Brandon Lange down in Jbay for the contest was witness to the shark attack on Mick Fanning today.
Fanning felt something touch his leg rope and so instinctively kicked back hard thereby avoiding the business end of a huge looking great white stupid, and probably saving his life! It does look like his leg rope actually got stuck in the sharks mouth as Fanning gets propelled forward. Then it seems to bite through and turn back knocking Fanning right off his board and into the water with the animal. He then proceeded to punch and kick out at the shark, again, probably saving his life, and then the jet ski ridden by Grant Spooner saved his hide.
Check the size of that fin!
Mick Fanning survives shark in attack in Jbay
And how about this JBay escape story, down at the gulley, where a dolphin gave it’s life to save a surfer?!?!
High Drama And Upsets On Day Two Of The RVCA Junior Challenge
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Lower Point, Jeffreys Bay – Solid four- to five-foot pumping surf made for epic conditions on Day Two of the RVCA Junior Challenge at Lower Point. While the waves offered high scoring potential, the increased size also made for physically demanding conditions with long paddles back up the point.
Not to be outdone by the big boys who were competing in the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA up the point at Supertubes (eventually won by Slade Prestwich), the youngsters seemed to up their game.
Kommetjie’s Ford van Jaarsveldt showed what needed to be done in the premier U20 Boys division. The stylish regular footer rode three waves only, carving his way to pocket 7s. “My strategy was to just sit and wait for the sets,” he said afterward. “If you are on the bigger waves they’re going to give you the bigger scores,” he said.
“I’m super stoked it’s picked up, these bigger waves really suit my style of surfing. Was also so much fun to be out there with just three other guys out. If the conditions were like this on any other day it would be so crowded,” he said.
Ford, perhaps more favoured in his own division, was knocked out of U16 boys. Other favourites to lose out were Jake Elkington in the U16 Boys and Anoush Zakarian in the U20 Girls.
Arguably the best heat of the weekend was semi final one in the U16 Boys. Adin Masencamp, Joshe Faulkner, Sebastian Williams and Ryan Lightfoot traded wave-for-wave as the sun dipped and the ocean went smooth as glass. At the end of the epic encounter it was Adin Masencamp with both the highest single wave score (9.5) and highest heat score (18.25) who advanced to the finals with JBay local Joshe Faulkner who was surfing his fourth heat of the day.
They will meet Calvin Goor and Ethan Fletcher tomorrow.
Other standouts on the day included Julian Zens in the U14 Boys, who convincingly beating local Ryan Lightfoot to advance into that division’s semi finals and Mossel Bay’s Nina Harmse, who posted a 9.0 in her U16 Girls quarter final.
St Francis Bay’s Crystal Hulett also impressed, dropping two big scores within the first 10 minutes in her U20 Girls heat, having to run around after the second. “Getting that first wave is crucial,” she said afterward, having beaten Olivia Izzard into second, with Anna Jelema Butler in third and Jade Mets in fourth. “It’s always my strategy to get that first one. There were a lot of wide sets, but on the inside there were smaller, hollower waves running along the shelf which you could really hit and do some powerful turns on,” she said. “So I tried to vary between the outside sets, by watching Supers to know when they’d be coming down the point; while trying to maintain the inside.”
She later advanced to the final, along with Olivia Izzard; Nicole Pallet and Kai Woolf.
The forecast looks favourable for tomorrow when the winners will be crowned. Other action to look forward is a the Paddle Battle in association with Red Bull. This paddle battle is open to surfers 16 years and older, and there will be a Rayne Camera, Stance socks and other sponsor products in the prize package. As well as the Spraymate Paint Jam where the groms will be let loose with hundreds of cans of paint to go wild in an expression-session paint jam.
Co-sponsors include Stance, Firewire, Future Fins, Posca, Havaianas, Nixon, Rayne Cameras, Zigzag Magazine, Posca and Red Bull.
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The RVCA Junior Challenge is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), and recognised by the Dept. of Sport and Recreation as the national controlling body for surfing.
Durban based surfer Slade Prestwich won the JBU Supertrial, presented by RVCA in solid 4 – 6 foot surf at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay today (Sunday).
Combining long drawn-out bottom turns with big carves off the top, Prestwich overcame a strong challenge from Mikey February in the f
inal of the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA. Local surfers Shaun and Ryan Payne finished in third and fourth position respectively.
Prestwich won the coveted wild card entry into the World Surf League’s Championship Tour event, the JBay Open of Surfing, which will be held in Jeffreys Bay from 8 – 19 July.
