Lifestyle

Third in the world, one place better than Twiggy Baker, Capetonian Chris Bertish has flown under the radar and to secure the highest placing for a South African on the Big Wave World Tour. A massive win at Mavericks and a third place at the Nelscott Reef event saw Chris win enough points to place in the top three.

So just how strong is the South African connection in the world of big wave surfing?

At the moment, it is a phenomenal show of strength. This year specifically we really had a major presence. Over in Northern California we were really a major noticeable force over there.

What are your goals within big wave surfing?

I am still running my business over in RSA and looking after O’Neill, Crocs & Ocean Minded, with an assistant now to help me look after things, in order for me to still travel and compete in the 5 major events on the big wave world tour for 2010

Chris always has a go at Dungeons © Red Bull/Tuck

Do you feel now that with a legitimate tour, there is chance of a career in big wave surfing?

For sure, there is definitely going to be more money in the sport going forward, especially for 2011 going forward. Being South African it still makes it difficult to get enough sponsorship to go over and compete in all the events as it’s really difficult and expensive for us from here, but I guess I’m a proof of the fact that if you really want it bad enough and you are prepared to sacrifice everything, anything’s possible. If you want it bad enough, you’ll make it happen and the money will follow in the future, as a by-product of your success. At the end of the day, I surf because it’s a passion and it puts a smile on my face, not because of the money, and that will never change.

Where are the five events on the tour?

1. Puno de Lobos- Chile -Aril/May
2. Pico Alto-Peru-June/July
3. Nellscott event-Oregon-Oct/Nov
4. Mavericks-Northern California-Oct-March
5. Killers-Todos Santos-Mexico-Feb/March
   

Out of those five, which are you most comfortable at?
Todos definitely is my favourite wave, thats why I was really dissapointed in my result there, but I fell on teh most important wave in my heat and you cant afford to make mistakes like that, competing against teh world’s best. Nellscott I also enjoyed last year with a great result and the conditions were so perfect, it was impossible not to enjoy it, it’s also a really high performance surfable big wave spot

From the five events on the tour this year, how many events did you surf last year and what were your placings?
I surfed only three. Nellscott -placing 3rd, Mavericks-1st, Todos-16th. I wasn’t invited to the first two, in Chile & Peru… with my overall 3rd place ranking in the world this year, now I’m automatically invited to all 5 this year, so I am really going to try give it my best and see what how I do.

Just so you know and people understand the points given for the results of all the big wave events, works on a sliding scale according to the wave size for each individual event. ie the Chile event-waves were 12-15ft so the points wouldn’t be too high for the winner and top 5, but the Mavericks event the waves were 25ft plus, so the top 5 placings were rewarded way more points, which is a unique and very good system, as we are there to push the limits and boundaries of the sport in big surf and get rewarded for the bigger surf we do well in.

The next event in the O’Neill Cold Water Classic series is the mobile event for Cape Town. The dates for the event are July 26th to 30th and it promises to be another exciting, cold, stormy, big and sold event, with loads of spectators and media interest. Last year the final day at Kalk Bay Reef was packed out and people were booking tables at the Brass Bell, asking people if they could come into their houses to watch from the balconies, and parking hundreds of metres away just get a glimpse of the surfing.

First couple of days were held at Misty Cliffs where the waves were, to be honest, quite bad, Still, the srfers were lucky that were able to surf a few heats as there was the mother of all storms approaching. Some highlights were Jordy’s first wave, with a neat backhand air and a few reverses to quickly upgrade the judging and put in place a standard ongoing, Jon Jon Florence also looked good, and scored a few little barrels and big hits to advance through a few earlier rounds, and Stanley Badger who spotted a little peak further down the beach, paddled down to it and lucked into a few bombs straight away for one of the highest scoring heats of that round. Other top surfers who really were killing it were Royden Bryson, Blake Thornton and Glen Micro Hall, surfing with an Irish passport.

The final day loomed and it was looking like there were going to be very few surf spots available to surf. O’Neill South Africa’s Paul Canning was desperately speaking to the local surfers and getting as much information as he could about the conditions, to see what the options were. he did managed to get permission to run the event at Thermopylae in Sea Point, but all arrows were definitely pointing at Kalk Bay Reef.

The first couple of heats were held in small surf and the tide was pretty low. The waves were closing out over rocks on the inside and it was hard to string a few turns together. Jordy went down in a tight heat despite getting some good waves, and he headed over to the Brass bell to watch the rest of the contest from the comfort of the bar.

