The Far Side of Rad

I woke up yesterday morning and cringed at the thought of driving out to Cape St Francis through such dank weather. I drank my morning coffee on the balcony, watching a gray mass of white horses and windblown slop move across the bay. The sea looked as enticing as a beef smoothie.

Still, the Eastern Province trial ran in choppy, passable conditions at Seal Point (Full stop), yesterday morning. I arrived in time to catch the open final, where Dylan Stone (2nd), Ryan Payne (1st), Etienne Potgieter (3rd) and Bruce Campbell (4th) tore the shoes off of anything resembling a wave. The standard of surfing was seriously impressive and EP looks to be in safe hands during South African Champs.

I managed to catch up with the finalists in the parking lot afterwards, where they begged me to take a photo of them together. “Ooh, please take a photo of us hugging tightly!” Etienne pleaded. “Ja, we’re such a close team, we love showing the province how much team work means to us! You should see our cheer leading routine!” Dylan fired back. “And our outfits are to die for!” Ryan confirmed.

Ha ha, jokes. They didn’t really say that.



I know the first picture is washy and too far away, but I swear that's Dylan decapitating a Seal's insider.

In other surfing news, Greg Emslie (Slummies) made it through his Round 1 heat at the Quiksilver Pro in Australia (Gold Coast) this weekend, earning a free rid to the third Round. He was the sole South African to advance during the first Round. Jordy Smith and David Weare will feature during Round 2 when the contest resumes. Jussie I said ‘Round’ a lot.