Jason Heyne has been diving the waters up and down from his base in Durban, for decades. So when Jason says he has never seen action like he had over the last few days, then it’s very serious. And to back up this claim, check out the attached gallery of amazing spearfishing action.
Thank you Jason…
“I have never seen so much action on the natal coast. Sardines north and south coast. We are having a bumper garrick run (Lichia amia). If you sit on any point on the south coast you are bound to see at least one shoal. I saw a shoal this week of 100 plus fish all over 8kg! Snoek are around if the water is warm. ..I got schooled by three huge Snoek this week. The North East is set to blow tomorrow which is bad for viz but good for the sardines. On the whole diving conditions have been good this week with the best conditions on the south coast. Sunday is looking better for a dive but if you can get in early tomorrow you should beat the east. Well done to Matthew on bagging a beaut of a yellow tail on a shore dive in oz! “
Local Beyrick De Vries Wins 2nd Quiksilver Surf Event in Durban
Beyrick De Vries in action at the second event of the Quiksilver Get Free Series 2015. De Vries placed first in the open men’s division. The event was held at Bronze Beach, Umhlanga, Durban. Photo by Luke Patterson
Umhlanga, Durban – Local surfer, Beyrick De Vries surfed his way to victory this weekend in the premier open men’s division at the second of three Quiksilver Get Free events. Over 70 of South Africa’s top competitive surfers were greeted with solid 4 to 5 foot groundswell for the final day of competition at Bronze Beach, Umhlanga.
Beyrick De Vries (Umhlanga) on his way to winning the second event of three Quiksilver Get Free events in 2015. De Vries placed first in the open men’s division. The event was held at Bronze Beach, Umhlanga, Durban. Photo by Luke Patterson
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’s power surfing combined with his impressive aerial moves proved too good for his competitors and he clinched the title ahead of Capetonian, Michael February who placed second, Dale Staples of Westbrook took third place and Brandon Jackson also of Durban finished in fourth place.
“It was so nice to win at my home break. I 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 Open Mens 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 junior boys division it was pre-event favourite, Shane Sykes of Salt Rock who stole the show winning a cool R4000. J-Bay’s Dylan Lightfoot placed a respectable 2nd while Matt McGillivray also of Jeffrey’s Bay was relegated to 3rd place. McGillivray who is back from a recent injury showed good form to find himself a podium finish, while Wade Simkiss from Umdloti finished in fourth position.
Sebastian Williams (Berea, Durban) took top honors in the U16 division. Williams stamped his authority on the final and claimed the title ahead of Ethan Fletcher (Kommetjie), Jake Elkington (Hout Bay) and Adin Masencamp (Strand), who placed second, third and fourth, respectively.
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.
The third and final stop of the Surfing South Africa 3A rated event series will take place in Port Alfred on the 29th and 30th of August.
Supporting sponsors to the series include Techniblock sunscreen, Drift action camera’s, Skullcandy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, Neff and RedBull. The Quiksilver Get Free Series offers a total of R108 000 in prize money as well as generous product prizes.
Whilst never having ever gotten on with the Natal Sharks Board over the years, I have tried to work with them for years, insistently proposing any other shark deterrent, barrier system or monitoring system, to replace the unrelenting nets and drum lines. I was snowballed, cajoled, lied to, and eventually, and to this day, completely ignored.
The truth is that the Natal Sharks Board, now spends well over the R40 000 000 per year it was on in 2011, and has to lie, to protect it’s false public profile, so that it can continue to exist; fear-mongering, killing sharks, and paying the salaries of those who commit the murderous acts. 2012 hit R60 million. They are almost double that now.
The government gives the KZNSB about half of its budget. A heap of cash to facilitate the capital replacement, operating and maintenance costs. The rest is raised by charging municipalities for the nets, selling curios and doing dissections (schoolkids are bussed in for their indoctrination) at the huge KZNSB operation in Umhlanga Rocks, just north of Durban.
Whilst I am not an expert on the KZNSB and their goings on, I did come across an amazing website the tells all the truths about the KZNSB lies. It is at http://removethenets.com and is a solid base of pertinent information concerning its operation.
The following excerpt should get you in the mood to click through to them, and sign up on their petition list.
