You might have read my article in one of the earlier newsletters just before Christmas about me and my stay as a kite(&)surf- instructor in Blouberg, my stoke about the vibe, in the water and South Africa in general.
Christmas time was a total new experience for me. There were Europe suffered from one of the most harsh winters ever, (this included ice and snow for weeks! ) was full-on summer vibe in Blouberg.
Although I’m currently still looking for someone who can tell me why it was that the entire crew of the local supermarket was walking around with a christmashead while the outside temp was about 40 degrees in the shade, but I couldn’t care less. In fact, I loved it! I had a little angel on my shoulder on Christmas morning, while most people where still in bed or on their way to church was I busy catching the most waves possible in crystal clear water, no wind and solid swell, what better Christmas gift could I wish for?
This time of year also meant the most busy time of year for the shop with lots of lessons as a result.
After a mission in my 1977 VW-Beetle, (no aircon, no music, 1 breakdown) to Namibia where I personally found out that you can’t extent your tourist visa anymore by just crossing the border, since last year (but got Elands uncrowded and firing on the way back). A failed request for a fake-internship and an impossible mission to get a working visa, it became clear that my South-African experience wasn’t going to last for ever.
The country where I come from knows the biggest ‘stoke-level’ in the whole world. Gloves, hoodies, minus a couple of degrees and sloppy brown onshore waves but still some surfers out. You won’t hear me complain about the fact that the water is cold in our Blouberg-area and I love the constant mission for the best conditions for that specific day. Gaschambers was my favourite spot by far for a while. Never anyone out because of the drive and 30 min. walk and: always a wave!
But now my happiness was set on a timer and I had to leave the country at the 9th of March I had to make some choices. Everyone was going back to work, the number of lessons I had to give were getting a bit less and with the knowledge of an incredible amount of perfect warm water points on the East coast it was time for a mission…
With a lot of support from everyone from the shop I started my trip in the very colt waters of Elands Bay. Made friends with some Capetonians who where on the same campside with the same mission: ‘’to hit it as good as possible’’. We had some nice sessions with only a couple of others what was a good preparation for what was coming. While we were getting used to our backhand surfing, my feet were showing the first results of the same mossels who we picked at low tide to eat at night, more and more people were rocking-up. Already out of forecast for a couple of days, something was about to happen. That day when I tought it couldn’t get much better after an amazing morning session we got the reason of the arriving crowds: Elands was going mental. Shooting barrels, howling offshore and way to many people out. For me the session in the morning was far much better than this one, meanly because of the fact that I am only used to this kind of conditions in the movies I have seen and there where about 40 guys who were fighting to get a wave. A very special experience to catch a couple of ‘real waves’.
Back to Blouberg for 3 days of teaching some unfinished courses in perfect conditions and some nice surfsessions in the morning. On my last session before leaving everything what I had called ‘home’ for a almost 5 months I smashed a little hole in my eardrumm, luckily it didn’t really effect much, besides a really long hospital-stop till late at night, but no easy take-off. Next stop: Gordons Bay- without my car who was in repair/check to make the change of breaking down a little bit smaller in the upcoming month of exploring the East-Coast. Got the Christmas angel back on my shoulder when I found Bikini Beach going off after a crappy day of surfing ‘ Strand’ and ‘CoolBay’. Insane lefthander (again!) (this time with a far much better water temperature) With only a handfull of locals who told me this spot works only twice a year I was in de zone again.
That night I got my Beetle back and on the mission towards Cape-Aghulas, the ‘real- most Southern Point’ + swell magnet. For everyone who haven’t been there yet, it is an amazing environment and a mission to find surf… Did surf StruisBay but that wasn’t Aghulas…after two days of Search I finally got the advise what I needed from a local who eventually didn’t showed up at 5:30 in the morning, the only time that the tide made it possible to paddle out and score some waves on a very shallow reef. Far from epic but stoked like a gromm, mission Aghulas completed- on my way to Mossel Bay.
I didn’t really plan where to go before I left Blouberg, there was only one goal: getting Barrelled at Jeffery’s. The reason why I didn’t drive to J-Bay at once is obvious…my car wouldn’t allow me to and my trip was also about the Search: Discovering different places, meeting people, surf different waves, not about spending 4 weeks in J-Bay.
Swell looked solid enough to create something of a wave at Mossel Bay and with quit some history attached to the little village it wouldn’t harm visiting it. Even if I had to mission a little for my surf. Arriving at a backpackers near ‘the Point’ just before dark with the two most famous spots ‘Inner-’ and ‘Outer-pool’ allowed me to check the solid but choppy waves curling around the point. With the expectation of a lot of fanatic locals (there were there would be no wind) I went out the next morning before sunrise. I found the place working but it took about another 10 minutes before a (local)guy on a
kneeboard rocked up who could tell me where to get in. While sharing probably the best waves I had so far during my stay in SA he told me that the locals here were very chilled and lazy and that I could expect some more in the water that afternoon but shouldn’t be worried, ‘J-bay was the place I should be worried about’. The swell picked up a little and together with the burning sun I couldn’t wait to get in the water again. The kneeboarder was right, there where some guys out now and jasses these guys were able to surf! Not really fair if you can practise on a wave like this a couple of days a week, but a couple of real nice pics of a dude who was standing on the shore were the result. I was stoked (and proud) that he also made some pics from me. After the braai where I got invited at, with the locals I met in the water I was starting to ask myselve if I was dreaming all this.
