THE Bluff Boardriders hosted the first event of the El Nino 2016 series at Ansteys Beach on Sunday, 10 April.
The contest had to be rescheduled from Saturday which saw eight to 10 foot swells render conditions unsuitable for competitive surfing.
The event was well supported and the three to five foot south east groundswell allowed for some intriguing heats.
In the girls division, Candace Lategan came out all guns blazing and took down some big names en route to claiming first place and an Excel wetsuit over Brittany Gadd and Heidi Palmboom. This will be an interesting division to follow over the course of the year.
The U21s had familiar faces on the podium with Gharade Joubert’s smooth surfing allowing him to triumph over Dieter Petraschke and Brad Roodt. He was fully deserving of the Excel full suit as first prize. The club appeals to more U21 surfers to enter the next contest to challenge the stalwarts of this age group.
It was the first time the Bluff Boardriders hosted a bodyboard division and it was great to see some different manoeuvres in the stiffening north-east breeze. Explosive aerials resulted in high scores with Stephen du Preez prevailing over Garryd Ensor and Shaun Holloway. Stephen won a Gunslinger skateboard for his radical exploits in the finals.
As usual, the open division was a tight affair with one point separating first and fourth position. Jono Venter unleashed a backhand attack in the deteriorating conditions and managed to emerge victorious over the smart surfing of Mark Wright, Michael Collins and the evergreen Rudy Palmboom Snr. Well done Jono – the Excel wet suit should come in handy as winter sets in.
Once again the sponsors really came to the party and the Bluff Boardriders thank Frank D’Agostino (Billabong JBay), Tamara Pedlar (Quiksilver/Roxy) Dave van der Walt (Sector Clothing), Donna Kincade (Hot Stuff Marketing/ Nivea) and many other Bluff businesses and residents for making the day another huge success. The second event in the series will take place on 23 July. See their Facebook page for more details.