Whilst that excerpt is nicely scientific, a gut-wrenching incident occurred at Scottburgh Beach, south of Durban, inspiring one of the best pieces of journalism I have encountered.
Written by Gail Addison, a Shark Angel – an organisation of volunteers who have tasked themselves with the protection of sharks, it describes the tragic killing (murder) of 14 tiger sharks in the nets on the KZN South Coast, near Scottburgh.
And now as if this is not entirely enough, the next story will absolutely blow your minds. Did you know? That the KZNSB have been considering taking their catch to market?! Yep, they actually, as adults, sat around a table, and considered selling shark meat on the open market.
Read the excerpt that follows, or click the link here to get the entire piece, from Independent Online (who are doing a great job keeping tabs on the KZNSB…
So, there we have it. A rogue government organisation with a huge budget, intent on destroying the very resource, that tourism exists on. The shark nets have got to go, the drumlines too. We do not need to be killing sharks every day and night non-stop.
We should be spending that money on protecting the sharks, not killing them. Shark nets are only capable of reducing a localised shark population and marine wildlife, or killing sharks that wonder the oceans freely.
Like the Great White they killed at Sunwich Port, a while back. It had a satellite tag in it?! It was part of the O-Search Shark Tagging and Tracking programme. Check it out here. There may be a Great White near you. Maybe soon enough they will have tagged all of the whites in existence so we can just check the app on our waterproof phones, and see one coming!
Dreams are free, but sharks aren’t. The KZNSB has got go. All that money, all those resources. Wasted on killing sharks.
Ok ok, one more…this is from Lesley Rochet, Hooked on conservation, regards drumlines. Very thorough and informative.
And to close off with a big surprise…of all people, our president, Mr. Zuma has ordered an enquiry into the KZNSB operation?! We have a knight in a shining shower! Either that or he needs the money for phase 2 of his Nkandla upgrade?
So maybe it’s gonna be the end of the incessant KZNSB barrage of lies? Or the end of the KZNSB. Zuma, this is your chance pal! Good for something?
Successful Four Elements Conservation NPC Ocean Challenge sees youngsters take top titles
The second edition of the Four Elements Conservation NPC Ocean Challenge was an overwhelming success with all 120 competitors managing to finish within the two-and-a-half hour time limit and a whopping R100 000 raised for environmental conservation.
17-year-old Sasha-Lee Corris-Nordengen (Berea) took the top title at the Four Elements Conservation NPC Ocean Challenge.
The swimmers – ranging in age from 11 to 74 years – took to the ocean at 7am from Durban’s Vetch’s Reef, swimming to North Beach and back in fairly tough conditions. And although everyone swam extremely well, it was 17-year-old Sasha-Lee Corris-Nordengen who took the top title, and the winning prize valued at R6 300, in the 5km Ocean Challenge with a time of 1:06:08.
“It was a great swim!” said the Durban Girls’ College pupil, “The conditions there were flat although coming back was a bit choppier, but my surf lifesaving background helped and I really enjoyed it.”
Corris-Nordengen has represented South Africa from the age of 14 competing recently in the Junior World Open Water Champs in Hungary, the World Champs Lifesaving in France and the Region 5 All Africa Games in Zimbabwe. She has also been selected to represent South Africa in Australia later this year at the International Surf Rescue Challenge.
“I definitely prefer the open water swims, anything in a dam or an ocean. I was so happy to be able to compete because I was unavailable last year. I will definitely compete again next year,” she said.
First in the men’s division was one of the youngest competitors, 14-year-old Chad Michau from Clifton College with a time of 1:08:54.
Michau has overcome a fear of ocean swimming, competing in a few Dolphin Miles, however, this was his first 5km ocean swim making the win an even bigger achievement.
“The conditions were not too bad, a bit choppy, but I enjoyed it,” he said.
“This is my second year swimming competitively and I didn’t expect to do so well.”
Organised by Durban’s Olivia Taylor, 18, the founder of Four Elements Conservation, the Ocean Challenge aims to create awareness about ocean degradation while raising funds for conservation. The Ocean Challenge falls under the banner of Four Elements Conservation NPC, an internationally-recognised environmental organisation which Taylor founded at age 15.
Commenting on the race, Taylor said: “Last year we had 16 competitors and it was a huge success but this year surpassed all my expectations,” said the young environmentalist.
