McCarthy toughs it out at Cave Rock
This is a unique event which sees 24 invited stand-up surfers and bodyboarders competing
RICHARDS Bay’s Mark McCarthy took a well earned third place overall at the Cave Rock Invitational held at the Bluff in Durban last weekend.
This is a unique event which sees 24 invited stand-up surfers and bodyboarders competing.
The invitees are top athletes in their respective sport codes and are invited based on their form and knowledge of the rock.
The winner of this year’s event was Andre Botha, renowned wave rider and two-time world bodyboarding champion.
The annual contest takes advantage of an event window set at 16 June to 16 July this year.
This window means that the contest can be held in the very best conditions Cave Rock has to offer, with riders being on standby to get to the event on short notice once conditions look to be favourable on a certain day.
With a strong south swell and favourable winds predicted, the event was given the green light over the past weekend.
Cave Rock did not disappoint with some eight foot sets rolling through.
The surf was big and wild, especially with the dropping tide making things quite hairy for the competitors.
‘It was rather challenging at times as often there would be a 10ft wave that would break deeper in the line-up and I got a few of them on my head. But it is all part of paying tax when riding in bigger conditions,’ said McCarthy.
‘The wind had a huge effect on the final. The north-easterly picked up and made it very choppy and the tides started pushing out so the side wash also effected the waves.’
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