Okay, so day two of competition is done and dusted. The heats for finals day have been put in place and we’re excited to see who emerges victorious in each division. The day started off horrendously. The surf was hoarse. The glare was so bad it literally destroyed your eyeballs if you even considered looking seaward for longer than about seven seconds. But as the tide filled in and the sun moved overhead we began to witness some seriously rippable surf straight out front. Anywho, here’s a list of surfers that inspired us on day two of competition.
Dillon Hendricks
In round three Dillon Hendricks faced a massive challenge. A David and Goliath scenario. A grom duelling with well-travelled QS vets with only a sling and a pebble. While the QS vets all paddled far out back to find waves that linked to the inside, young Mr Hendricks sat stubbornly wide and close in. When the Goliaths started gathering scores out back and nothing broke close in where he sat, Dillon remained stiffly in position. Eventually, after everyone had scores on the board, a little right-hand bowl came Dillon’s way, and Hendricks proceeded to go H.A.M on the little drainer. Upside down multiple times for a 7 point ride. Next thang, Hendricks took the lead. All the Goliaths out back swiftly made their way over to him, but Hendricks stood his ground, swung that sling at the Goliaths and they all came tumbling down.
The Goliath slayer. Dillon Hendricks. Give the man a sling and a pebble. And he’ll take you down. He doesn’t care ’bout easter. Image: Thurtell
Zoe Steyn
One of the marks of a great backhand surfer is the understanding of angle. Much of backhand surfing is all about the angle you take. Growing up in South Africa as a goofy footer, unless you live in Elands Bay or something like that, you’re probably going to be going right a stuff load. And it’s easy to simply just go up and down. Up down, up down, up down all the way to a 6.00. But certain individuals know how to get creative on their backhands. They approach the lip with slightly different angles each time. They know when to kick the tail, when to slide it around, and when to keep it engaged so as to keep speed and flow up. Zoe Steyn is one of those surfers. She’s creative on her backhand. She’s powerful. But her power lacks no femininity. She’s like a woman in a power suit about to present her case to the judges. And more often than not, the judges present the verdict in her favour.
Zoe Steyn. Power suit. Making the judges tilt the verdict in her way. Image: Ian Thurtell
Dylan Lightfoot
Mr Lightfoot’s a precise surfer. He hunts the best waves out in his heats and surfs them well.
Dylan’s been casually taking out big names throughout the event. He managed the highest heat score of round three, blitzing Jordy Marée, Jerry Van Wyk and Angelo Faulkner. But what’s more important, is that it seems Dylan’s got his groove back. He’s got a certain amount of confidence about him that he perhaps lacked in 2017. Maybe it was excitement around his new series, ‘J’ or maybe cause of them fresh stickers. Whatever it is, Dylan, or ‘J’s looking damn sharp. Come Port Alfred, he’s gonna be a man to watch out for.
Precise, fast, powerful. Dylan’s surfing in a nutshell. Image: Ian Thurtell
Be sure to check out our gallery from the day’s action courtesy of the mighty Ian Thurtell, as well as our Afternoon Interview with the legendary Captain Kai below.
