Cape Town photographer, Ian Thurtell recently travelled from from Port Elizabeth to Durban for the City Surf Series of WQS 1000. As surfers prepare for the Vans Surf Pro Classic in Lambert’s Bay, Ian shared his favourite selection of images from the last three events.
“Being on the road for 22 days was epic,” said Ian. “The surf events are one thing, but sometimes what happens behind the scenes is what makes the best story.”
Click images for full size.
This was our first evening in Port Elizabeth and the contest venue was packed with riders warming up for the start of the Nelson Mandel Bay Pro presented by Billabong. We decided to surf a spot just down the drag to get away from the crowds. Angelo’s hair was trying to compete with the colours of the sunset.
We planned to meet the mayor in every province. in NMB we met with Mayor Trollip at his 'oval' table. It was refreshing to see how interested he was in the event and the world of surfing.
He was spotted several times at the event and took a special liking to Angelo's hair.
VW is a major sponsor of the City Surf Series and had a display of their new van. It is everything a surfer's dreams are made of. A pop out camping tent with a bed on the roof, a shade canopy, movable seats and a fridge and cooking unit. Adventure time?
For this shot I snuck into the block of flats opposite the beach while the security guard was taking a smoke break.
On our first day in East London we were whisked away by the locals to a crazy fun secret slab. The walk along the beach is beautiful.
Parking space isn't a problem on the roads less travelled.
A glimpse of the waves we scored.
During the contest at Nahoon Reef we lucked into a good cycle of offshore winds, plenty of swell and super warm water. This is a piece of Matt McGillivray's broken board. Later on the groms were using it on a skateboard on the parking lot hill.
Epic waves and power.
An aghast Sebastian Williams after hearing his score. In his semi-final Sebastian destroyed a wave to the inside.
Spectators and Sebastian were thinking along the lines of a 9.5. When his score came in at a 7.6 he was sure to let them know he wasn't happy...
Regardless, Sebastian was an event standout.
Meanwhile, in the u/16 boys division, the Elkington brothers, Jake and Max met up in the final.
Joshe Faulkner was one of the most consistent stand outs throughout the event.
With smooth and stylish vert combos it is easy to see why.
In the women's final at the the Buffalo City Pro presented by Reef Australian Tayla Hanak was up against KZN local Sophie Bell. With 2min left Sophie was in the lead, as she took off on a wave everyone noticed a big splash as something leapt out the water - everyone knew what that something was... Panic enthused as everyone tried to get her in as she kicked out right by the splash but it was just a fairly harmless mako shark luckily.
An early morning Nahoon Reef line up to make you drool...
After East London we were off to Durban for the Durban Corona Pro. You always see some interesting sights in the Transkei.
Surfers were treated like kings and queens by the Tsogo Sun hotels.
The airshow at the Durban Corona Pro was complete carnage! Every wave had the possibility of a bad incident.
These two images kind of demonstrate the chaos.
The judges had a prime view from the California Dreaming restaurant.
Groms love the piers. Max Elkington backflips off of the North Beach pier.
Zoe McGougall made the long mission over from Hawaii to make a substantial dent in the QS ratings. Her international travels paid off with a win in the Corona Durban Pro which catapulted her within the top 10.
