After a stormy 10-foot east swell made competing at the primary event site at Nahoon a no-go, the protected Orient Beach played host to the Jesus Fish Festival on Saturday 2 November.

Brad Dalbock wallops the inside section at Orient Beach.

“It is normally a half foot dribbler…” said long-time local photographer Louis Wulff about the venue.

“But this day had head high sets pouring through, so I was keen to get some stuff.”

The event formed part of Christian Surfers’ East Coast Roadshow, and was well-attended by many of East London’s amped surf community.

The format for the event was different from your typical surf contest, in that all of the contestants surfed on the exact same board.

Five identical 5’9” quad fishes were sponsored by local businesses and churches for the event, with the intention of getting the surfers out of their comfort zone and forcing them to ride something a little different, as well as to level the playing field.

Surfers could choose their weapon, but the only real difference was the colour.

In the end, it was Michael Monk scooping top honours in the Juniors, while Cara MacDonald grabbed first place in the Ladies, Wayne Monk beat the rest in the Open division, and Nick Pike secured the win in the Bullets division.

These are a couple of highlights from what was a memorable event for those who attended.

Check out Christian Surfers’ blog for more about the fun day of fellowship and ripping.

JESUS FISH FESTIVAL RESULTS:

JUNIORS:
1st – Michael Monk
2nd – Todd Dustan
3rd – Luke Malherbe
4th – Tyler Ridge

LADIES:
1st – Cara MacDonald
2nd – Inge McLaren
3rd – Lauren Ridge
4th – Danica Stockigt

OPEN:
1st – Wayne Monk
2nd – Luke Goldschmidt
3rd – Shannon Ainslie
4th – Brad Dalbock

BULLETS:
1st – Nick Pike
2nd – Mouse Roberts
3rd – Wayne Monk
4th – Luke Goldschmidt