Showing posts with label Vic Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vic Bay. Show all posts

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Venue


Victoria Bay is a small bay about 5km East of George, with a right-hand point break running off its Western edge. The point is the primary wave in the bay, but there is also a slaby left on the far side of the bay and a beach break. The point can get heavy when the swell jacks which can make the paddle out a little nervy. To make matters worse when making the jump there is a blind section where you simply have to commit, if you get it right it’s a dry hair paddle out, if you get it wrong, it can end in broken fins and embarrassment in front of the crowed on the pier.

For the super supporters if the contest is running there are a few other waves in the area which are worth a surf. Just south of Vic Bay there is Herold’s Bay which picks up more swell and can get super heavy. Less than an hour back down the N2 is Mossel Bay with Inner Pool and Outer Pool. While further up the coast you will also find waves at Wilderness and Buffalo Bay.

Vic Bay is situated a comfortable 4 hour drive from Stellenbosch so it makes the ideal first stop on a winter road trip. Many an epic university road trip has centred on the event before venturing further up the coast to Jeffries Bay and for the more intrepid travellers, even further north to the Transkei.

If you are interested in making the trip as part of the super support crew speak to Ricki Allardice who is standing in the club chairman Andrew Mandy as the prim of the Maties Surf Club at the event.

University Sport South Africa Surf Championships 2011


To surfers the month of June conjures up special images. Cold fronts pummelling the coast, bringing with them massive swell and epic surf. But for student surfers the month of June holds more than just the prospect of good surf. Exams loom large early in the month but towards the end of June there is a blinding light at the end of the dark tunnel of all night study sessions and exam trauma. In late June the top surfers from South Africa’s coastal universities meet for the annual University Surf Championships.

Dating back to 1968, the fierce rivalry in the water is equally matched by the unique party atmosphere on land. The competitive atmosphere was fostered in the first 26 years of the event by alternating the venue between Durban and the Cape. But then in 1994 the newly formed University Sport governing body took over the organising of the event and decided to make Seal Point the championships official home. For 16 years the sleepy holiday resort of Cape St. Francis was battered by hordes of students every June, before the decision was made to move the 2010 event south to Victoria Bay. The 2011 event sees the amphitheatre like Vic Bay once again hosting the eventfrom the 26th to the 30th of June, with Reef Wetsuits coming onboard as the title sponsors.

And so, with no further ado, this is the Maties Surf Club guide to the REEF WETSUITS SA STUDENTS SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS: