Top seed Sarah Maritz (Warner Beach) justified her ranking by recording the highest scoring ride of the opening day in the powerful one to 1.5 metre waves – 8.25 out of 10 – in round one of the 3A rated, R12 500 Open Women’s event of the Margate leg of the Billabong Girls Get Out There Surf Series.
In the Pro Junior (U20) girls division Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie) recorded an 8.0 point ride, while fellow national junior teammate Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbosstrand), Tammy-Lee Smith (Salt Rock) and even 15 year old Alice McGregor (East London) being awarded scores of 7.75.
McGregor posted the highest combined heat score of the day – 14.5 out of 20 – and diminutive Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach), all of 10 years-old, showed she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future by winning her Novices heat with 12.5 points.
Others to impress included Telana Flanagan (EL) and Nicole Annells (Warner Beach) who fought out a nail biting Pro Junior heat, and Capetonians Holly Armstrong, Tanika Hoffman and Sabrina Scott, who joined McGregor in winning their U15 heats.
The colourful contest site attracted droves of tourists to see digital pictures of the action in the Saltwater Girl ‘darkroom-on-the-beach’ and to take advantage of the free paint, brushes and canvasses erected on the beach, creating beautiful ocean related paintings in an initiative hosted by Billabong in conjunction with WWF.
Regional marine ecologist, Cloverley Lawrence from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife gave a talk on turtles and the canvasses will be auctioned at the event to raise funds for tracking devices for these threatened creatures.
And when the canvasses were full, people started painting each other, or signed up for the free learn to surf lessons conducted by accredited surf coaches under the supervision of former world surfing champion Ant Brodowicz and stretched in Yoga sessions as the sun beat down.
Forecast of similar waves and weather on Wednesday promises a grand finale for the event when R20 000 in prize-money and ratings points on the Pro Surf Tour rankings will ensure red-hot surfing action and all the beach festival fun will continue.
The series started in Durban in September, and after the Margate leg finishes this evening, will continue with a Fun Day in Jeffreys Bay on 17 December, before concluding in Cape Town on the weekend 3 & 4 February 2007.
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