“Surfing Supertubes with just three other guys in the line up was the highlight of the Supertrial for me,” said an excited Prestwich after his win.
“Seeing three big sets coming and knowing I could take any waves I wanted too was an amazing feeling and I cannot wait to surf against the likes of Kelly Slater in the JBay Open next month”.
Prestwich is guaranteed a minimum purse of R109 000 for competing in the WSL JBay Open, the only World Championship Tour event that is held on the African continent.
Contest director Koffie Jacobs who called the Supertrial on this morning was happy with the conditions on the day.
“Supertubes delivered yet again and proved why it is rated as one of the best waves in the world. It was tough having to call off the JBU Supertrial last weekend with the gigantic surf that battered the coastline but waiting the extra week was worthwhile as we witnessed a high standard of surfing today in Jeffreys Bay.”
Watched by nearly 1 000 spectators on the beach, Ryan Payne won the award for the worst surfed best wave, while Davey Van Zyl won an Arbor skateboard for the best carve of the event.
Shaun Payne won a Nixon watch for the best barrel of the JBU Supertrial, while Mikey February won a Firewire surfboard for being nominated as the surfer of the event.
The JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA, forms part of the annual JBay Winterfest – www.jbaywinterfest.com, a multi sports festival which takes place every July in Jeffreys Bay and is presented by Woodlands Dairy.
The JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), and recognised by the Dept. of Sport and Recreation as the national controlling body for surfing.
The JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA is supported by Arbor, Firewire, Stance, Nixon, Monster Energy South Africa, Zigzag Magazine and El Jimador Tequila.
“When the red hot pokers bloom, winter is upon us!” – Louis Wolmarans chanted. It was many, many years ago, but Louis still charges the KZN South Coast with more gusto than any grom. The only hassle, is that when the aloes flower like this, it’s also sardine season!
Sardine report 2015: “When the red hot pokers bloom, winter is upon us.” A chant by Louis Wolmarans
Just in from Jay Steenkamp at sea off Nyameni in the Transkei, right now:
“Glenmore has the most action. Small pockets being hammered by Gannets, which are everywhere. Just had school of bottlenose charging hard to the north with more Gannets chasing after them, diving, gorging, on sardines.
The surf is 4-5ft with a stiff offshore blowing. Sea temperature is 22 degrees.”
Thanks Jay!
So except for the slightly warmer water, the stars have lined up and it looks good for the sards to come in close and in reach. Yesterdays cast net catch of sardines in Umtentweni has got the carparks a-buzzing, and now it’s only a matter of being in the right place, at the right time.
Not sure what’s in the distance but it could be anything sardine. This photo was taken a few minutes ago, off Nyameni in the Transkei, by Jay Steenkamp, the man on the scene…
Big waves at Port Shepstone. Wave almost devours ski boat!
Jay Steenkamp joined us this morning early, in a last ditch effort to get out the back. We ‘jacked Carl Gouws’ ski boat and Marc Lange took the helm.
The launch took 15 minutes of ducking and diving as the super surging swell just kept us holed in at the corner, dodging logs and flotsam, waves and foamies. Finally we got through and as we got up to the spot, a huge set demonstrated the seriousness of the situation, and thundered across the bay in front of us.
It took a few minutes of suiting up, and in went Brandon Lange, Roosta and Jay. They should have waited, but with the tide on it’s way out, our time in the zone was limited, so we forced the issue. And paid the price.
The first clean up set wave took us all by surprise, as it stood a good 50 ft above us and crashed down with vengeance. A solid 15 foot wave in Hawaiian terms. The three okes in the water (Roosta, Jay and Brandon Lange), had no chance. And nor did we on the boat, it seemed for a second or two. As we made our escape from the impact zone, the huge wave accelerated towards us and almost engorged us completely as we built speed trying to get away. A very touch and go moment, but Marc managed to pull it all straight and with some weight adjustments we got up to speed and escaped narrowly.
Buzz got the storming wave right on the head, Jay just behind him. Roosta managed to sneak into one just before the set so he was deep in the bay as the set washed through. The waves were so fast and powerful they just washed Jay and Buzz right in shallow towards the rocks. But the set abated and the crew re-assembled out the back. Some serious paddling.
A few more big sets threatened to snag us again but the guys in the water all had a few big drops. Roosta got seriously barrelled on his way in, and Buzz got two.
By now, the tide was dropping fast so we had to get the boat back in. Jay stayed out the back looking for a big one, which took a full half an hour to finally come Jay’s way. Sitting out there alone, a few k’s out to sea – Jay did the “Bobby Naidoo” with grace as we all wished him that wave.