Next morning a local surf-painter ‘Bruce’ took me to Diaz-Beach where 6% of the world population of all whites are swimming. No shark nets, no shark watchers, but also never an attack because of the thousands of seals on the little Island in front of the Beach with the fitting name ‘ Seal-Island’. Didn’t work and we paddeled out at Outer Pool, what seemed to create something every now and again. During our session the swell and tide turned so drastic that we were surfing overhead waves all of a sudden. Bruce was going for the barreling lefts, what closed out on him all the time, I choose the running (less hollow) rights. When I got out and Bruce cought his last wave his balls were getting payed off when I shoot this picture with my crappy handcam…(this one he didn’t get nailed).
After having visited the Seals with a 50% discount from the captain who also used to surf (travelling alone rocks), it was time to move again. Packed up my tent and gear in no-time and off I was… Time for desaster so it seemed. After about 4k’s from the backpackers and about 2 from the gas station my Beetle stopped and was not showing any more life than a coughing starter engine. With everything in it, (including creditcard, laptop, 2 boards, clothes) far from the best moment to break down. The guys from the Beetle Rental about 500k’s further in Cape-Town telling me to trie to put more patrol in, walked to the gas station twice, but that wasn’t the problem, as I told them before’ When I really started to realise that this also meant traveling alone I got a phonecall that the rentalplace arranged something with a local garage who where on their way to pick me up. About 45 minutes later a lowered, big exhaust, teinted window, noisy Toyota with 4 really dodgy looking guys stopped who told me they where the one who were going to help me. You don’t look at the face from the arm who’s pulling you out of the water once you’re drawning, but these guys? I didn’t really had a choise so I let them tow me and when we left the quit safe erea of MosselBay and we were driving over the highway for a while I started to get really nervous. Stuck behind these guys, nowhere to go, they could tow me anywhere! And than we turned off, straight to the hart of the Township. 30 minutes later I got escorted out of it again with an engine what didn’t fail on me since that moment…
It was time to mission on towards my goal: J-Bay. With a lot of different stories heard about the place, and besides the countless times I had seen it on video, I didn’t really know what to expect. Almost dark I endid up at the campside, the first thing I did was that I seriously almost blew up my gas cooker, jeffrys had a lot of making up to do!
Next morning early, no surf but the spots showed there potential, a beautiful sight with the sun comming up out of the water. The first days the swell was low what gave me some time to explore the spots a little. Surfed the Point and Kitchen Windows a couple of times. Went on a mission towards Cape-st Francis (I had to high expectations from this place I guess, but if you haven’t been there yet, don’t, the picture from the endless summer is much better). What I did found out was that the locals were actually really friendly and open. They really appreciated the fact that I was in the water every morning even earlier than them in every kind of conditions and after a couple of days I got invited to all sorts of cool things. Braaied with some, went to ‘the secret waterfalls’ (no water, but a great 21mtr. jump) where a bushfire chased us away and most important: the most chilled vibe in the water I’ve ever experienced. The most morning sessions where at the Point or my favorite ‘Tubes’ and surfed Super’s, secrets and magma’s a couple of times. That Tubes was my favorite is beceause of the 27th.
That day we had some size in the waves and everything went just perfect. Only 4 other (local) guys out at Tubes (a lot more at supers and the Point). I felt confident beceause of the fact I had been surfing that spot now for a couple of days and felt ready for the more serious waves. Everyone cheering for each others waves made the vibe insane on it’s own but when one of the bigger sets came trew and the guy on my outside told me to go and I paddeled in… That was the moment…That was it… I paddeled, dropped in, set and hold my line, tought that I wasn’t going to make it there where the lip was curling over’ leaned a bit more on my nose, and the next moment I was watching trew a perfect shaped barrel for a split of a second! I made it out, had a couple of turns and kicked out before the rocks. One of the guys had seen the whole waves and the rest was cheering from the back, got high fives and all, don’t think I’ve ever been so stoked or ever will be.
Two weeks of J-Bay, (couple of days of no-surf where I missioned towards an empty game reserve where I helped the guys feeding the cheeta’s and stuff) 21 sessions of surf, feet and hands like they got stuck in a meat shredder, lots of pleasant meetings with other water users, like dolphins (and less pleasant, like bluebottles).
Armed with the best experiences ever, and some cheap factory clothing, it was time to leave what turned out to be ‘the Dream J-Bay’. Had 2 very un expected (but colt) sessions at MosselBay, one smallwave session at CoolBay. Arrived without any problems back at Blouberg where I got another couple of really nice sessions at Big-Bay and Doodles in the two days before my flight. A serious epic-goodbye-braai completed the 6 months of living the life. My next mission will be at Fuerteventura at the Canary Islands. With again other people, other conditions and other experiences. But one thing is for shure: I will never ever forget this amazing experience in South Africa. The ultimate combination of working, travelling and learning.
I would like to thank all the guys at the Atlantic-shop with Anton in general, his kids and girlfriend Tanja, all the friends I made and left and my parents and little sister, for all the support to make this adventure happen!
