Over 70 of South Africa’s top competitive surfers were greeted with solid 4 to 5 foot groundswell for the final day of competition in this 3A Rated Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour event which was held at Bronze Beach, Umhlanga.
De Vries was a clear standout and looked very comfortable in every one of his heats throughout the two-day event at his local surf break. De Vries’ power surfing combined with his impressive aerial moves proved too good for his competitors and he clinched the title ahead of the first event winner, Michael February of Kommetjie. Dale Staples of Westbrook took third place and Brandon Jackson, also of Durban, finished fourth in the final.
“It was so nice to win at my home break. I have just got back from Los Angeles so have been a bit jet-lagged but I am really stoked with the win. Thank God there were waves, Bronze beach was cooking today,” said De Vries.
Day one of the event was called off early due to the small swell and a rising tide. The last four heats of the Men’s division were moved to day two, which produced near perfect competition conditions.
“I’d like to thank all of the local guys and my sponsors for all of the support,” a smiling De Vries added, taking home R8000, a top of the range Drift Innovation action camera, Skullcandy headphones and some stylish Neff gear.
In the U20 Boys division, pre-event favourite, Shane Sykes of Salt Rock stole the show winning a cool R4000 and a bunch of PST points for his efforts. Dylan Lightfoot was second while fellow Jeffreys Bay surfer, Matt McGillivray, who won this division in the Kommetjie event, came third. Wade Simkiss from Umdloti finished in fourth position.
Sebastian Williams of Berea in Durban took honors in the U16 division claiming the title ahead of Kommetjie surfers Ethan Fletcher and Jake Elkington who were third and fourth respectively. Adin Masencamp of the Strand placed fourth.
Event sponsors, Quiksilver were very happy with the second event of the series. “We could not have asked better beach weather this weekend. Bronze Beach came alive on the final day proving to be a world class beach break with South Africa’s best surfers pulling out all of the stops to impress spectators.
"Even though the first day of competition lacked swell and was difficult for the competitors, conditions were perfect for the final day. With explosive surfing in 4-5 foot clean conditions, we were very proud to be the title sponsors of this event and we would like to thank everyone that took part,” said Quiksilver Team Rider and Event co-ordinator, Brandon Jackson.
