Offthehook Newsletter April 2012
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss
Well Summer is over and the weather is still amazing in Plett. The past few months have been busy and the local support has been awesome. We have seen many tourists in Plett in the last few months which is very encouraging.
Our Thursday Prawn special is becoming the talk of the town! Why you ask? 10 Prawns, Rice and Chips for R 49.95 you can’t go wrong.
Louise and Miranda are trying some new dishes and yes I have been trying the Seafood Pasta, West Coast Sole, Calamari tubes and lots more.
Our new marketing concept of “Eat at Home” not Take-away is gaining momentum. “Eating at Home” sounds more comfortable and less guilty. So let Offthehook Seafood Café make you feel less guilty and more comfortable.
So we look forward to you coming and try our new menu items.
Please remember to follow us on twitter, facebook and www.offthehookplett.co.za
The Offthehook Adventure Series
Our first Offthehook Seafood Café adventure race of the year is on the 16 June at Cairnbrogie.
The route is going to be a swim (if the dam is full) or run, cycle and then a run.
It is going to be an amazing day with a kiddies race.
If you missed last year you have to bring the family to Offthehook Adventure Series at Cairnbrogie.
We will be sending more details in the May newsletter.
Pennypinchers Easter Surfski Challenge supported by PPC cement in association with Offthehook Seafood Cafe
The 2012 surfski singles event of The Pennypinchers Easter Surfski Challenge, supported by PPC Cement, got off to a fantastic start with near perfect sea conditions in Plettenberg Bay on Saturday morning. A jovial crowd of spectators gathered on Plett’s Central beach, while in true event tradition, The Plettenberg Bay Field Band led nearly 50 participants to their surfskis, lined up at the waters edge.
With most participants taking on the more challenging 5 lap, 20km course, a 3 lap, 11km challenge was also strongly supported. The course proved as grueling as ever and retained its status of being dubbed the best lap course in the world, by Jasper Mocke, a past winner of this event.
Surfski’s tore off from the start, with paddlers digging in hard to gain position. But once round the infamous blind rocks, off Beacon Island, the field spread out, with a pack of 5 paddlers keeping a steady lead pace.
The Keurbooms river mouth proved to be the events’ biggest challenge, with low tides, sand banks and a fair sized break, literally keeping participants on the edge of their seats. Without doubt it was this section of the course, which lead to some interesting position changes during the event.
Finally it was Dawid Mocke, who snatched first place ahead of younger brother and 2011 winner, Jasper. “The low tide made sandbanks in the river mouth the biggest challenge on the first two laps, but we could eventually paddle over these as the tide came in.” said Dawid after the race.
Second position went to Jasper Mocke, while Richard von Wilderman crossed the line in third place. Kirsten Flanagan took first place in the female entries, followed by Jenna Ward in second and Nicky Russell in third place.
“With a combination of both long and short courses, this race continues to challenge a wide range of paddling abilities.” Says organiser Wayne Craig. With PPC Cement’s generous contribution and further support from Penny Pinchers Plett, Off The Hook Seafood Café, Hansa and Vitamin Water, this surfski event remains one to be marked on the paddling calendar for years to come.
The doubles event of the 2012 Pennypinchers Easter Surfski Challenge, supported by PPC Cement, got off to an uncertain start on Sunday morning, with severe weather predicted in Plettenberg Bay on the day. “The wind changed direction twice leading up to the early start, forcing us to reconsider the route plan.” Said race organizer Wayne Craig.
The revised course, now slightly shorter at 14km took paddlers from Plett’s central beach, across the bay to the Robberg peninsula, before heading to the Robberg point and finally back to the Central beach finish line.
The double ski’s tore off into a fair sized swell with a biting wind behind them for the first leg of the race. Key to the days challenge was a paddle into Robberg beach at The Wreck, where a team member ran around a beach marker and back to their ski to launch again into pounding surf.
From here to the Robberg point, a grueling 3km of heavy swell and strong surge off the nearby rocks kept paddlers working hard to reach the end of the peninsula. “The swell at the point was pretty big and with the wind fighting us on the return trip, the paddling got quite tough. “ said Plett’s Alexis Lyon.
It was team Sean Rice and Simon van Gyssen, who despite the headwind, powered their way to the finish line in a time of 1hr 10min, followed by Steve Woods and Luke Nesbit in second position and Dawid Mocke and Mathew Gru in third.
Said a hard-worked Rice at the end of the race, “There was a tight pack leading for the first leg, but we hit a huge set on our first landing at The Wreck, resulting in Simon and luckily managing to gain some distance.”
Despite the weather factors on the second day, both the singles and doubles events for 2012 were a great success and continue to draw a good crowd of spectators, especially for Saturday’s singles race. With PPC Cement’s generous contribution and further support from Penny Pinchers Plett, Off The Hook Seafood Café, Hansa and Vitamin Water, this surfski event remains one to be marked on the paddling calendar for years to come.
Source: Offthehook Seafood Cafe