Cape Town’s Annual Surf Festival Culminates in a Wave of Success

19th December 2012

Save Our Seas Foundation was one of the supporting sponsors of this year’s Wavescape Surf Festival, which is motivated by ocean conservation and sustainability. The Cape Town leg of the Festival took place during December and comprised three elements: a Surf Film Festival; an Art Board Project Exhibition and Charity Auction; and Slide Night.

Slide Night is a new addition to the Wavescape Festival this year and was presented by Save Our Seas Foundation and Pick n Pay. Slide Night saw 10 speakers presenting 10 slides about their interactions with the ocean on 13 December at Superette in Woodstock.

Slide Night speakers included Save Our Seas funded researcher, Lauren De Vos; sailor Jenny Sale-Kuttel; surf forecaster and Wavescape CEO Steve Pike; surfing photographer Alan Van Geysen; big wave surfer Chris Bertish; Photographer and NSRI marketer Andrew Ingram; free-diving champion Hanli Prinsloo; ocean activist Conn Bertish; sustainable fisheries expert Janine Basson; and marine filmmaker Damon Foster. Each of the speakers told their story of how they are intimately connected with the oceans – whether through sailing around the world, conducting research, surfing or being involved in marine conservation. This hugely popular event was definitely one of the highlights of the Festival this year.

lauren de vos at Slide Night

The Wavescape Film Festival screenings took place at Clifton Beach, the Brass Bell and the Labia – showing over 30 surfing and ocean minded films. Over 3000 people are estimated to have attended the popular Clifton Beach screening.

The Charity Art Board Auction successfully raised close to a quarter of a million Rands which will be donated to 3 organisations: Shark Spotters, the NSRI and Isiqualo’s Waves for Change programme.

The Save Our Seas Shark Centre staff and volunteers attended many of the events and enjoyed interacting with numerous supporters keen to help save our oceans.