In glittering waves Pete Devries pulled out all the stops to outsurf formidable competition from the Bruhwiler brothers and Shannon Brown to claim the top slot for the sixth year running during the 8th Annual Rip Curl Pro Tofino May 31-June 1. With more than $25,000 on the line in nine different divisions more than 1,000 contestants and spectators flooded the western Vancouver Island jewel to take in the action at Cox Bay.
“The conditions were really challenging actually,” Devries said of the Men’s Pro final. “The waves were fun but with the wind swell it was really hard to position yourself in the right spot. I felt like I was surfing well but I just didn’t feel like I got the opportunities on a lot of the waves.”
Rip Curl brought in reps and retail staff from across the country to witness the Canadian Surfing Association’s national surfing championship. Even one of their USA team members made the journey and was stoked to be able to get a taste of Canada’s west coast ocean spray behind the lens for the brand.
A couple Canadian ex-pats now living in the Dominican Republic hopped a flight to get their boards in the northern waters to make their mark here en route to wider International Surfing Association opportunities.
Watching the wave forecast on MagicSeaweed.com in the days leading up to the event things didn’t exactly look massive. But by the time contestants paddled out for the first time Saturday at least one of them was describing the pummeling small but powerful wave and rip current combination as “like a treadmill.” In fact judges had to repeatedly send word down to surfers prepping for their heat, urging them to do their best to stay within the official contest area, since the rip kept jettisoning them towards Chesterman Beach. You can’t win a comp if the judges can’t see you. And what would the Rip Curl Pro be with out a little bit of rip anyway?
While the conditions threatened to be questionable at a few moments – such as the Sunday morning fog that treated guests to a little bit of the Island mystique, but doesn’t exactly scream “beach day” – the vast majority of this year’s competition was nothing but unbridled sunshine, warm air and chill times. Even the waves showed up, at least to allow the masters to carve their watery woodwork from waves that averaged in the 4-6 foot territory. No question there was lots of pumping action across the board as surfers worked to gain speed, but it was always more than possible. Plus the waves felt warm for Cox Bay standards.
Sara Taylor, Cath Bruhwiler, Hanna Scot and Jenna Balester are familiar foes in the water, and the rivalry was evident over the course of the two-day event. But ultimately when push came to shove this time it was Balester who walked away $1,500 richer with a big smile on her face as the Women’s Pro winner.
In the Men’s Pro final round Raph got a few quick hits off the top to lock down some numbers before Sepp managed a few of his own nifty maneuvers along the changing wave face. Brown seemed to show some nerves, struggling to come up with a big one. Banking and twisting, Devries strutted his stuff adding sweeping cutbacks and an energetic performance to the mix.
“I kind of saw this right to the north end of the contest area,” Devries said. “Everyone was kind of looking at the lefts I could tell, judging by where everybody paddled out. I knew the tide was still filling in. It was getting softer and softer.”
He scored a series of coveted rights that did the trick. After getting knocked out in the first round Rip Curl surfer Noah Coen redeemed himself with a giant frontside air reverse into the flats to claim the style-based Monster Expression Session.
Mens Pro
1 – Pete Devries
2 – Sepp Bruhwiler
3 - Raph Bruhwiler
4 – Shannon Brown
Womens Pro
1 – Jenna Balester
2 – Cath Bruhwiler
3 – Hanna Scott
4 – Sara Taylor
Men’s Am
1 – Peter Edenburg
2 – Rory Miller
3 – Nick Haisch
4 – Dan Rodriquez
Men’s Longboard
1 – Robbie Ferguson
2 – Reid Jackson
3 – Heath Thompson
4 – Ollie Atkey
Women’s Longboard
1 – Sherrie Houghton
2 – Hanna Scott
3 – Leah Oke
4 – Emily Ballard
Masters
1 – Raph Bruhwiler
2 – Ben Murphy
3 – Jens Kalwa
4 – Greg Urata
5 – Jeremy Bowery
6 – Doug Ludwig
U16 Girls
1 – Mathea Dempfle-Olin
2 – Trinity Egles-McKinnon
3 – Abbi Venizelos
4 – Jenna Smith
5 – Ella Gilbert
6 – ivy Jacques
U16 Boys
1 – Max Self
2 – Brian Soutu
3 – Kalum Temple Bruhwiler
4 – Fred Sanford
5 – Reed Platenius
5 – Conner Alexander
7 – Cael Trim
U12 Girls
1 – Sanoa Dempfle-Olin
2 – Jasmine Porter
3 – Abbi Venizelos
4 – Aqua Bruhwiler
5 – Keanna Hasz
6 – Sofia Bruhwiler
U12 Boys
1 – Reed Platenius
2 – Freddy Sanford
3 – Conner Alexander
4 – Karson Gibson
5 – Braedon Nerplo
6 – Zachery Belisle-Leveille
7 – Kobe Bruhwiler
Legends
1 – Harold Sadler
2 – Ben Cockroft
3 – Anthony Redpath
4 – Mike Redpath
5 – Chris Buckle
6 – Tony Heald
Core Store
1 – Live to Surf
2 – Storm
3 – Alternative Groove
4 – Coastline
5 – Longbeach
6 – Westside
Monster Expression Session
Noah Coen - $1,000
