Tag: mikey february

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Best West! Vans Surf Pro Classic fires off at Lamberts Bay

I love the West Coast! Every time I head up there I just fall in love all over again. One of the main reasons is what I like to call the “West Coast Handshake”. For this event, myself and Stanley Badger drove up a few days early and we arrive at pretty good Elands Bay in the morning with quite the crowd on it. Have a surf, go have lunch, come back to the point and the crowd gone and an old guy from the coast in the parking lot. We have a quick chat and he says, “Enjoy the empty lineup, I am paddled out and heading home.” and he shakes my hand. We score three hours of uncrowded perfection.

This is followed by the first ever WSL event on the coast and as per usual YoYos delivers whether 2ft, 8ft, crossshore or offshore and high tide or low tide. The kids are going off, the Pros are frothing and the vibe is super chilled and everyone is smiling. (Just watch the videos I tell you!) Mike February is looking sublime, but Beyrick de Vries has a look in his eye. Funny then that both end up in the final with Beyrick just pipping Mikey. In the juniors Jordy Maree smokes the field and it is good to see the Grom smiling from ear to ear with a big victory. No huge party follows, just fire, braai and a few beers. West Coast style.

I find myself parked at one of the multitude of reefs along the coast road, one surf down already on a Monday. The waves are out there and looking pretty good. A car pulls up with a bunch of frothing surfers who have just arrived. I say hi, we chat about the event and how the waves looking. A good little set peels off down the reef. I tell them to go enjoy themselves, I am hitting the road. We shake hands and I drive off with a big smile on my face.

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El Jimador Agave Surf Classic 2014

The first event of its type in the World, the Agave Surf Classic was a great day out at Blouberg Beach in Cape Town. Small waves did not put a damper on a great day, with everyone involved enjoying the surfboards made from the Agave Plant. Mikey February and Max Armstrong were surfing great, but it was Tarryn Chudleigh, taking one for the gals, who took home the win and one of the beautiful Agave surfboards. Big thanks to El Jimador for their support of surfing and a great event!

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RVCA JBU Super Trials 2014 Highlights

The RVCA JBU Super Trials were held last week in pretty fun looking and hollow Supertubes. With the winner getting a slot in the WCT Jbay Open, the game was on, between a great mix of old and young SA surf stars. Last years Jbay Open, which saw a great mix of old and young saw the old boys keep the grom challenge down, but this year was to be the year of the kids, with the whole final being under the age of 22. Local kid, Dylan Lightfoot ended up with the win and will now see his dream of competing against his heros at his home break come true. I will be covering the event and will keep you posted on how the local kid does.

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Best of South Africa 2013 – Surfing

I hope you guys and gals had a great Xmas and New Years and welcome to 2014! It’s going to be a mental year of action sports in SA, but as we get underway I thought I would look back at 2013, and first up the world of surfing.

Best Surfer – Grant Twig Baker

Starting the year looking down the barrel of a gun financially as he lost his major sponsor and the year’s big wave season stuttered and started very late, Grant Baker came back guns firing! With the announcement of the ASP Big Wave World Tour, twig looked me in the eye and stated with total sincerity and focus, “I am going to be the Big Wave World Champion”. The nay sayers would say he is getting too old, his time is passed, etc etc. Twig shrugged it all off, trained his ass off and when the waves finally arrived in late winter, blew minds with his commitment and focus. (While watching the Dungeons segment below, make note of John John Florence on the boat in the channel and what he says watching one of Twig’s waves!) When the first official big wave event on the year was called on in Europe, many of the big names chose to remain in Hawaii, where they had just arrived. Twig got back on a plane and missioned across the globe to dominate the event and take the number 1 spot on the ASP BW World Tour. The kids going on tour this year like Beyrick de Vries, Slade Prestwich, Mikey February and Dane Staples need to take a leaf out of Twig’s book. If your mental game is on, your body fit and ready for anything and you believe in yourself so much you intimidate your competitors, you can be the champ! The ball is rolling for Twig out of 2013, lets see what 2014 brings…

Twig: A Calculated Madness from SURFING Magazine on Vimeo.

Best Tour Surfer – Beyrick de Vries

I checked Beyrick getting a lot of flack through the years. I don’t think people took his challenge for the tour seriously. Those people, all have egg on their faces now though! An incredible year of results, culminating in what has been called the best tube ever ridden at Sunset and a solid Triple Crown showing has put Beyrick on the cusp of qualifying and with a a super seeding for 2014. Now the pressure really starts as the World number 49 heads out as the number 3 South African seed on tour behind Jordy and Travis. With an able support cast in Dale, Mikey and Slade, I am really looking forward to watching the Qualifying Tour in 2014.

Best Junior Surfer – Slade Prestwich

The big kid made big name in 2013. Long touted as the heir to Jordy Smith’s power game, Slade came right after a rather shocking start at the first Billabong Pro Junior at the beginning of the year. His big break came winning the Volcom Pro Junior in Durban and getting a slot in the competition at Fiji. With the powerful lefts of Cloudbreak as his pallet, Slade proceeded to slash and burn the competition in front of a global webcast audience. A massive win for the kid from Scottys and suddenly his head was back in the game. For me his best surfing was to come at the Junior World Champs in Brazil, where he lost to Gabriel Medina in the Quarter Finals (Medina smoked every heat in the competition), where more importantly it came to a last minute count back by the judges as Slade was the only surfer to challenge Medina the entire event. Slade has the skill, he is an immensely nice guy and he has the support of some great sponsors. My feeling is that with the right support and management he can go all the way!

My 2014 Wildcard – Dale Staples

Ducky has more than proven himself in big surf and tubes. Name made on the North Shore, a proven track record out at Jbay in front of a home crowd (Not long now till the return…) and a solid bag of tricks in the small stuff. The World number 71 has a decent seed going into 2014 and after speaking with him, he definitely has the desire to get onto the Championship Tour. Put Dale Staples on the Dream tour and watch magic happen… Now he just needs to go out there and qualify!

All in all we are poised for a massive year in professional surfing in South Africa. We have some serious firepower hitting the Qualifying Tour and make no mistake Travis Logie will go about business like he does every year. The biggest question on everyone’s lips must be, “Will Jordy Smith win a World Title this year?” He has looked me in the eye and told me there is nothing else more important to him than that exact goal and I believe him. I have put the bottle of champagne on ice in anticipation…

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#OfftheLip Movember Retro Surf Day

A good cause backed up with a great event. The #OfftheLip Retro surf day with Quiksilver aimed to raise funds for Movember while putting on a fun day for the crew in Durban. I was lucky enough to fly up as an ambassador for Movember and had a great time. There were plenty of great Mo’s on offer and most people had made an attempt to dress up. Gorgeous Bikini girls walked around raising cash for a raffle and Kirsty Delport sported a Mo to shame the boys! Ryan Bisset looking like a 70’s policeman from Poffadder took third place, with big wave man, Grant Twig Baker, impressing in the smaller stuff for once and taking 2nd. The man with the only actual retro hairstyle took it though with incredible surfing on an old Mark Richards Twin, showing up all the old ballies. Mikey February won the event and took home an amazing Twin Fin Surfboard from Quiksilver. I walked away with a devastating Farmer Tan and a great big hangover. Movember promise to do the event again in 2014 with an additional day promised for Cape Town. Great video of the day by Steve Michelson…

Off The Lip – Movember Retro surfing event, all in the name of fun. from steven michelsen on Vimeo.