I Love The Rain – which is probably a good thing as there is some coming later this week – Photo Of The Day
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recent POTD – A Tiny Cute Hamster for our latest Photo Of The Day
Standing, Tony Yoell, Margaretha de Bruin, Hester Munnick, Rtn Ivan Beamont, Eva’s daughter, kneeling Herman Wenke. Sitting Eva Steytler and Elizabeth Hendriks.
St Francis Bay – St Francis Rotarians are partnering with the wonderful optometrists who give of their time to run the Eye Clinic at St Francis Clinic in Sea Vista, to provide the Gift of Sight to some of the most needy. The joint project aims to facilitate desperately needed cataract operations for those members of this disadvantaged community who would otherwise face the almost impossible prospect of getting surgery through distant government hospitals in Port Elizabeth.
With the very kind intervention and assistance of Margaretha De Bruin from Blink Optometrist and Tony Yoell, a retired Optometrist, seven patients were selected for Cataract Surgery this month.
Rotary Club of St Francis made payment for the cost of the surgeries, which are the hire of theatre and cost of drugs and equipment required. Our patients were taken to Jeffeys Bay for lens measurement and then, with the use of a state ambulance, were taken to the Eye Clinic in PE for surgery by Dr du Toit who is also donating his services for this project.
All seven patients had successful operations on one eye, under the watchful eye of both Tony and Margaretha who accompanied these folk to and from PE.
The day after surgery, Margaretha performed post op inspections and treatment. Sight recovery will take weeks to normalize and 100% recovery will depend on the length of time these folk have been living with their disability.
It was an emotional experience for the carers and all present, highlighting the need to continue with this. Our sincere thanks and appreciation go to those wonderful professionals who are giving so generously of their time and expertise to make this possible!
Read More: Golden Oldies Gift Bags Project Launched By Rotary St Francis For This Year
All our winners – back L-R: Louise Lepront, Ben Esterhuyse, Leah Lepront, Taylor Emslie, Rory Dace
Front L-R Brin Jarvis, Leo Mcleod, Levi Epenetos © Kai Wulff
Seal Point, Cape St Francis – In small and onshore conditions, Taylor Emslie and Rory Dace emerged victorious in the premier U16 Division at the Rip Curl GromSearch Final event presented by Sea Harvest and the Kouga Municipality. When all the points had been tallied, Louise Lepront and Rory Dace were the clear series winners. They received an entry into the Rip Curl Global Finals in November and a R20k travel voucher for their travels.
Rory Dace was on a tear © Kai Wulff
The best junior surfers battled it out in challenging conditions at Seal Point for event trophies, prizemoney and series points. The demanding conditions didn’t slow anyone down, and there was some red-hot and innovative surfing, some spirited performances and, on occasion, some serious rock-dodging going down.
In the U12 Girls final, local goofy-footer Brin Jarvis took the honours, beating Ella Van Der Made into second position, with Adriana Canning and Camilla Prins third and fourth, respectively.
Another local surfer and goofy-footer, Leo Macleod, caused an upset in the U12 Boys Division with a decisive win, defeating Levi Vosloo. Seal Point local Slayde Shooter was third, and Marcello Zedde was fourth.
Leah Lepront took out the U14 Girls division in a closely fought final. “It was tricky out there, and rocks were popping up on most waves, but I managed to get what I needed,” said Lepront after the final. “Lila also got a few, but I’m stoked about the win. Thanks to my family for all the support.” She beat Lila Aszalos into second, Jasmine Venter came third, and Camilla Heuer was fourth.
Ben Esterhuyse is one of the most winningest surfers of the 2024 Rip Curl GromSearch series, triumphing in most of the events and making several finals in the U16 division. “It has been a good season so far; stoked with the win, and I plan on taking this energy with me to SA Champs next week in JBay,” said a very happy Esterhuyse after his win was announced. “A big shout out to my parents who get me to all these events and ensure I am ready and prepared for every contest.” He beat Levi Vosloo in second, with Sebastian Copson and Slayde Shooter in the minor positions.
