Big AIR!

Canon EOS 7D

f9

1/400 sec.

ISO 100

Canon EFS 18-135mm IS 3.5-5.6 @ 135mm

The 2nd Pili Pili big air contest was held at Myoli Beach in Sedgefield yesterday. Myoli is notorious for large waves and strong winds during the summer months.

An enormous swell made for very interesting conditions during the event with waves reaching triple, maybe even four times overhead at the backline. The wind was unfortunately light which resulted in the competition being delayed for a few hours until it was strong enough. This gave the competitors time to go out and get used to the conditions which were a little scary to say the least. The size of the breakers at the back were enough to put you under for a while or stop you from getting past. Getting caught in a close out would not be somewhere anyone would want to be. Zak, pictured above, can attest to it.

The event saw the entry of 12 participants, including myself. Participating riders were mainly locals from Knysna, Sedgefield and George but there were a few people from other parts of the country. Divided into 4 groups of 3, we had 10 minutes to get in some serious jumps. The winner of each of the first rounds would then proceed into the final round in which there would be 4 contestants and a 15 minute window in which to compete. The competition would be judged on hang time (who can stay in the air for the longest).

At about 3pm it was decided that the wind was strong enough for the competition to commence. It was still a little light, only gusting up to about 17 knots which didn't make for particularly easy jumping conditions but a good amount of height could be achieved by ramping from one of the humongous waves that were breaking at the backline.

I was in the first heat and went on to win it, securing my place in the final. It was a battle as the wind was rather light and the massive swell meant it was very difficult to build ground upwind, forcing us all to have a quick dash downwind and hopefully a few jumps, then walk back up to the top of the beach. Each round was very close but eventually a rider from each prevailed and was placed into the final.

After an agonising 15 minutes of battling it out with the three other winners from previous rounds, Warren, a kiter from Johannesburg came out on top with a jump lasting over 5 seconds, quite an achievement for such light wind.

Overall the competition was a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part. The prize for best wipeout of the day went to Zak, who seemed to end up getting more than a fair share of beatings from the waves.

As i was competing i wasn't able to take many pictures. I did manage to grab my camera during the 3rd and 4th round however and get down to the waters edge to get some shots. In the picture above, Zak is walking back up the beach to get another run in, whilst watching on as Craig boosts from a wave in the background. You can see from the photograph that standing on the beach the horizon was not visible due to the massive swell!

Check back in soon!