Moir and Ribbink in a League of Their Own at South Coast Surf Carnival
Matthew “mouse” Moir (Cape Town) and Jason Ribbink (Durban) proved to be in a league of their own in the early rounds of Africa’s biggest pro longboarding event at the South Coast Surf Carnival on Saturday, November 03, 2007. The fifth annual South Coast Surf Carnival at Scottburgh beach on the KZN south coast is sponsored by the Ugu-South Coast Tourism Board and presented by Jeep Apparel and Independent on Saturday.
2006 ISA World Longboard Champion Moir and Ribbink who was rated second in the world in 2001, set the standard with polished performances that combined old school longboarding styles with progressive manoeuvres to score heat tallies of 16.5 and 17.5, respectively in the Open division. Ribbink laid claim to the highest single wave score of the day earning 9 out of a possible ten points for a series of big re-entries as well as walking to the nose in a critical section of the wave.
The hotly contested Open division also saw some strong early round performances from Wade Brodowicz (Westville), Brandon Jackson (Durban North), Matt Kruger (Queensburgh), Brad Weare (Durban North), William Wallace (Cape Town) and Dylan Macleod (Port Elizabeth).
In the first round of the Masters division (Over 40) Colin Whitmore, Doug Escreet and Craig Daniel (all Durban) cleaned up their heats with decisive victories en route to the semifinals.
Seniors (Over 50) Mike Larmont (Durban North), Attie van de Pas (Durban) and Hugh Thompson (Scottburgh). Nikki Tricket (Durban) and Lisa Smith (Sherwood) dominated the Ladies division and go into the finals as favourites to win. The South African Longboard Surfing Association sanctioned event boasts an increased prize purse of R11, 000 which has attracted the cream of the country’s longboarding crop to compete.
“Upon arriving at Scottburgh beach on Friday morning we were presented with the dirtiest water Scottburgh beach has seen in a long time. Saturday morning arrived with sunshine, a fantastic crowd turnout and contestable waves which made the first day of the 2007 South Coast Surf Carnival a great success.
The kiteboarding proved to be of a very high standard focusing on wave riding. The longboarders also excelled with the champions standing out in the early rounds,” commented Paul Godwin of Nerve Events. The South Coast Surf Carnival has cemented itself as one of KZN’s premier watersport festivals and attracts large crowds to the mid-south coast to enjoy world class kiteboarding and longboarding action.
This year’s kiteboarding event got off to a great start with a fresh north easterly wind providing the ideal platform for big names like Rob Chrystal, Dave Pons, Lyle Bottcher and Gavin Spowart (all Durban) to vie for a R5, 000 cash purse for the best wave rider. The Point Surf Academy held free development surfing clinics open to members of the public supervised by top coaches Shaun Hague and Quinton Shabalala (both Scottburgh).
In addition to the surfing clinics, free Swimming South Africa Ocean Splash lessons were on offer to teach children basic water safety and surf swimming skills.