Louise Lepront continued her winning ways in taking out the U18 Girls division with a decisive win over Anastasia Venter. Finding a few gems in the rough, she put her powerful backhand to work and was awarded big scores. Opening up with a solid 7.17 score, she was out in front from the beginning, and the rest of the competitors were playing catchup. Venter was pushing hard but couldn’t get a score to match Lepront’s opening ride, and victory went to Lepront. Emily Jenkinson was third in the final, with Catherine Jacob in fourth.
Levi Epenetos was on fire in the U18 Boys, eventually defeating Loghann Tilsley in an exciting final. Tilsley had found form the entire event with some massive scores in the earlier rounds and was looking the dangerman in the final. Still, Epenetos found waves with open faces and got the scores with his backhand hooks. Luc Lepront and Kane Johnstone battled to find decent waves and settled for third and fourth places, respectively.
In the Premier U16 Girls division, Taylor Emslie caused a major upset by taking out the highly-rated Louis Lepront in this final. Emslie was trailing Lepront but picked up one absolute gem of a wave and performed some critical turns on the open face for a well-deserved score of 6.33 to sneak into the lead. Lepront was chasing a 4.16 – a difficult score to find in the dwindling conditions – and a last-ditch effort on a small wave was unsuccessful. Emslie – a Buffalo City surfer – was the very stoked and deserving winner, with Lepront in second, Jasmine Venter in third and Emily Jenkinson in fourth.
Taylor Emslie on her winning wave © Kai Wulff
The Premier U16 Boys was a tumultuous affair. Loghann Tilsley had a strong lead from the start, but local surfer Rory Dace was hot on his heels. Rory needed just over 7 points to take the lead and picked up a rough-looking wave that opened up for him on the inside, and he managed to get a few big hits for a score of 7.33 and the lead. With only 3 minutes left, the ocean teased and toyed with the competitors but produced nothing more of any value to the surfers. Dace hung onto the lead until the final siren to take the win.
“After my first turn, I knew that I had a good score coming out, but I just didn’t know how good it was going to be,” said Dace. “The wave closed out on me right on the inside, so I was trying to get another move in, and I knew it would be close. Luckily, the judges gave me the score needed.” The final result had Dace in front, with Tilsley behind him second. Josh Malherbe and Tristan Gaylard Ralfe were third and fourth.
The Premier U16 Series Winners were decided on the surfers’ top four out of five GromSearch series results. Once their results had been finalised, Louise Lepront and Rory Dace emerged as the clear winners, and they will be competing in the Rip Curl GromSearch Global Finals in Bali in November. They both won a R20k travel voucher to assist them with this trip, sponsored by Zigzag Magazine and supported by Sea Harvest and The Royal St Andrews Hotel.
Louis Lepront and Rory Dace © Kai Wulff
The Rip Curl GromSearch had a live feed, which you can find on the SuperSport Schools app. The app allows you to replay the heats from the event. Register, log in, and use the search function to search for Rip Curl.
Surfing images from Day Three can be found and downloaded from Google Drive; please remember to tag the event #ripcurlgromsearchseals and credit the photographer @louiswulff
The final results of all the final heats can be found on LiveHeats.
The Rip Curl GromSearch contest series is run by Surfing South Africa and supported by Sea Harvest. This tournament was supported by Kouga Municipality, with WiFi by TCS WiFi.
Complimentary high-resolution images are available for media outlets.
Read more: Small Waves and Big Scores for Day Two Of The Rip Curl GromSearch Seal Point
Seal Point, Cape St Francis – Small Waves and Big Scores were the order of the day for the second day of the Rip Curl GromSearch Seal Point presented by Sea Harvest and The Kouga Municipality.
