Brothers in Arms

The call was made on Thursday morning, the green light was given and like a wildfire it burned hard and fast across the social media. It was a ballsy call to make, for two months the 60 invitees waited, the amber light glowed half heartedly once or twice, the odd sneaky swell snuck into the bay, work schedules were re-arranged, that sick note was re-written, and weekend get-aways were cancelled. Had the wait really come to an end?

Thursday midday, the reef was flat. 3pm came and the ocean started stirring, 5pm and the reef was howling onshore and solid. Last light Reza and Brian Hope the last guys out in a ugly mutant growing swell. That is how quickly things can change in a couple of hours.

5am Friday morning and the car park is semi full a half hour before the sun peeks its head over the Hottentots Holland Mountains on the far side of False Bay. Its dark, its cold and it’s very wet. Word filters through that the Brass Bell had taken a hammering during the night, windows lost, computers drowned. As if on cue another heaving wall of water hits the harbour wall and explodes 20ft into the air. The faithful sit huddled under the New Balance Gazebo, watching two kids from Stellenbosch attempt to paddle out in pouring rain and near darkness. Their attempt ended not long after with both getting washing in and not even making the back line. It was solid, it was ugly, it was mean, it was here. The wait was over.

As the morning wore on the car park filled. Invitee’s made their way to registration, paid their dues and received their official contest Hemporium T-Shirts. The word had spread and local pro surfers were waiting on the sidelines, hoping there would be no shows. There weren’t many, Chris Bond got in, and even managed a good heat draw, Frank Solomon and Matt Bromley, however were released to the safety of the Brass Bell.

With a dead low tide approaching and Spring low only a few days off, it soon dawned that the first bunch of heats were going to be canon fodder, and as expected these heats saw the most upsets, the worst wipe outs and not the most entertaining display of Kalk Bays beauty.

The highest scoring bodyboarding heat of the morning saw Byron Loubser surf his heart out and it still wasn’t good enough for the old guard of Dwalla and Ross Painter. For the surfers however, this was the heat that saw the worst wipe-outs, all by the same guy, Justin Stevens. It also saw the first snapped board and the second snapped board, again, Justin Stevens. And wait for it, he won the heat. Shows you what a gung-ho/can-do positive attitude can have. He put it all on the line, and reaped the reward.

The next heat however was the lowest scoring heat of the day. But in a contest, that’s just how things are and as a contestant you make the most of what’s on offer. In a side note of reef politics, this heat saw the younger Geffroy brother take on the older Geffroy brother, and win. Another upset. This heat also saw the elimination of local legend, Alan Robb, to another local legend, Ian Armstrong.

The stand out of the morning was the little fella, Jordy Maree. This kid is going places. For such a young guy he showed huge balls. He bravely paddled out into pretty mean conditions, a lot of big water and some big names around him. Held his wits, picked his waves, got two stand-up barrels backed up with some solid gouging turns and floaters and won his heat. The car park… was silent.

As the morning progressed, more water filled into the reef, the rain stopped and the car park started humming. Dave Coleman from Ours made sure no-one when cold or hungry with hand delivered tasty treats and hot coffee flying around the car park. By lunch time it was standing room. Old ladies in comfy camping chairs, school kids in uniform, curious tourists, photographers, surfers, girlfriends and the kitchen sink came to behold what was unfolding.

The first cull had happened, the group of 60 was now 24 and the quarters had begun. Someone in Government must have heard about the SHOOTOUT in Kalk Bay as from the time the boys hit the water, the backline was dominated by a flotilla of heavily armoured naval war ships and strike craft. It was a surreal picture if anything.

The car park had spilled over into every available viewing position in Kalk Bay. The main roads coffee shops and restaurants were alive with people. The talk was only of what was happening on the reef, who did what, who got tubed and who was through to the next round. An inspection of the Brass Bell found waves bashing through into what would normally be a full dining area. Upstairs, the Llandudno crew (Cpt Kai, Khimal, Tristan Gardener, Neil Zietsman and Jem Johnson) had joined Frank and Matt at the best table in the house, content to watch Kalk Bay unload to the tune of cold beers and good food.

