16 February 2007
The Quiksilver Goodwave, a unique event on the world surfing calendar, in which optimum conditions are sought over an 11-month waiting period, got the green light on Tuesday, freeing 32 of South Africa's finest surfers to do battle at Durban's New Pier.
When it was over, local surfer Antonio Bortoletto pocketed the R60 000 winner's cheque.
The aim of the contest is to identify the single best surfing day of the year to ensure an exciting and spectacular event.
Conditions were windy and the surf hollow as the Durbanites, many of whom call New Pier home, made their presence felt, none more so than Bortoletto.
Made a statement
He faced Gavin Roberts in the final and made a statement early on in the heat with an epic wave to take a lead which he never relinquished. A strong finish on a massive wave, that included some huge off-the-tops, secured Bortoletto the honours.
Roberts impressed throughout his path to the final, scoring some of the best tubes of the event, but despite surfing a brilliant final with good tube rides and powerful hooks, he was unable to keep the momentum going against a rampant Bortoletto.
Warwick Wright showed his World Qualifying Series (WQS) experience with some massive backhand turns in the large surf, but was unable to find any of the barrels that were getting the high scores.
Just in time
"Wok", as he is known, flew in from Brazil on the morning of the competition and made his first heat with just 12 minutes to spare. He fought a day-long battle with fatigue and jet-lag, to do well in placing third in the final.
Fourth-placed Jason Ribbink, who chose to surf without a leash for the entire event, was completely out of the picture in the final after peaking in his semi with two nine-plus point tube rides. Despite holding the inside position for most of the heat he failed to find any of the high scorers in the final, as his challenge included a big over-the-falls wipeout on his first wave.
Ultimately, the event belonged to Antonio Bortoletto. The New Pier local showed the speed, timing and innate barrel sense that comes from surfing the wave on his backdoor every day of his life. For Bortoletto, who is a WQS campaigner, it has been a while since he claimed a big win and the victory will no doubt help boost his confidence back to the top levels.
'Really good for the surfers'
"I want to thank all you guys at Quik for the event. It's a really exciting event when the waves come and one that is really good for the surfers," said Bortoletto on the victory podium.
Wesley O'Driscoll earned honorary mention in the awards and won a special prize for his semi-final performance.
He picked up the wave of the contest in the semifinals, scoring the only perfect 10 of the event for a long and perfect tube, which left him needing a negligible 2.2 ride to get through to the final. Unbelievably he couldn't find the score and was eliminated from the event.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
|
