I thought i would post this ... I cycled past the trial in the morning as the guys were setting up for the second time and conditions were bad. By the afternoon on my way for a leisurely SUP surf at Vetchies reef I drove by 101 and the conditions were horrendous - so for the guys & girls that stuck it out & survived without breaking a board well done...
NATAL TRIAL 2 aka SERIES 2.
Over the weekend our second Natal trial got off to a rather shaky start. With solid conditions at Dairy beach and the inevitable low tide looming it was decided to relocate the event down to Ushaka Beach. Five heats where run but by 9am the conditions where out of control, 2ft waves just closing out on the shore and hundreds of eager beach goers swimming the line up. We again relocated further up the beach to 101. This proved to be about the best we could have done taking all the elements into account. 4ft waves breaking as hard as anywhere on a super shallow sandbank made for treacherous conditions. BUT as the saying goes “IT’S THE SAME FOR EVERYONE” , or “ SOME THINGS ARE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL”. Pick whichever saying suits ya best. If nothing else the conditions certainly separated the men from the boys.
With a handful of broken boards on the day, snapped leashes, long paddles, courage, frustration and commitment, with 9 out of 10 waves serving up a 4ft close out had a few surfers getting an old school over the falls beating, BUT in the end the surfers that where able to adjust to the conditions the quickest rose to the top.
The trio of Brad’s all looked like they had the conditions wired, Brad Gilmore won the Juniors division, Brad Weare won the Masters division and Brad Trickett won the OPEN MENS division.
Making it a father and son victory Grant Gilmore paddled out and ripped the hectic conditions with his smooth and stylish approach to take victory over Fred Le Roux , Fred Kockett in 3thd and Rory Stander in 4th after his impressive display in his prior Semi Finals heat.
STOKED STOKED STOKED Madz Nixon takes out the Ladies Final ahead of Heather Kluk , Kay Holt in 3thd , Nix Trickett after breaking her board half way through her finals heat finished in fourth and Traci Phillips in 5th.
Other guys that managed to master condition with ease where Bones Ribbink , although this is no surprise as he is able to surf everything from ripples at Inanda Dam to 30fters at Dungeons and everything in between, Attie van der Pass charged a few bombs , Bushy Greef , and Rob Clark all stood out in the tough conditions. BIG up to Darren Clark as he managed to find a few gems in the boys final that earned him top honours.
I would like to thank all those that missioned through a long hot day on the beach, having to pack up and relocate twice, miles from anywhere made it a long tough day on the beach. Its days like this that iam stoked more than ever to see all the guys support KZNLSA despite conditions.
Looking at the results trial 3 on the 12/13 March is gonna be one for the history books, with so many surfers fighting hard to make it into the top four and earn their place on the KZN Team for 2011. See attached , I have highlights those in the top four currently , remembering that each surfer gets to drop his lowest score.
See you all at the next event.
Take it easy
Brad Trickett
