Author: Olivia Jones

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Andy Marr takes the Striped Horse

Andy Marr takes the Striped Horse

Press Release

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Cape Town

 

ANDY MARR WINS STRIPED HORSE CHALLENGE BIG WAVE COMPETITION

 

Veteran Kommetjie charger, Andy Marr, has proven how much experience counts in big wave surfing by claiming victory in the inaugural Striped Horse Challenge presented by Zigzag in association withRVCA, Twig Surfboards and Hurricane.

 

As the second oldest* of the 16 big wave surfers in contention for the grand prize that includes a return ticket to Hawaii, R20 000 cash; two new Twig Surfboards and travel accessories from Hurricane, Andy Marr knows what it takes to ride the challenging peaks of Dungeons. And the experience the 41 year-old has accumulated during the countless hours he has spent charging massive waves below the Sentinel outside Hout Bay, were on display for the incredible barrel he rode on 6 August.

 

Photo caption: Andy’s winning wave from Grant Scholtz’s perspective.

(Image credit: Grant Scholtz)

(High resolution image is available on request)

 

Cape Town photographer, Grant Scholtz claimed R5 000 for documenting Andy’s winning wave, and he shared the R10 000 prize with videographer, Dean Engela, who was also in the right place at the right time to record Andy’s ride.

 

This is what a few of the Striped Horse Challenge judges had to say about Andy’s winning wave:

 

“Even though it was a slow winter for big waves in Cape Town, this wave from Andrew Marr more then makes up for it. Andy’s style and poise under pressure to negotiate the drop, angle off the bottom and almost ride though a huge tube sets this wave apart from all the rest. Well done Andy!” – Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker

 

That was a defining wave in Andy’s surfing life. He did exactly what I would expect him to… He pulled in! Enough said.” – Pierre De Villiers

 

“I love the fact that Andy always sits way deep, and on this wave he shows style, poise and absolute commitment through a beast of a barrel!” – Ryan Butcher

 

Photo caption: Andy Marr was stoked to claim the Striped Horse Challenge winner’s cheque in the event presented by Zigzag surfing magazine. 

(Image credit: Alan Van Gysen)

(High resolution image is available on request)

 

Shortly after he was announced as champion at the Awards Evening at Aces ‘n Spades on Saturday,Zigzag Magazine cornered Andy to hear his thoughts on the big win.

 

“You know I think I was fortunate that we had a really slow winter here, because the youngsters are really pushing the barriers now,” said a clearly stoked Andy. “It’s weird that an old man can still win such a thing, you know. James Lowe, Matt Bromley, they’re our future. So ja, I was very fortunate…slow winter, lucky wave. Thanks to Striped Horse Craft Beer and Zigzag Magazine for putting everything together. Going back over to Hawaii for this upcoming season gives me the opportunity to go back and say hi to my daughter again, and my beautiful friends in Hawaii and San Francisco. It’s been almost six years since I’ve been back there and I always thought I’d go back on an El Nino year – and we’ve got one so it’s going to be a big deal!”

 

Go to www.stripedhorsechallenge.co.za to view all the entries that were in contention for this year’sStriped Horse Challenge title.

 

******

 

* The oldest contender was Greg Bertish at 44 year-old, Andy the second oldest at 41.

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Fearless SA Big Wave Surfers in Contention for Striped Horse Challenge Trip to Hawaii

Fearless SA Big Wave Surfers in Contention for Striped Horse Challenge Trip to Hawaii

 

In a little over a month, one fearless South African surfer will be handed a return ticket to Hawaii (plus R20 000 in cash and over R30 000 in prizes) for winning the Striped Horse Challenge presented by Zigzag in association with RVCA, Twig Surfboards and Hurricane. The search for SA’s most committed big wave surfer closes at the end of September, so there’s still time to enter, but already there are some serious contenders.

