SOUTHERN CAPE SURRING NEWS - Home-grown hero Bianca Buitendag and Durbanite Slade Prestwich won the inaugural Vic Bay Classic Women's and Men's QS 1000 titles, the seventh stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Africa Qualifying Series (QS) Tour and the final stop on the 2019 City Surf Series (CSS), last Saturday.
The weather gods played along for the final day, despite the forecast of strong winds and massive swells.
It was a beautiful day with fun 1 to 1,5-metre (3-4ft) waves from start to finish, offering the perfect canvas for high performance surfing. Prestwich controlled the Men's QS 1000 final with excellent wave selection and committed surfing.
After securing an 8,75 on his opening ride the Durbanite took off on a set wave at the very top of the point and completed three excellent maneuvres that earned a near perfect 9,90 (out of 10) and a heat total of 18,65, putting his opponents in a combination situation. Australia's Chris Zaffis stayed busy and sneaked into second place with a total of 14,20 while Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) and Adin Masencamp (Strand) had to settle for third and fourth places respectively.
Local knowledge reigned supreme in the Women's QS 1000, with Buitendag unleashing her powerful backhand attack to win in front of her home crowd.
The former Cape Town surfer picked off the best wave of the heat, going vertical with each carve and finishing with a strong hit to the lip before looking towards the judges who deservedly awarded her with a 9,65. A backup score of 7,25 gave her a total of 16,90 and she claimed victory ahead of international contenders Piper Harrison (Australia), Rachel Presti (Germany) and Justine Dupont (France).
"In a competitive sport like surfing, we lose so much and it's easy to get discouraged, so I'm really happy to win. Having grown up here and with all the local support, it was a really great event.
"We get waves like this almost every week, so I felt right at home," said Buitendag, who will spend the next few weeks in Jeffrey's Bay before heading to California for the next major QS events in her efforts to re-qualify for the elite CT.
Buitendag peaked in the final after surfing a conservative semi-final where she won with a two-wave total of 12,75, advancing with Presti as the pair eliminated Philippa Anderson (Australia) and rising teenage star Ceara Knight (Kommetjie).
The Junior Women were on fire and it was a close tussle between Piper Harrison (Australia) and South African goofy-footer Zoë Steyn (East London).
Both surfers ended up with the same total of 13,50, but in the case of a draw, Harrison's 8-point ride was the highest single wave score and she walked away with the win. Julia Nishimoto (Japan) and Rachel Presti (Germany) were in third and fourth places respectively.
The result saw Steyn take the top spot on the WSL Africa Junior rankings from Ceara Knight with just one event still to be run.
The exciting surfing and high scores continued with the Junior Men's final where Luke Slijpen (Llandudno) earned his second Junior QS win of the year. Slijpen was trailing Luke Thompson (Durban) who had opened his account with two solid scores. But as time ran out Slijpen dragged himself back into contention with a 7,50 and then sealed victory with an outstanding 9,65 that relegated Thompson to the runner-up spot. Durbanites Karl Steen and Saxton Randall had to settle for third and fourth respectively.
'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Karoo, Hessequa news'
