Pumping surf at Victoria Bay for opening day of the Rip Curl Vic Bay Surf Pro

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The 2026 Rip Curl Vic Bay Surf Pro QS 2 000 and Rip Curl Vic Bay Surf Pro Junior opened in superb conditions at Victoria Bay today, Friday 19 June, with long, clean walls reeling down the point from first light.

With the new season officially underway, competitors wasted no time taking advantage of the quality surf as they chased an early foothold on the rankings.

Competition opened with the Men's QS 2 000 Round of 56, where several surfers wasted no time making their intentions clear.

Local standout Daniel Orpen, Durban's Chad du Toit, and Brazilian goofy-footer Ryan Coelho all advanced comfortably through their opening heats with confident performances in the clean conditions.

The Women's QS round of 24 followed, with East London's Taylor Emslie, Cape Town's Emily Jenkinson, Reunion Island's Hina Maria Conradi, and France's Sarah Leiceaga all claiming heat victories.

Conradi delivered the performance of the round, posting an impressive 15.00 heat total out of a possible 20 to set the benchmark and establish herself as one of the early standouts of the event.

The Pro Junior division hit the water next, with Asbjorn Gwenin (United Kingdom), Nate Colby (Durban), Ryan Coelho (Brazil), and Rip Curl team rider Jack Erlank (St Francis Bay) all securing heat wins to advance through to the next round.

By the time the Men's QS 2 000 Round of 48 got underway, the wind had begun to influence conditions. Nevertheless, several surfers still found quality scoring opportunities.

Joshe Faulkner (Pellsrus), Chad du Toit (Durban), Brad Scott (Cape Town), Simon Winter (Cape Town), and Kai Hall (Durban) all posted strong heat totals to progress.

The final heat of the round saw Erlank continue his impressive form. The St Francis Bay surfer claimed victory ahead of Clay Turrell, while Nate Tayler and Paul Sampson were eliminated from the competition.

"There were some good ones out there, but some of them just went flat," said Erlank.

"I got this outside set wave and managed one good hit right in the pocket before it flattened out. It was one of the bigger waves of the heat, so I got a decent score from it."

Erlank said the heat came down to the closing minutes.

"I wasn't sure what I needed towards the end, and then I saw Clay surf past me on a bomb. On my last wave, I went for a layback off the whitewater on the inside. I made it, and they gave me a 3.93, which was enough for the win, so I had to claim it."

Competition in the Rip Curl Vic Bay Surf Pro resumes tomorrow morning, with officials set to make a call on conditions at 07:30.

The Rip Curl Vic Bay Surf Pro will be broadcast live on worldsurfLeague.com and on the free WSL app, bringing all the action from Victoria Bay to a global audience.

Ryan Coelho from Brazil.