 

Top entries include Mike Schlebach (Kommetjie) who caught some incredible waves at Sunset and Dungeons on 6 August, Andy Marr (Kommetjie) who rode a huge barrel at Dungeons, James Lowe (Kommetjie) and Matt Bromley (Kommetjie) who rode some heavy tubes at Bayview in Hermanus. Jeremy Johnson (Llandudno) a goofyfooter who rode some massive waves on his backhand at Sunset and Dungeons on 6 August and Juria Muller (Vlees Baai) who caught some bomb waves at both Sunset and Dungeons are also in the running for the trip to Hawaii.

Andy Marr at The Dungeon: Photo credit to Grant Scholtz
Andy Marr at The Dungeon: Photo credit to Grant Scholtz

“A pilgrimage to Hawaii for the winter surf season is a crucial rite of passage for any surfer wanting to make a name for themselves in big waves. But Hawaii is both far away and very expensive and therefore out of reach of the budgets of most South African surfers. That’s why we at Zigzag are so stoked to be presenting The Striped Horse Challenge, supported by RVCA, TWIG and Hurricane,” said Andy Davis Publisher: Zigzag Surfing Magazine.

 

“This competition is going to give a hard charging South African big wave surfer the chance to spend a season on “The Rock” chasing big waves and rubbing shoulders with the sport’s elite. It’s a truly magnificent prize. And judging by the calibre and quantity of the entries, it’s pretty obvious that every waterman in South Africa is eyeing this prize very closely.”

 

The judging panel, which is led by 2013/14 Big Wave World Tour champion Twiggy Baker, are going to have a tough time determining the winner from over 20 rides by 14 different big wave chargers that have been entered so far. They’ll be taking many things into consideration; not just wave height, but commitment level, the technical aspect of the ride, as well as what exactly constitutes ‘making a wave’ – which is always a highly debated subject, because these giant waves often don’t allow a rider to make it all the way to the channel to kick out.

 

On top of the massive reward for the winning big wave surfer, the videographer or photographer who recorded the standout ride will also earn themselves R10 000 cash. There’s also a chance for visitors to the stripedhorsechallenge.co.za website to win great prizes too. Once you’ve watched all the entries and determined your favourite, you can drop a comment below the ride and the best-rated comment each week wins an epic hamper from sponsors Striped Horse Craft Beer, RVCA and Hurricane.

 

Go to stripedhorsechallenge.co.za to view all the entries so far, or to enter your own mind-blowing big wave ride.

 

Mike Schlebach at Dungeons video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgyRwUb12u4 ]

With this mad drop at Dungeons filmed by Josh Rowe, Mike Schlebach has put himself in the running for the massive prize.

 

Jem Johnson at Dungeons ride – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgXPQHRcrWA ]

Jeremy Johnson stuck this incredible drop at Dungeons (filmed by Sacha Specker) but will the judges consider this a ‘make’?

 

Juria at Sunset video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYmt_Bn_9w ]

Another serious contender by Juria Muller (filmed by Josh Rowe), who made this perfect ride at Sunset Reef look easy. 

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Quiksilver Surf Series Heads To Port Alfred For Final Event Of 2015 Series

Quiksilver Surf Series Heads To Port Alfred For Final Event Of 2015 Series  

Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand, Cape Town) will be one of the favourites in the U20 junior boys and open men's division going into the final leg of the Quiksilver Get Free Series 2015 in Port Alfred. Photo by Luke Patterson.
Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand, Cape Town) will be one of the favourites in the U20 junior boys and open men’s division going into the final leg of the Quiksilver Get Free Series 2015 in Port Alfred.
Photo by Luke Patterson.

Port Alfred – The Quiksilver Get Free Surf Series will, at the end of August, head to the town of Port Alfred on the Sunshine Coast for the final event of this three-part series. On the 29th and 30th of August South Africa’s best open men and junior surfers will make their way to the pristine beaches of Port Alfred, just an hour and a half’s drive south of East London to compete for over R30 000 in prize money and the final Quiksilver Get Free titles.

 

All three events in the series are sanctioned by Surfing South Africa and carry 3A PST (Pro Surf Tour) ratings points with a total prize purse of R108 000 on the line. Divisions in the series and final event include open mens, U20 junior boys and U16 junior boys. Port Alfred’s East Beach is a highly regarded surf break, given favourable conditions and swell it could make for the perfect amphitheatre for a high performance showdown. “Port Alfred is definitely a top venue for an event of this nature, when the waves are on, they are on! I can’t wait to surf a heat there, the contest should be great,” said Shane Sykes, the winner of the U20 junior boys division at the second leg of the series which was held in Umhlanga Rocks, KZN.