“Every swimmer finished despite the conditions being quite tough. The second leg of the race was difficult because of the currents and wind but the last swimmer came in six minutes before cut-off.”
Taylor said the feedback from participants after the race was overwhelmingly positive.
“The atmosphere was fantastic and they all expressed how happy they were that there was a long-distance ocean swim in Durban. The water was warm and visibility was great. They were humbled by the experience and I feel we achieved our goal.”
She also thanked the sponsors who included Woolworths, FMI, Suncoast Casino, Nandos, Island Style the Letschert, Hancock and Bantock families.
A simultaneous beach clean-up, headed by Julia van der Westhuyzen of the Durban Girls’ College Environmental Club, was also a success with a number of youngsters picking up litter between Durban Surf Lifesaving Club and uShaka Beach.
Funds raised at the epic swim will also go towards the Four Elements Evironmental Scholarship Camp which will be awarded to at least six environmentally passionate youngsters between the ages of 10 and 18.
Taylor will be selecting the candidates based on a written application, followed by an interview, and the successful adolescents will attend an informative four-day camp at on the Zululand coast in December, headed by Taylor.
“The camp will involve a series of workshops covering essential business skills, sustainable fundraising and using your youth to your advantage. There will also be engaging environmental activities such as shark dives and walking with rhinos,” Taylor explained.
Four Elements Conservation NPC Ocean Challenge 2015 Results:
Swimmers set to make a splash at today’s Four Elements Conservation NPC Ocean Challenge
More than 100 environmentally-minded swimmers are set to take to the water this Saturday (16 May) for the 2015 Four Elements Conservation NPC Ocean Challenge.
Among the 117-registered swimmers are two former Olympians, Mandy Loots and Clifford Lyne, as well as top national swimmers Sarah Ferguson, Sasha-Lee Nordengen, Jay-Cee Thomson and Julian Taylor, who will be defending his Ocean Challenge title this year.
Taylor and Nordengen will be flying the national surf-lifesaving banner on the day. They will be joined by fellow lifesavers, Heather Campbell, as well as last year’s womens’ winner, Ayanda Maphumulo.
Established by Durban’s, Olivia Taylor when she was just 15 years old, Four Elements Conservation NPC is an internationally-recognised organisation which aims to preserve the natural environment. The Ocean Challenge is one of the projects that falls under this banner.
Now in its second year, the hugely popular Ocean Challenge – which started with 16 participants in 2014 – will see swimmers take to the Indian Ocean in Durban and swim a gruelling five kilometres, ending at North Beach.
“The aim of the swim is to create awareness about the immense degradation of our oceans,” explained Four Elements Conservation founder, Olivia Taylor, 18. “There will be an interesting mix of people swimming this year, from 13-year-olds to top CEOs, all with a passion to conserve our environment.”
Starting at North Beach at 6.30am, the swimmers will head towards uShaka Pier and then back to North Beach, where top swimmers will complete the 5km swim in about one hour. A safety briefing will take place at North Beach shortly before the start at 6am.
The event will wrap up with an awards’ ceremony, starting at 9.30am at Durban Surf Lifesaving Club, which is open to the public.
Apart from the environmental awareness created, the swim will also fund the Four Elements Evironmental Scholarship which will be awarded to successful applicants between the ages of 10 and 18. The successful candidates will attend an informative four-day camp which will be run by Olivia Taylor in December.
“Camp attendees will be selected based on several criteria, including passion for environmental conservation,” explained Taylor. “The aim is to create young, green, capable social entrepreneurs.”
She said the successful applicants will learn how to convert their passion for environmental conservation into tangible change by developing skills in marketing, fund-raising and cash-flow governance. The youngsters will learn what is needed to become independent young environmental entrepreneurs.
For those who are eager to get involved in ocean conservation on the day but prefer to remain on land, a beach walk and clean-up will take place alongside the swim challenge. This benevolent endeavour, which will be co-ordinated by the Durban Girls’ College Environmental Club, will start at 6.30am at Durban Surf Lifesaving Club moving to uShaka Beach and back. Participants can simply turn up on the day.
Although entries for this year’s swim have closed, there are late entries available, at an extra cost, for anyone still wanting to participate. The swim is open to anyone confident of swimming the distance in the ocean.
