RIPPING THE REEF
Hotshots get stoked at Nahoon
SURFERS will be heading to Nahoon Reef tomorrow at dawn as top riders taking part in an international world qualifying series competition take to the feared and respected Reef to bust some modern moves.
Reef was looking gnarly and brown yesterday, with a heavy groundswell ripped into by a northeast buster, but this did riders taking part in the three-day Buffalo City Surf Pro, which is the third stop in the 2018 City Surf Series.
All eyes will be on Mauritian surfer of the moment, savoir Jean Patrice Fucy, who joins SA’s best in the world-class Reef lineup, in pursuit of valuable international ranking points.
In the junior men’s division Buffalo City applause will go to young gun Daniel Emslie from EL. The other main contenders in this division are defending champion, Koby Oberhoholzer, Max Elkington, Dillon Hendricks, Eli Beukes, and Luke Slijpen.
The competition, which takes place with the sanction of Surfing South Africa, should enjoy a wonderful window in the weather with today expected to be light winds in the morning turning into a surfing-friendly southwesterly at midday later. This will turn a two-metre swell from the east into a better swell from the west.
Tomorrow is the day for some of the best action. A high-energy (19-second period) swell arrives from the south west, and with the winds expected to be good for most of the day, there will be fireworks aplenty. Sunday, for the finals, is a wait-andsee with an easterly wind, not good for optimum surfing, crosscutting a solid westerly swell and the weather. But it is a light wind and this combination can produce surprisingly good waves at Reef.
On Wednesday East London’s former WSL campaigner Greg Emslie was coaching his surf crew from the top of the point. He said local riders would be giving it their best.
WSL Africa operations manager, Colin Fitch highlighted that Fucy’s participation is not only good for South African surfing but also for the sport in Mauritius. He said: “Hosting QS events in South Africa not only benefits our own local surfers but also riders from the African continent who are now able to accumulate QS points on their own continent as opposed to travelling abroad on a weak currency.”
He, and the organisers said in a release, that the Reef’s wave also has a lot of power and wave selection will be important in scoring high. “Surfers like defending men’s shortboard champion, Steven Sawyer from Jeffreys Bay will be looking for the bombs with the walls to carve out the best scores possible to try and defend their titles,” they said.
South Africans Dale Staples, Matthew McGillivray, Dylan Lightfoot Joshe Faulkner all from Jeffreys Bay), and Slade Prestwich from Durban North, will be the ones to watch.
They will have to look over their shoulders to current South African champion, Brandon Benjamin from Steenberg, who won his national title at Nahoon Reef, last weekend’s champion Jordy Maree (Kalk Bay), Australia’s Jordan Lawler (last weekend’s runner-up), and ratings leader, Davey van Zyl from Glenashley.
The women’s QS1000 event it is likely a three-way battle between Jeffreys Bay’s Kai Woolf, East London local, Zoe Steyn who was last weekend’s runner-up, and the winner of last weekend’s Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic, Josfina Ane from Argentina.
Creating a festive vibe, there will be music, and food. —