The quarter finals saw the wind switch and the onset of high tide, the conditions mellowed to flawless 6 foot bombs detonating on a barnacle and urchin encrusted reef in a soft offshore breeze. The sun was out and the contestants were smiling. The level of riding on both sides of the coin was of a very high calibre. Those that were hungriest soon emerged from the pack, big drops, heavy barrels, big finishing moves was the order of the day.

Highlights included the arrival of Ian Armstrong back at the reef. Ian has been quiet of late, hasn’t been seen in the water this side for a while, but it didn’t show as he dominated his heats with gut wrenching backside tube riding and monstrous floaters.

The bodyboarder were all on fire. You could see Aden Kleve was hungry, Jayden was quiet yet dominant, but the surprise highlight was Roger Pardoe who opened eyes with a powerful display of clean tube riding and massive finishing moves. He was a good bet for the final.

Semi Final 2 was the heat of the event. Take nothing away from the final, but this semi was nail-biting stuff.

Ian Armstrong vs. Josh Salie and Aden Kleve vs. Roger Pardoe.

Ian went big, Josh went bigger. Again Ian goes bigger than before, and so does Josh. No one knows which way the judges are swinging. This isn’t the ASP, there is no live stream. Who is taking it? The same can be said for the battle between Roger and Aden. Both picked off large sets, both got stupidly barrelled and both finished powerfully. You just didn’t know who took it? The result was probably the most eagerly awaited in the car park. Josh Chigome announces that Aden and Josh need to stay in the water. They were due to meet the mad man of the event, Justin Stevens and current Shootout champ, Jayden Alfred-Loots in the final. And we have the main course for the day. Dinner is served.

The final was fought in fading light, that hour lost this morning could soon come into play. The sets kept rolling and the ocean had glassed off to a mirror. End of the day, all the finalists that lined up on the reef that evening deserved to be there, including Craig, the forgotten Kneeboarder of K-Bay. A local non-contestant, surfing in the final, with friends, most contests would have a freak out, but this wasn’t most contests and this just added to the unique flavour of the Kalk Bay Shootout.

Ok back to the surfing: Jayden opened with massive tube; Aden hooked a smaller thicker one and didn’t come out. Jayden boosts a massive invert, Aden finds a spitting barrel. The pendulum swings one way then the other.

If Josh Salie went into the final hot, he was now on fire. Powerful tube riding followed by creative floater and huge bashes saw him put one hand on the crown. Justin Stevens wasn’t to be out done and threw his all into his backside attack. He knew he was the under dog and surfed like a man possessed.

The final hooter announced the end of the heat, the day and the shootout. As the light faded over False Bay, the car park slowly filtered over the road to OUR’s for the crowning of the new Kings of the Reef.

Luke Jordaan announced the winners. Congrats to Jayden Alford-Loots (BB) and Josh Salie (Surfing) -The 2012 Kalk Bay Shootout Champs!

Well done to Ian Armstrong, Darren Bonner, and Justin Stevens- Ian for hooking an all time barrel and walking away with the wave of the day award. Darren took the biggest air drop award and Justin Stevens received a get well Hamper from Wavescape for the biggest wipeout award.

An epic day was had by all, big thanks to everyone who made it possible, and to everyone who was apart of it, in and out the water!

A special mention must be made to Andrew and Luke, who refers to themselves as two palookas trying to put on an event, this day, was a day to remember. Smooth as clockwork, the world cup wasn’t as well oiled as this.

Dave Coleman and his crew at Ours Café for providing epic food and coffee the whole day and then playing host to an amazing Awards ceremony.

Ross Nortiers aunt for providing the most epic judging perch on earth.

To the KBC for coming out and representing in conditions that counted.

And finally to the sponsor of this years Kalk Bay Shootout.

• Thiel Board Co. (TBC)
• New Balance
• Wavescape
• Lifestyle Surf Shop
• Surf Zone
• Shokoloza
• David Green Eyewear
• David Stubbs
• David Bucklow
• "Ours" coffee shop and bakery
• Dakine
• Mrs Palmers
• Nixon 

Without them, none of this was possible, so till next year, you can relax now and you can go back to work.