Twiggy wins 1 Wave

Twiggy's winning ride was an incredible wave, some people calling it 20-foot, ridden during the ground-breaking paddle session at Cloudbreak, off Tavarua Island, Fiji. The wave in question saw Twiggy pull into a treacherous barrel on his backhand and ride it to the safety of the channel in front of the rolling webcast cameras and gathered media.

"How lucky am I?" was all an emotional Baker could say at first on receiving his award of R30,000 and a Yamaha VX1100 WaveRunner valued at R120 000. This was on top of the R9 000 he had already earned for this month's win. His trip to Fiji wasn't the easiest. "It took up my entire budget for the year, and it was a big decision, but it obviously paid off and I got to experience something that will go down in the folklore of surfing history. For me as a free surfer, to be able to compete against the likes of Chad Du Toit, Matt Bromley, Brendon Gibbens and Dave Richards makes this event unique, and gives us all something to strive towards each season."

Apart from Twiggy's prize, there was also a prize for the videographer who captured the winning ride. All Aboard Surf Travel put together a package to the Macaronis Resort in the Mentawais for the winner and a mate, valued at R52 000, and this year it goes to Australian Talon Clemow, who filmed the winning ride in its entirety from the channel at Cloudbreak.

"It was a special day out at Cloudbreak that day with some insane rides, and Twiggy really showed his class in surfing that wave," said Clemow. "Now I'm looking forward to a few Macaronis shred sessions and am really appreciative to All Aboard for the prize, and to all the other sponsors who have helped this event have such great impact not only in South Africa, but globally as well."

The Oakley function in Ballito last night also served to reveal the Oakley Jordy Smith signature eyewear range to the public. Called the Jupiter Squared, Jordy is the first South African Oakley athlete to have his own Oakley signature series eyewear, a polarized range that will retail for R2 200.

To view Twiggy's incredible ride, and all the other finalists from the Oakley 1 Wave Wonder check out the event site: http://www.1wavewonder.co.za