 

In the open men’s division, favourites for the win include Umhlanga’s Beyrick de Vries who recently placed 9th in the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach and is currently on top form, Capetonian Michael February who was runner up to de Vries in the second leg of the series as well as the duo of experienced veterans Daniel Redman and Brandon Jackson, both of Durban North. Jeffreys Bay locals Matt McGillivray and Dylan Lightfoot will be strong contenders in the U20 junior boys division but other previous junior winners Shane Sykes (Salt Rock) and Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand) will also be serious contenders in the point-like conditions. There will be stiff competition in the U16 boys division with the likes of Sebastian Williams (Durban), Adin Masencamp (Strand) and Faulkner brothers Joshe and Angelo (Jeffreys Bay) all on top form and hungry for the final win.

 

Quiksilver Marketing and Sales Manager Dane Patterson has been very happy with the 2015 series and anticipates that the final event in Port Alfred will deliver great surf conditions, “I think that the series we’ve put on this year has been very well received, good for the South African surfers and for our domestic surf tour, we’re hoping that it will encourage other brands to invest more in the sport and the local surf scene. Port Alfred can be a very good venue and make for a top event when the ocean delivers, so we’re hoping that mother nature comes to the party for the final event of the series.”

 

Supporting sponsors to the series include Zigzag Surfing Magazine, Techniblock sunscreen, Drift action camera’s, Skullcandy, Neff and Red Bull.

 

For more information, videos, photos and entry details go to www.quiksilver.co.za/getfree.

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KZN’s First Adaptive Surfing Competition a Huge Success

KZN’s First Adaptive Surfing Competition a Huge Success

Dean hart
Adaptive Surfing competition: KZN’s First Adaptive Surfing Competition a Huge Success

The province’s first-ever Special Need’s Surf Competition took place at Addington beach on Sunday 2 August and proved to be a resounding success. Seven talented young surfers, five of them from the Open Air School, competed for a number of different prizes with a large crowd of supporters cheering them on in the 2 – 3ft surf.

 

Dean Hart proved to be fearless when he won the “biggest wave of the day” award. The “stand up award” went to visually impaired youngster Erynn Geddie who impressed the judges with his stand up surfing abilities, riding a number of waves to the shore on his minimal surfboard. “Charger of the day” award went to the only female entrant Sarah Wright and the “stoke award” for demonstrating his sheer passion for wave riding went to Mohamed Essack. “Longest wave of the day” went to Luke Lotter for riding a few waves from the back line right up onto the sand and Danito Mondlane won the “ripper of the day” award for his stylish approach to wave riding. Sebastian Orbe won the “Most Waves in a Heat” Award.

 

The contest director, Wez Smith, said, “Thank you to all of the volunteers, sponsors and spectators on the day. The quality of surfing was very promising, some of the grommets show potential to become real chargers one day.”

 

The event was the brainchild of Smith, whose son Reece attends the Open Air School for children with physical disabilities.  Smith invited some of Reece’s friends to join them bodyboarding and they loved it so much that from there, Smith organised a surfing session every few weeks for the group to practice. Although the five participants have only had a few training sessions, they are avid surfers and excited to take to the water again.

 

Dries Millard – a former junior Springbok rugby player who was left a paraplegic following a tragic car accident – has been integral in growing support for adaptive surfing in Cape Town and has been involved with a number of Surfing South Africa events targeting differently-abled surfers. Millard was on hand on the day to inspire and encourage all of the youngsters taking part and he performed a demonstration with beach wheelchairs and modified surfboards to show the young watermen and women what they too can achieve if they put their minds to it.

 

Overcoming the odds, Millard helped set up Extreme Abilities (www.extremeabilities.co.za), an organisation that helps those with disabilities experience alternative sports. Millard was also recently selected by Surfing South Africa http://www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za/ to represent his country at the inaugural ISA World Adaptive Surfing Champs https://www.isasurf.org/events/isa-world-adaptive-surfing-championship/ in San Diego in September.

