Davey surfs to victory in CT
The windy city played host to the opening leg of the Quicksilver surf series where the top five was dominated by Durban North.
GLENASHLEY’S Davey van Zyl surfed to a special victory in the opening event of the Quiksilver Takes One To Know One Series in Kommetjie’s Long Beach. Two foot (0.5-metre) swells greeted more than 90 surfers from all over the country at the 3A Pro Surf Tour rated event that catered for open men and U20 pro junior boys.
The top four of the open men’s podium was dominated by Durban North, with Davey claiming first place, Dan Redman in second and Slade Prestwich finishing in fourth place. Van Zyl impressed the judges with radical backhand surfing to post the highest score in the 25 minute final.
“I’m stoked. I’ve never done well in Cape Town in previous surf competitions. The water’s extremely cold and your fingers get numb, so catching the perfect wave isn’t easy,” he said.
Davey said the key to his victory was not putting any pressure on himself. The next event takes place in eMdloti in May and the 21-year-old said he was looking forward to performing well on home turf.
“I spent a lot of my time surfing in eMdloti, so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s weird going into the event as top seed, I’m used to being the underdog,” he laughed.
Quiksilver’s Dane Patterson said he was impressed with the level of surfing at the series opener.
“We are very happy with the first event, the swell was a bit small but the weather, conditions, amount of entries and vibe on the beach was unbelievable. The level of surfing was top notch. It’s vital that South African surfing has these solid events for our surfers to compete against one another and gain valuable experience,” he said.
For more information, photos and videos on the event and series, go to the official event website: www.quiksilver.co.za/totko
