The surfing throught this event has been of a really high standard. With 13 of SA's top surfers laying it on the line for R15K there are no surprises there. What has been amazing to watch though is for these surfers to be able to present their repetoire in real waves. Ponto Do Ouro offers an incredibly long ride and with the favourable swell direction over the past few days the point has really delivered.

Consistent waves in the 3-5ft range have seen the girls having an absolute ball. The slogan for the event is Ôreal waves, real surfers, real surfing' and that's exactly what we've seen. With jet ski assist, 35 min semis and a 45 min final the girls were able to focus on one thing and one thing only, performance surfing.

With the pushing tide, 3-4ft waves peeling off down the point and a gentle offshore brushing the wave faces the organisers wasted no time in sending the girls out for the 45 min final. What a final! From the start it was clear it was going to be a battle between Heather Clark's experience and power surfing against the aggressive and radical approach of the trio of youngsters Chantell Reutenbach, Sarah Baum and Bianca Buitendag. Heather snagged a cooker off the siren and smashed the wave all the way down the beach.

Not to be outdone Chantell and Sarah responded with a vicious assault on their respective first rides and so it went. Wave for wave, toe to toe the girls slugged it out. Bianca ripped, but failed to snag the bombs that Heather, Chantell and Sarah were getting. Not her day, but a serious warning of things to come from the young goofy footer. With an unlimited wave count and jetski assist the girls were exhausted by the end of the 45 min final. All girls riding over 10 waves each. When you factor in that the average ride was around 200m in length that's a lot of surfing.

Despite a spirited attack from both Chantell and Sarah, the latter who really must be commended for her aggressive surfing and never say die approach (her 13th ride was an 8.5 and one of her counting rides) it was Heather Clark who surfed her way into the history books in what must rank as the best waves ever for a women's surf contest in Africa. Heather's skill, experience and fitness payed off and she ended up with a near perfect 19/20 score for her two best waves.

Final
1. Heather Clark 19
2. Sarah Baum 16.5
3. Chantell Reutenbach 15
4. Bianca Buitendag 13.5