Surf Beach 68

Dane "Patto" Patterson (Berea) defeated local hero Frankie Oberholzer (Warner Beach)
to win the inaugural Baggies Surf Pro in Amanzimtoti. The 3A rated ASP Africa Pro Surf
Tour (PST) contest was the first event on the 2006 pro surfing calendar and the first time
a pro surfing event has been held in Amanzimtoti.



Patterson didn't waste any time in the pro men's final when he opened up with a strong
7.5-point ride. The entire final was closely contested with the lead changing hands
numerous times between Patterson, Oberholzer and Warwick Wright (Durban).



A great exchange of rides from all surfers marked the end of this nail-biting final,
Patterson never lost focus and snatched victory on his last wave just one point ahead of
Oberholzer who enjoyed the support from his home crowd. After winning his semi-final
clash Ricky Basnett (Bluff) was forced to settle for fourth overall.



"I only decided to enter the Baggies Surf Pro on Wednesday, so I lost my seeding and
had to surf from round one all the way through to the final. It's great to have an event at
Amanzimtoti and we've had some fun waves throughout the weekend." commented
Patterson.



Not only did Patterson win the event he was also handed the Zigzag Blowing Up Award
for his outstanding, consistent performance and he was even more pleased about
pocketing another R1, 000 which took his weekend's earnings up to R7, 000.



An upset occurred in the second women's semi-final when Warner Beach's Sarah
Johnston-Maritz fell short by only 0.2-points of advancing to the final.



In the pro women's final the top seed Rosanne Hodge (East London) took control early
on by posting two good scores (5.0 and 5.5). Stacey Guy (Melkbosstrand) came within
striking distance, posting a 6.33 in the second half of the final but wasn't able to back it up
with another high scoring ride. With only 45 seconds left Guy took off on a promising
looking wave, unfortunately for her she fell which left Hodge to catch her last wave with
only seconds to go, posting a 6.67 and sealing victory.



"I'm really happy but also surprised that I won because everyone was getting waves in
the final. The conditions were pretty hard with the wind picking up during the day, so it
was tricky to find the right waves. Winning the Baggies Surf Pro is a great start to the year
and a confidence booster for upcoming events." said Hodge.



Mike Varikas (Durban) won the Seabreeze Home and Builders Expression Session for
boosting a spectacular massive air-reverse, he pocketed R2000 for the radical
manoeuvre.



The R30 000 Baggies Surf Pro was deemed to be a major success by event organizer
Frank Horn who is looking forward to staging the contest again in 2007.



Amanzimtoti is situated on the Strelitzia coast and boasts two world class beach breaks
next door to each other at Warner Beach. The bustling upper south coast town of
Amanzimtoti is a breeding ground for top surfers. For more information on Amanzimtoti
please visit www.amanzimtoti.info and to find out more
about the city of Durban, South Africa's playground go to www.durbansouthafrica.co.za <
http://www.durbansouthafrica.co.za/>



The Baggies Surf Pro was made possible by Durban Africa, Ferox Investments - the
developers of the Blue Bay Winkelspruit shopping complex, South Coast Motors,
Sandcastle Guesthouse and the eThekwini Municipality.