Congratulations to Cape St Francis Resort for their Beach Break accommodation winning the provincial Lilizela Award in the Self Catering Shared Accommodation Category. Beach Break was a National winner in 2018.

And congratulations too to Eric and Esti on taking home two awards in, one for the ever popular Chokka Trail selected as the Best Beach Experience and for the Baviaans Camino in the Action and Adventure category. Chokka Trail was also a National winner in 2018.

Read https://stfrancistoday.com/eastern-cape-iilizela-tourism-awards/

Some of the events that are on at the annual Calamari Festival this weekend

Event: Billabong Seal Point Pro Junior 2019

Status: WSL JQS 1,000 rated events for U18 Boys & Girls, SAST events for U16 & U14 Boys & Girls, and U12 Boys & Girls.

Venue: Seal Point, Cape St Francis, Eastern Cape

Dates: September 20 – 22.

Seal Point, Cape St Francis – The best junior surfers in the country are arriving in Seal Point for the Billabong Seal Point Pro Junior 2019 this weekend. Kicking off on Friday 20 September, the surf forecast for the contest has signs that it might be an epic weekend of surfing at the ever-consistent Seal Point, with good winds predicted, and plenty of swell around for the competitors to display their top surfing skills to the judges.

Seal Point lineup © Thurtell

This event is possibly one of the most crucial junior surfing tournaments of the year, with much at stake for the competitors. Firstly there are the stand-alone event results, with surfers wanting to win this contest for points and prize money. In the WSL Pro Junior divisions, the top 3 men and top 2 women will be selected to represent the Africa region for the WSL World Juniors in Taiwan at the end of the year.   

Apart from the biggest annual surfing event of the year, there is a lot more going on in town this weekend, with the nearby town of St Francis holding their Calamari Tops Wine Festival on Friday. There is the annual local Calamari Cook-Off on Saturday in the village, The Calamari Classic Golf Tournament is taking place at the St Francis Golf Club over the weekend, and the St Francis Runners are holding their Nautical Half Marathon through St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis on Sunday. It promises to be a busy but action-packed weekend in the neighbourhood.

The WSL Africa Men’s Junior Tour is currently being led by Luke Thompson, the recent winner of the BOS Cape Crown, with Eli Beukes and Luke Slijpen hot on his heels, and Thomas Lindhorst and Mitch Du Preez not far behind. Luke Thompson has had a breakout year this year, and is no doubt looking to clinch it at this tournament.

In the WSL Africa Women’s Junior Tour rankings, Ceara Knight, another recent BOS Cape Crown winner, is out in front with a decent lead over second ranked Zoe Steyn, and with Kayla Nogueira in third place going in to this event. Aimee Du Preez and Sarah Scott make up the remainder of the top five positions.

In the SAST U16 Boys division, all eyes will be on Daniel Emslie, Luke Van Wyk and Reilly Mare, while in the U16 Girls division it is also about Zoé Steyn, Ceara Knight and Kayla Nogueira.

In the SAST U14 Boys division there is much excitement and anticipation for this event. The powerful River Gericke is currently leading the pack, but Seal Point stand-out Nathan Plomaritis is in second and must be confident going into this event. Similarly, Connor Slijpen is in third, but local ripper Joel Dace is snapping at his heels.

“We are looking forward to the Billabong Seal Point Pro Junior 2019,” said Billabong South Africa Marketing Manager Chad D’Arcy. “Our junior surfers are on the up, and we are immensely proud to support junior surfing in the country as we have for the last 22 years in various forms and over many different sponsorships. Good luck to all contestants.”

Seals early morning set-up © Thurtell

Billabong Seal Point Pro Junior 2019 runs from Friday to Sunday and there will be a prize giving on the beach afterwards. 

For media queries contact  –  Craig Jarvis  –  info@craigjarvis.co.za  –  082 376 4443


Kouga Municipality has slashed its annual Telkom bill by a massive 76% over the past two years.

Kouga Corporate Services Portfolio Councillor Bryan Dhludhlu said the savings were made possible by the upgrade of the municipal private automatic branch exchange (PABX) system in 2017.

“Three years ago, when the new Council took its place, the municipality’s annual Telkom bill totaled between R2-million and R3-million. We are very proud that we have been able to decrease this to R577 000 for the 2018/2019 financial year,” he said.      

He said that as part of the PABX upgrade, voice over internet protocol (VOIP) lines were activated.

“This means that instead of copper voice carrier lines such as those used by Telkom, the internet facility and radio network of the municipality is now being used to make calls.

“This enabled us to start cancelling the Telkom lines were in phases,” he explained.

“Before the installation of the new PABX system, the municipality’s Telkom account was constantly in the region of R 230 000 to 250 000 per month. 

“The average monthly PABX and call expenditure for the entire municipality is currently averaging R16 000 per month.”

