal surfing portfolio online by submitting blogging and loading their surfing videos and pics. The public was able to vote in order to help select the winners.

Along with the bragging rights, and the title of SA’s top “Underground” surfer, Adin’s prize includes a full sponsorship deal with the Hurley surfing brand, and a surf trip to Indonesia with Zigzag surfing magazine, where he will then be featured in the magazine.

A stoked Adin told the Weekend Post: “I really, really didn’t think I was going to win this. The final trip was insane. We couldn’t have asked for better waves to surf in.” He added that the competition was stiff and any one of the finalists could have taken the title.

Well, they didn’t, so congrats Adin! We’ll keep an eye out for Zigzag mag to see your spread in it!