Southern Cape claim top titles at the Cape Classic

posted by Ian Thurtell on 26th March 2005

19th March, Day 1

The 2005 Cape/Boland classic was set to go! The venue was set, the contestants had arrived and the waves and wind were playing ball! The venue was the picturesque Koel Bay, just round the corner of Gordon’s Bay. For some of us the day started really early, getting up and making the drive through there. When we arrived, we found a small clean swell running. The weather was expected to change over the course of the weekend with rain and the onshore NW wind due to make an appearance.

The morning started off on time and the waves were a fun 2-3ft. The standard of riding in some of the early rounds was amazing! Most of the early heats were hard enough to be finals! Daniel Worsley had a particularly difficult first heat with multiple S.A. champ and pipe hell man, Alistair Taylor. Daniel rode the conditions perfectly and convincingly won the heat. The weather that was expected seemed to be making an appearance during the mid morning, with strong onshore winds and low cloud. Everyone thought that’s how it would stay but to everyone’s amazement, an hour later the wind backed off and the low cloud gave way to hot sunny skies!

The much-contested “pro” division had a few riders that were starting to make inroads to the top 4. The standouts on DAY 1 were Daniel Worsley, Alistair Taylor, Vaughn Harris, Wesley Fisher, Craig Jenkins, Lloyd Pererra and Sacha Specker. By the end of proceedings on DAY 1 the swell was glassy and had increased in size. Things looked good for the final day!

20th March, Day 2

I woke in the morning with Jared Housten, Josh Kleve and Emile Van Vollenhoven telling me the waves were solid! I scrambled into a soaking wetsuit and ran down with them in the early morning light. The waves were a solid 4-5ft and offshore, no one out! We all had a few sick waves before everyone arrived but the swell seemed to be dropping fast! Before long the beach looked like the previous day, filled with contestants and friends.

The waves had dropped to a solid contestable 3-4ft. The onshore wind never came through and for the most part of the day we had conditions with light winds. As usual, the riding in all divisions was competitive. In the ladies division, Pamela Browen and Robyn Sorenson looked like the two to beat! Wayne Beekman and Johan De Goede (“Tjoekie”) were running things in the Men’s division, while Sacha Specker and Vaughn Harris were owning it on the D.K side! Michael Meyer and Adam Morley seemed to have things wrapped up in the junior division!

An unfortunate incident occurred to one of the female contestants. While in her final, she rolled on a wave and badly hurt her back. People on the beach saw she was in difficulty had helped her to the beach and kept her stable. Due to the difficult walk down to the beach from the parking lot, the paramedics couldn’t get her to the ambulance. A paramedic helicopter was called in and she was airlifted to the hospital … we hope you have a speedy recovery.

The prize giving was held at a bar/restaurant in Somerset West. The weather held off until the evening of the prizegiving, when it rained solidly and got freezing cold! We all crammed into the restaurant to hear the final placing for each division!

A few huge thank-yous must be mentioned, because without the help from these people and companies the contest would not have been nearly as successful as it was! Thank you to BZ Bodyboards, Fresh Mints and Sanuk Sandals for giving such generous prizes! Also thanks to Logic Bodyboarding Magazine. Another unsung hero was the catering people who served such good food over the 2 days! Thank you! And last but not least, thanks you to WP and Boland Bodyboarding Association for organising such a successful contest!

Till next time …

Cheers
Ian Thurtell

Results

Pro		Juniors
Vaughn Harris	1	Micheal Meyer	1
Wesley Fischer	2	Adam Morley	2
Alistair Taylor	3	Mark Watts	3
Lloyd Pereira	4	Emile van Vollenhoven	4

Mens		Dropknee
Wayne Beekman	1	Vaughn Harris	1
Johan de Goede	2	Sacha Specker	2
Sacha Taljaard	3	Sacha Taljaard	3
JP Nortier	4	Mark McCarthy	4

Ladies		Boys
Pamela Bowren	1	Andries Starke	1
Roybyn Sorenson	2	Mark Webster	2
Lyndall Pells	3	Robert Graham	3
Shane Kirsten	4	Chris Elliott	4

Girls U16		Development
Lize-Mari Ras	1	Wicus Ellis	1
Hermine Greyling	2	Jason Lawrence	2
Natalie Marschal	3	Justin Lawrence	3
Che Smidt	4	Aashieq Davids	4

Masters		Boys U12
Steve Polinski	1	Sebastian Koopmans	1
Riaan Du Preez	2

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Comments

	Kelly Footit 26th March 2005 16:21
	Congratulations to all those who did well!!! Special mention to Michael Meyer - stoked to see someone who puts so much back into the sport doing so well. Good one!!!