 

“IOLProperty is delighted to be given the opportunity to be part of this special initiative, particularly as its is the first of its kind. We hope that the participants had a great day and we hope the event grows from strength to strength,” commented Liv Allison, Relationship Manager: IOLProperty.

 

IOL Property sponsored rash vests for all of the competitors and Surfing South Africa donated board bags, leashes, wax and rash vests, through Reef SA. Various KZN bodyboarders sponsored professional bodyboards.

 

“We are incredibly grateful for all of the assistance that we received as these sponsorships have given the competitors a great starter kit to practice paddling and duck-diving at home or public pools, with the aim of getting them ready for some more solid surf as they get more confident, said Smith. In addition to this, private individuals also sponsored Spur Vouchers, Surf HQ sponsored a R500 voucher for their surf shop and Splash Waterworld also sponsored a family day pass to each competitor. Simon Williamson, owner of Maniac Bodyboarding, sponsored caps for competitors and was also instrumental in ensuring that the event ran smoothly.  Corner Cafe sponsored lunch for the day and Wayne Kisten sponsored cooldrinks for the day.

 

Organizers hope to attract more special need’s competitors to future practice sessions and events.

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Crocworld Conservation Centre hosts talk on Kwazulu-Natal’s Biodiverse Coastal Forests

Crocworld Conservation Centre hosts talk on Kwazulu-Natal’s Biodiverse Coastal Forests

Crocworld
Crocworld for Biodiverse Coastal Forests

On August 8th, Crocworld Conservation Centre will host the latest in its ongoing series of monthly environmental talks. The talk will be presented by scientist Yvette Ehlers Smith, and is entitled Wildlife of the Southern Indian Ocean Coastal Forest Belt. A PhD student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Ehlers Smith is in the process of conducting extensive wildlife surveys in the forests of the South Coast as part of her doctoral thesis. Those that attend will be given a fascinating insight into her work, including the methods used to monitor wildlife species, and an idea of the preliminary results that the research has yielded so far.

The forests of the South Coast provide a unique habitat for a wealth of rare and endangered species. By using infrared motion-censored cameras to collect images of these animals in their natural environment, Ehlers Smith hopes to improve our understanding of this incredible ecosystem and in so doing promote its conservation. In her talk, she will introduce the project’s target species – including the vulnerable blue duiker, the endemic samango monkey and the recently reintroduced red duiker. She will talk about the camera-trapping techniques that have allowed her to capture more than 43,000 photographs of the forest’s inhabitants, and touch on the ways in which human activity affects the forest’s wildlife.

Ehlers Smith’s passion for conservation is deep-rooted, and something that she attributes to her wildlife-loving father. Born and raised in Africa, Ehlers Smith moved to England when she was 19, and from there travelled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. She studied Ecology at Oxford Brookes University, and has a Masters Degree in Biodiversity and Conservation from the University of Exeter. During her time abroad, she spent two years in the swamp forests of Indonesia researching Sabangau’s red langur populations, and worked as a field ecologist in the British Midlands. She eventually found herself back in Africa studying avian diversity in the Kruger to Canyons biosphere, and subsequently decided to embark on a PhD in Zoology and Wildlife Conservation through the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The talk on August 8th will begin promptly at 9:00am, and will last for approximately one hour – after which there will be time for questions while tea, coffee and scones are served. Tickets are priced at R70 per adult and R30 for students and pensioners, and include admission into the Centre itself. Guests are invited to stay and explore the Centre’s exhibits after the talk has ended, including several walk-through aviaries, an impressive snake house, and of course, the crocodiles for which the Centre is named. Lunch will be available for purchase at Le Rendez-Vous, an onsite restaurant that boasts spectacular sea views.

Ehlers Smith’s talk promises to be very popular, and as such it is advisable to book your place well in advance. To make your reservation contact: Nolean Allun, Crocworld Conservation Centre on (039) 976 1103/ (078) 484 1859 or e-mail crocworld@cbl.co.za

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