This contest, the fifth and final event in the five-part series, will decide the series winners and award the two U16 division winners special prizes. The U16 Girls and Boys winners will win an entry into the Rip Curl GromSearch International Finals in Bali in November and a R20k travel voucher to be used towards this event. Zigzag Magazine, Sea Harvest, and the Royal St Andrews Hotel in Port Alfred sponsored the prizes, along with Rip Curl.
Early round heats were punctuated by small-wave wizardry and some rock dodging as the conditions headed toward equinox low tide conditions.
Slayde Shooter and Judah Levendal showed supremacy in the U12 Boys division. Maya Malherbe and Camilla Heuer were in charge of the U14 Girls’ division and posted high heat scores to win their respective quarters. Mikayla Jefferis also stood out in this division.
Mikayla Jefferis (JBay) © Kai Wulff
In the Boys’ U14 division, Rip Curl surfer Ben Esterhuyse dominated, winning easily with 14.17 over Levi Vosloo in second in their quarter-final match-up and one of the day’s highest heat totals
In the U16 girls’ division, Louise Lepront entered the fray and showed her skills, displaying powerful surfing on her backhand and securing her spot in the semifinals. She went on to smash her U18 division quarter-final heat with an unbeatable heat total of 15.40 points, leaving everyone in the heat in a combination situation (two new rides needed by each competitor). It was small waves and big scores all the way.
© Kai Wulff
In the competitive U16 Boy’s division, Rory Dace advanced to the semifinals, along with Adam Faclier, Josh Malherbe, Rylan Jarvis, Loghann Tilsley and Matt Canning, among others.
The Rip Curl GromSearch has a live feed, which you can find on the SuperSport Schools app. Register, log in, and use the search function to search for Rip Curl.
Surfing images from Day Two can be found and downloaded from Google Drive; please remember to tag the event #ripcurlgromsearchseals and credit the photographer @louiswulff
Follow the contest on LiveHeats for heat scores in real-time.
The Rip Curl GromSearch contest series is run by Surfing South Africa and supported by Sea Harvest. This tournament is supported by Kouga Municipality, with WiFi by TCS WiFi.
Last week, I attended two financial planning conferences. I believe that ongoing learning is vital to getting and staying at the top of one’s game. What was particularly refreshing about these events was having financial planners from the United Kingdom attend and present on how they run their businesses and advise their clients.
Much like our approach at Client Care, these financial planners’ focus is on more than just their clients’ money, but also on how to help them live their best life with what they have. Dan Haylett, one of the speakers, uses sketches to illustrate to his clients concepts he believes are important. One sketch that really resonated with me highlights what he believes to be the two most important words for any retiree: YES and NO.
At the outset, this may seem like an easy concept to follow, but in real life, it is often a lot harder to do. A good way to apply this would be to write down two lists. The first should contain all the things that make your life happy, fulfilling, and meaningful. This could include things such as time with family and the people you care about, any hobbies that you enjoy, be it golf or reading, or causes or passions that allow you to fulfil your personal values.
The second list might be a bit harder to draft, as we have to admit to things we really loathe or things that stress us out but we still do because we believe we are expected to do them. We all have people that count on us in different ways, be it financially or emotionally. We need to make sure that we keep a healthy balance here because, to be able to be there for others, we first need to be in a good place ourselves.
Once the lists have been drawn up, we should see which is longer, as that is likely to indicate our current mental, physical, and emotional state. The ideal balance we want is to have a lot more things on the YES list than on the NO list, so this is a “healthy imbalance”.
One might find that on each list, there is low-hanging fruit: things we can do on the YES list and things we can stop doing on the NO list. Next would be to take a hard look at the things that make our gut churn when we think about them and explore ways of getting rid of them forever. This may be tough, but imagine life after taking action!
Thank goodness we are all different, so no two people’s lists should look the exact same, and we should respect that, especially with our significant other (spouse). Do this together or try it alone, it might surprise you how easy it is to do!
Dirk Groeneveld, Certified Financial Planner.
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