Top-notch surf action at Cutty Sark Pro

Renowned as one of the best surfing spots in the country, competitors were excited to have the chance to show off their skills in Scottburgh on the South Coast, competing in the Cutty Sark Pro recently.

Adaptive surfers also took to the water in the Made for More Surf Contest, with both contests formed part of the Ocean Festival programme, hosted to commemorate World Oceans Day and encourage ocean conservation and enjoyment.

Ocean Festival founder, Russel Symcox, said: “We are so grateful to everyone who came together to make the Ocean Festival a success. Congratulations to all our surfing competitors who embodied the spirit of ocean celebration while putting on an impressive performance for event spectators. We believe this is the start of something fantastic that showcases the best of the KZN South Coast, from its people to its natural assets.”
Head judge of the Cutty Sark Pro, Wade Botha, said it was great to have a ‘major surf contest’ back in Scottburgh.

“From the judging side, it was so refreshing to have the surfers competing in really good waves – which is quite a rarity in surfing contests. Standouts in the junior side were Ballito’s Nathan Taylor who dominated the U14 division, the LePront siblings are always turning heads at events, as well as Clayton Turrell. On the senior side, Gavin Roberts, Tide Lee Ireland, and Nate Colby were dropping big scores all over the event. These events are so great for the local surfers to test their skills against the Durban surfers and the North Coast crew. It was epic to see at least one Scottburgh surfer feature in each of the six finals. I hope to see this event become a permanent fixture on the South African surfing calendar,” said Botha.

Gavin Roberts, Cutty Sark Pro contest director, and chairperson of the Scottburgh Skulls Surf Club, echoed Botha’s comments, saying it was fantastic to have a top surfing contest in Scottburgh.

“It’s great that the local surfers get to test their skills against the best surfers in the country. The more they do that, the better they get. We have some of the top junior surfers living in Scottburgh, and we want them to go to the international stage, and to prepare them for that, every contest helps. The Cutty Sark Pro is a great stepping stone and hopefully next year we can make it bigger to make points available for local surfers and get surfers from around the country to our beautiful town. It was a great weekend for everyone; families, surfers, and spectators, there was such a vibe. That’s what it’s all about – everyone getting together and having a good time, while at the same time learning about ocean conservation and protecting what we love,” said Roberts.

Results:
Open men’s:
1st Tide Lee Ireland
2nd Gavin Roberts
3rd Scott Venter
4th Nate Colby

Open ladies:
1st Louise LePront
2nd Mayah Potgieter
3rd Heather Clark
4th Leah LePront

Boys U18:
1st Kai Hall
2nd Clayton Turrell
3rd Luc LePront
4th Joel Duncan

Girls U18:
1st Louise LePront
2nd Gabriella Herbst
3rd Mayah Potgieter
4th Zoey Thompson

Boys U14:
1st Nathan Tayler
2nd Rylie Balfour
3rd Travis Turrell
4th Zach Johnson

Girls U14:
1st Leah LePront
2nd Haylee Le Roux
3rd Maxine Kaufmann

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