Local waveski wonder, Bruce Viaene surfed his way into the top five in the world waveski global rankings this weekend after securing a series win at the first ever Reef Royalty Waveski Open at Nahoon Reef.
Though he has won events internationally, this is Viaene’s first time in the coveted top five.
Nahoon Reef was a hive of activity over the weekend as waveski champions from around the world arrived with the hopes of moving up the rankings.
Viaene faced strong competition from French multiple-time world champion Virgile Humbert, however home advantage enabled Viaene to adapt faster to the conditions.
Weather and wave conditions changed drastically on Sunday, presenting bigger waves that Viaene used local knowledge to manoeuvre around.
This enabled him to achieve a final score of 12.37, beating Humbert who finished with 12.16.
The youngest competitor in the series, Trent Williams, from Durban, took home the junior division title with a final score of 10.33, an almost three-point advantage over his fellow SA competitor Kail Williams.
Williams said: “Nahoon Reef is very different compared to my home break in Durban because the waves are 10 times bigger and stronger and there are a lot more rocks.
“On my way out during heat one, I hurt myself and getting out beyond the break is really tough because the waves are very strong.
“The great thing about Nahoon, though, is that it gives surfers like me an opportunity to perfect our top turns and bottom turns which shows how great this beach is for technical displays.”
Winner in the women’s final, French competitor Oceane Lucas, beat SA’s Sandra Pienaar and Heleen Roussouw with a final score of 10.50.
Lucas said Nahoon Reef presented good opportunities to test out a surfer’s proficiency.
“In France we don’t have big waves — ours are very consistent in speed and height but at Nahoon the waves are difficult to predict, which adds to the thrill of the competition.
“The international competitors like me are being put to the test at Nahoon but its great because it gives us the opportunity to learn about the reef and the conditions here so that we can prepare to compete ahead of the world championships in Nahoon next year.”
East London will host the World Waveski Surfing Titles on June 30 2024.
Last year, SA, represented by sporting events company Creativ Bloc, secured the bid to host the titles, beating Australia for this honour.
Owner Trystan Viaene said this was a step forward in terms of hosting water sport events in Buffalo City.
She said: “There has not been a reef break event for the world championships in 16 years. It has always been a beach break event.
“This is a proper stage for the top athletes to perform and entertain.”
Viaene said the Reef Royalty event will be earmarked as an annual event, though its WWSA sanction will be applied for every year to confirm whether participation will count towards the world rankings.
She said: “We have a vision to keep bringing the Reef Royalty Open back here to make it the best local competition in the country.
“Next year we will have a nine-day double header with the world event and Reef Royalty Open which will lead to a lot of revenue coming into Buffalo City,” she said.
