Weskus Water Plan

WESKU TRESTLES: YoYos is a super fun wave up the West Coast. Photo WSL / Thurtell

According to Operations Manager of WSL Africa Colin Fitch, the water source that supplies Lamberts Bay, the Clanwilliam dam, is at six percent (the lowest in its known record) "so we basically are having an event in a desert, even in winter". Water officials have warned that the water in the area was "slowly turning undrinkable". Fitch is concerned for the health of competitors, particularly internationals who might be sensitive to new bacteria.

He called for people to donate water in return for coverage in the event media and a presence on the beach. He wanted to make sure that "all our surfers and officials have good water during the event and at the end we can leave the balance of the water behind to help those in need".

DRY SEASON: Organisers are bringing lots of water with them due to drought. Photo WSL / Thurtell

Fitch said he had asked the surfers to bring water with them, and to bring an extra five litres for those less fortunate in the town. Western Cape dams are at critical levels after a dry winter last year, and there is the gloomy prospect of average or less than average winter rainfall this year.

The surf break of YoYo’s in Lamberts will host the second edition of the Vans Surf Pro Classic, adding a World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 rated event for women to the QS1,000 men’s and JQS1,000 junior men’s events held for the first time last year.

Set for Friday to Sunday 2-4 June, entries for all three events as full after attracting competitors from as far afield as Hawaii, USA, Australia, South America and Japan, all of whom are keen to test their skills at the break dubbed the ‘Trestles’ of Africa after the outstanding waves they had last year.

FEBRUARY MARCHES ON: Mikey is on a mission, and has momentum. Photo WSL / AVG

“Vans is honoured to be able to host the 2nd annual Vans Surf Pro Classic in the quiet fishing town of Lamberts Bay with its excellent waves,” says Vans Marketing Manager Warren Talbot. “Following the success of last year we have attracted more international interest, which will provide a highly contestable arena for our local QS campaigners. We here at Vans would like to wish all the competitors the best of luck.”

A prize purse of R70,000 is on offer along with coveted rankings points on the WSL QS leaderboard for men and women which determine their qualification for and seeding in events worldwide. The junior men earn points that count towards selection of the WSL Africa squad who will represent the region in the annual WSL World Junior Championships in Australia in January 2018.

GOING LEFT: Max Elkington is another competitor to look out for. Photo WSL / Thurtell

The points from all events also count towards crowning the 2017 WSL Africa regional champions, titles which are currently held by defending Vans Surf Pro Classic winner Beyrick de Vries (uMhlanga), Faye Zoetmulder (Cape St Francis) and Adin Masencamp (Strand).

The addition of the QS1,000 women’s event has seen the event grow from two to three days and it will again be hosted by the local West Coast Boardriders Club - under the watchful high of iconic Cape Town shaper Dutchie - with the invaluable assistance of the volunteers from Christian Surfers South Africa.

Live scoring for the Vans Surf Pro Classic, along with results, images, video footage and news will be available on the www.worldsurfleague.com website.