Royal St Andrews Hotel and Guido’s Port Alfred Donate R100k To NSRI Station 11

NSRI Station 11 in action during the Rip Curl Cup © Louis Wulff

Port Alfred – NSRI Station 11 served as the water safety in very testing conditions during the Rip Curl Cup and the Rip Curl GromSearch presented by Sea Harvest, which took place during the Port Alfred Easter Festival presented by Sunshine Coast Tourism.

The four days of surfing experienced onshore and offshore winds, big swells and small swells, and the NSRI Station 11 Port Alfred team under Chris Pike ran a well-coordinated program throughout, with members situated in the water, on the pier, on the beach, and in a rescue vehicle.

The event was problem-free due to their vigilance and teamwork, despite some very early starts, rain squalls, and other challenges.

Station Commander Chris Pike expressed his gratitude at the handover.

“The biggest thank you to the Royal St Andrews Hotel – Port Alfred and Guido’s Port Alfred for their generous donation to Station 11,” said Pike.

“They held an awesome music event called “Bands at the Beach” during the Port Alfred Easter Festival, and they raised some much-needed funds for us while we were their water safety for the four-day Ripcurl Cup and Rip Curl GromSearch at East Beach.”

Royal St Andrew Hotel Managing Director Justin Bekker was delighted to hand over the cheque on behalf of Royal St Andrews Hotel and Guido’s Port Alfred.

We are extremely proud to hand over R100 000 to the NSRI Port Alfred Station, which Royal St Andrews Hotel and Guido’s Restaurant raised through ticket sales to the Bands at the Beach Concert held over Easter,” said Bekker.

“The NSRI are extremely important in Port Alfred, keeping our waters safe and operated by a group of selfless volunteers. The NSRI will be using the money to replace the jetty outside their station. We are extremely proud of what we set out to achieve and look forward to hosting Bands at the Beach 2025 next year.”

Surfing South African General Manager Robin De Kock was also thankful for the great work done by the Station 11 team, which ensured the safety and smooth running of the two Surfing South Africa events.

“The Port Alfred Easter Festival was an amazing event, and Surfing South Africa is thankful to have been included in the festival. We were so pleased to have NSRI working with us on these two events, ensuring the safety of our contestants, some of them as young as 11 years old,” said De Kock.

“We look forward to working with Station 11 at these surfing contests again at next year’s Port Alfred Easter Festival.”