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Chris Bertish begins international big wave quest with 3rd in giant surf at Nelscott Reef, USA

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 October, 2009 : - - South African big wave charger Chris Bertish began his quest to conquer three of the planet’s most prestigious giant surf events with a meritorious third place finish in the Liquid Militia Paddle In Exhibition at Nelscott Reef in Oregon, USA, last week.

 The 35-year-old Capetonian faced a helter-skelter schedule of tying up loose ends at home and travelling for 36 hours, getting just 3 hours sleep before taking to the classic 30 foot (10 metre) waves and finishing just 0.6 of a point behind winner Anthony Tashnick (California) and Kealii Mamala (Hawaii) in the event.

"I was just stoked to have made it over in time for my heat,” Bertish said. “After travelling for over 36 hours I just wanted to catch a couple waves to make the long journey worthwhile and I ended up third, which was an added bonus. As long as I make South Africa proud, I'm happy."

Notified last Sunday that the event had been confirmed to run on Thursday, Bertish had to cancel the tickets he had booked for the end of the month, re-issue new ones, wrap up his business commitments and a fund-raising function he had organised for Monday evening, attend meetings on Tuesday and then head for the airport, packing along the way.

Over 30 hours of travel, including a three hour delay in London due to engine problems, saw him arrive in San Francisco – only to face a 30 minute interrogation by Customs who would not let him into the USA until they were convinced to check his website on the internet!

After missing his connecting flight to Portland the intrepid traveller snagged a seat on the last flight, arriving at 10pm Wednesday, organised a hire-car and then faced a four hour drive to Lincoln City, arriving at 3am. Up at 6am, he was elated to find his equipment was still all in one piece and headed for the contest site.

Fortunately the event started with the Nelscott Reef Tow-in Classic, won by the Californian team of Adam Replogle and Alistair Craft for the second year in a row, which allowed Bertish to orientate himself and suss out the conditions at the venue, which were epic with the surface of the water like silk at the break over a Kilometre from the beach.

“As I jumped off the back of the sled and paddled into the line-up I knew it was going to be a good heat, everything just felt right. I paddled deeper into the line-up, deeper than anyone else, and the waves came to me. I was late and deep, but the waves came and there was no going back!” Bertish explained.

Catching five rides, with just one wipe-out when he tried to pull into a tube that did not open up as expected and he was detonated by the lip, and it was all over. Spectators thought he had won but when the judges’ scores were tallied it was incredibly close with Bertish well pleased with his third place finish.

Back on the shore he still had enough energy to borrow a Naish Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) and despite the fact that the board was missing one fin, he set out through the two to three metre high shore-break to become the first person to ride Nelscott Reef on a SUP!

“I only ended up getting one wave, as it grew dark, but got caught inside by the biggest wave I have ever faced while on a SUP. Every now and again you deserve a good beating, it’s character-building. I'm glad that one is now done and ticked off the list.”

Bertish now heads down the West coast of the USA to the notorious break of Mavericks, just South of San Francisco, where he is one of the 24 invitees to the Mavericks Surf Contest. The Mavericks event has a waiting period that runs for three months starting on 1 November.

While the pioneering big wave rider is in California, he will be keeping an eye on what the surf is doing in Hawaii as he is one of just 16 invitees in the inaugural edition of the Stand Up World Tour event to be staged at Makaha on the West coast of the island of Oahu. The SUP event also has a holding period while organisers wait for minimum 15 foot (5 metre) waves in which to crown the first Stand Up World Champion.

Bertish, a savvy marketer, brand ambassador and agent for O’Neill South Africa and new media marketer for True Blue Surf Travel, has created a website at pleasesponsorchrisbertish.co.za where full details of his exploits can be followed via a twice weekly blog, pictures & video.

Liquid Militia Paddle In Exhibition at Nelscott Reef

Results
1st Anthony Tashnick-California
2nd Kealii Mamala-Hawaii
3rd Chris Bertish- South Africa
4th Travis Payne-Oregon
5th Greg Long-California
6th Gary Linden-California
7th Mark Visser-Australia
8th Shane Desmond-California
9th Mike Parsons-California

www.pleasesponsorchrisbertish.co.za

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