Upliftment programme 9Miles Project given R100k for new minibus

Cape Town – The Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival has handed R100 000 to community upliftment programme 9Miles Project after weeks of ocean and charity events.

The final night of surf and ocean films at the Labia Theatre in Cape Town saw festival director Shani Judes present the project with the R100 000 required to bring current fund-raising efforts up from R170 000 to the R270 000 needed for a minibus.

The money, which was part of R782 000 raised at the Wavescape Artboard Project auction, was given to the head of the 9Miles Project, Nigel Savel, to hoots of excitement from the audience, which included youngsters from the programme.

“We have no words to express our gratitude,” Savel said.

The evening was the finale of a bumper Wavescape Festival that saw full houses for ocean-related events and charity functions, including Artboard Project, Clifton beach screening, Slide Night, film festival and film-makers’ master class.

The 2018 iteration had premieres of films, including local big wave documentary Satori and the US blockbuster Momentum Generation; the launch of The Sexy, Ugly, Beautifuls book with John McCarthy; the swell course; Big Wave Night & Exhibition; and Beach Co-op beach clean-up.