By the time the finals rolled in, the waves were absolutely pumping. Four foot with some bigger sets, the final was Royden Bryson from South Africa against Blake Thornton from Australia. The heat switched around a few times and with Royden trailing from behind, the wave of the day came through. Royden was in the perfect spot on the peak. He paddled, dropped down the face, set up for the barrel and wiped out. The final siren went and it was Blake’s event.

Blake went on from this win to qualify for the World Tour. These are the sorts of directions you can go after a win at a Cold Water Classic. This year the Cape Town event is a 4-star event, but it will be crucial for those people who are chasing the CWC series title, and the extra US$50,000 resting  on that result.

The event host for the 2010 event will once again be Jordy Smith.

O’Neill Cold Water Classic Scotland Steps Into Top Gear

THURSO EAST, Scotland (Saturday, April 17, 2010) – The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star men’s O’Neill Cold Water Classic Scotland stepped into top gear and showed it’s true colours with courageous displays of surfing mixed with extremely wild weather conditions. Many saying the heaviest they have experienced in a surfing competition. The final 24 surfers were decided with the completion of round 3 late this afternoon under heavy rain, wind and a mere 4º Celsius.

High end surfing at the O'Neill CWC Scotland

Strong cold winds which at times reached gale force strength along with rain lead to another tough day for the remaining surfers.
Definitely bigger than yesterday with waves from 4-6ft (1-1.5m) and consistent sets which was one of the bonuses helping to keep the event on a roll.

Royden Bryson (ZAF) summed it up perfectly, “Definitely without a shadow of a doubt the coldest day I have ever spent at the beach in my entire life. The waves are actually pretty good so we can’t complain I mean it’s 5-6ft and it could be flat which is worse. The elements here are something radical.”

Jarrad Howse

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star O’Neill Cold Water Classic Scotland the most northern surfing event on the planet
is the second stop of The O’Neill CWC Series and offers surfers valuable ASP World Men’ Star points and is also stop nº 1 of 12 of the ASP
European Series which will eventually crown this year’s European champion.

ASP rookie Shaun Joubert (ZAF) on his first year competing on the ASP men’s star tour and on his first visit to Scotland exploded out of the blocks in heat nº2 of round 4 pulling off a huge front-side air to score an 8.5 then backed it up with another high scoring 7.67 to secure the heat win and a two wave total of 16.17 out of a possible 20.

“It was pretty fun out there really. I live at a right-hand point break so anything that resembles that is good for my surfing and despite the cold
it’s good.”

“It was one of those heats where everything goes right and I’m happy to have a good heat out there. I made 2 heats in Tasmania (CWC),”
continued Joubert about his O’Neill CWC results so far this year. “It’s good to do that again because lots of guys don’t like surfing in
wetsuits so they don’t come here but I like it a lot”

O’Neill is proud to announce the launch of a state-of-the-art website showcasing the Hyperfreak boardshort. At the heart of the website lies an entertaining augmented reality surf game, paving the way for surfers to get their interactive shred on even when conditions are flat back out in the real world. Competitors need to simply play the game for a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing in Hawaii. All that is needed is a computer, webcam and broadband internet connection.

The Boardshort
Stemming from the industry breakthrough technical boardshort, the Superfreak, released in 2003, the Hyperfreak pushes the limits of stretch, strength and lightweight performance. With many competitors now chasing the technical boardshort category that O’Neill developed, the Hyperfreak is the clear leader with powerful attributes in fabrics and workmanship. Highly technical products like the Hyperfreak is a result of innovative design and extensive testing with the world’s top athletes.

The Augmented Reality Game
Inside the new issue of Zigzag is the new O’Neill Hyperfreak advert. Holding this advert in front of a webcam will activate the 3D experience, which is needed to gain entrance into the game. The objective of the game is to keep the surfer riding for as long as possible and earn points by surfing in the ‘perfect’ spot (in the barrel). Points are awarded for length of ride and barrel-riding skills.

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged (or augmented) by virtual computer-generated imagery, creating a mixed reality.

The Prize
The winner will receive two tickets to Hawaii to check out the O’Neill World Cup Of Surfing, as well as hotel accommodation, backstage passes and a meet and greet with the surf heroes. The competition has already begun, with competitors already clocking in their scores from all over the world. However, there’s still plenty of time to get that winning ride, as the contest runs until the end of August, with the winner being announced at the beginning of September. The top 50 points scorers world-wide will be in the running for this enormous first prize, and the winner will be drawn via a sweepstakes. Get playing and good luck.

For more information contact Paul Canning from O’Neill South Africa
e. paul.c@oneill.co.za
p +27 31 313 1400