PRAIA DE SANTA BARBARA, Sao Miguel – Azores Islands (Wednesday, September 18, 2018) –  The Azores Islands Pro resumed in picture-perfect conditions on the morning of Day 2 with three-to-four foot waves and a glassy lineup. The remaining 12 heats of Round 1 were completed in beautiful waves, but unfortunately mild side-onshore winds came to spoil the party as soon as the top seeds in Round 2 paddled out.

Pictured: Long time QS contender Marc Lacomare (FRA) was a standout on the second ay of action. Credit: © WSL / Masurel

Current Qualifying Series No. 2 Alex Ribeiro (BRA) enjoyed the very last bit of the good half of the day in Heat 1, Round 2 and posted two decent scores to make his way into Round 3.

“I feel great and always love coming here,” Ribeiro said. “Conditions were a little bit slower than they’ve been but still super fun and I’m stoked to make my heat. The forecast is pretty exciting for the next few days so I look forward to competing more.”

Despite nursing an ankle injury sustained on this trip overseas, Jackson Baker (AUS) managed to surf through the pain and win his second heat in Azores. The Australian locked in the highest single score of the second round so far, a solid 7.50 for a massive forehand turns combination.

“When I first got injured I felt the worse and thought I was flying home,” Baker explained. “I left it a couple of days and the physio said it was only a sprain so I did everything I could to get here. I want to surf to my full potential but it still feels a bit stiff. I’m just trying to stay positive, that’s how I got through the injury and I’ll keep pushing through.”

Brasil’s Victor Bernardo broke a long stretch of early exits so far this year, with a solid performance to advance into Round 3. The dynamic regular foot went to the air as the wind continued to come up and landed two 6+ waves for the heat win.

“That onshore really got strong right before my heat,” Bernardo said. “I changed my whole plan, even my board choice, I grabbed a groveler and went for it. Surfing is all about keeping a positive mindset, I’ve lost in first rounds a lot but I know I can do it and will just keep doing my best. ”

Pictured: Nomme Mignot (FRA) will try to keep the ball rolling after a massive result in Galicia. Credit: © WSL / Masurel

Tahitian powerhouse Mihimana Braye (PYF) took the win in Heat 4 before once again competition was called off for the rest of the day as the tide neared its highest point and conditions really deteriorated. In the earlier heats, the biggest performance came from Frenchman Marc Lacomare (FRA) who destroyed the clean rights on his backhand to advance into Round 2 alongside Mitch Crews (AUS).

Competitors will be back at 7:45 a.m Thursday to potentially start back with Heat 5 of Round 2 featuring the recent runner-up in Pantin Jake Marshall (USA) as well as Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Samuel Pupo (BRA) and Ethan Ewing (AUS).

The Azores Islands Pro will unfold from September 17-22, 2019 at PRAIA DE SANTA BARBARA, Sao Miguel – Azores Islands. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to worldsurfleague.com.

The Azores Islands Pro are organized by DAAZ Eventos with the support of the following event partners:  Azores Airlines, Governo Regional dos Acores, Turismo dos Açores, Câmara Municipal da Ribeira Grande, SEAT , MEO amongst others.

Cathy Lethbridge thanks friends and community for the support the family has received in their time of grief

“To all of my dear friends, colleagues and the wonderful community that is St Francis

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to each and every one of you who reached out to me and my family in our time of need. Your caring and support has been what has carried us through this very dark time in our lives. I received so many messages from far and wide and so many beautiful flowers, Each and everyone was received with so much appreciation.

We received so much kind assistance in so many ways – to all of you who kept our family fed, and did anything they could think of to lift the burden of daily needs off our shoulders as we struggled to deal with this tragedy, we cannot thank you enough.

To all our wonderfully loyal staff – thank you all for standing by us in our time of need and holding the fort – you cannot know what a comfort this has been.

We would especially like to thank all of you who came to share Duncan’s funeral service with us. The number of people who came bears testament to how highly Duncan was regarded and how many lives he touched. To the NSRI – the guard of Honour and escort for the scattering of the ashes meant the world to us – as it would have done to Duncan. Duncan was so proud of this town which has been our home for 50 years, and your tributes would have touched him deeply as they have done for all my family.

We are so grateful to the dedicated SAPS detectives and forensics team for their compassion and determination to solve this crime and to pastor Lew Slade and the kind and generous congregation of the St Francis United Church for all their assistance.

What a wonderful community this is and let us all hope that something positive may yet come from all of this. Please continue all the good works to keep St Francis a safer place for all who live, work and holiday here.

As messages and tributes continue to pour in daily from all over the world, I take great comfort in the international boating community’s acknowledgement of my dear Duncan’s passion for his life’s work.

I would like to leave you with this link so that you can all share in the wonderful tribute published by Boating South Africa :

http://www.boatingsouthafrica.co.za/2019/09/05/rip_duncan-lethbridge/

Cathy Lethbridge and family”