back in the water

And then it was quite a long time between waves...

Been out the water for a while now. Was away for the weekend and then its been lank windy here this week. True, i could've been out there, but just didn't.

Anyway, the wind dropped off this afternoon and i was itchy. Yesterday, I'd also checked out a neighbour's longboard. A nine foot greg stokes. it's pretty cool. She said i could borrow it. that's also cool. She's sixty, by the way. that's really cool.

Then at lunch another friend dropped by. She's moving to pretty much the closest house to Dunes, 'the best wave in cape town' according to some and a hard point to argue. I went to have a look at her new digs today. I'm a little jealous actually. The view and the short walk down the sandy dune path is also pretty nice.

So it was pretty much decided that i was going surfing. I had already arranged to meet Dave up on clifton. After arranging it i felt it was a bit impulsuve. After being on the beach here, i knew i was. Not wanting to ditch him, i invited him along. I remember a while ago, he said wanted to start. A phone call later and he was going surfing.

I walked up the road to get the long board and strapped that over the paddle board - yes, you can judge me here. I figured with high tide and small swell the channels would be free of wash and he could handle it.

We pulled into the beach and suited up. The wind was stronger than i'd imagined. The sea was icy blue. After a few days of howling south-easter, the chilled pure deep water had welled up. But, the banks were firing.

So, we trekked across the beach. One of the cool things about the long walk, is you get to check a few sets in the time it takes to cross the broad white sand. One the kak things is having to carry a small boat on your head, in the wind, especially if you're not used to it, like dave. Anyway, we got to the edge, zipped up and vaulted the shorey into the channel. It was a cold as it had looked.

A couple numbing strokes later we're heading out. A few cookers rolled passed us. About shoulder high and just running. It was way better than it had looked.

As we were cruising out, a ballie on a stained yellow longboard kicked out of a beaut, and fell in along side us. He was stoked. I can only hope to be that stoked when i'm his age. Pleasantries were exchanged through broad grins.

The next set pulled through a few mins after we got to the peak, and with only five guys out, there were enough waves for all of us. I got one the first ones - a long right. I kicked off to see a shortboarder rip up the next one. It was impressive - both him and the wave. I'd just had a smoker on the longboard, but seeing the quality on a shortboard made me wonder for a moment if i hadn't made a mistake.

Dave in the meantime was battling a bit. As quick as you can move on the barge, and as stable as standing might be, lining yourself up is still not that easy first time round. So it took him a few goes. I'd picked off an OK one, and miss the section. I swam over my board in the wash, and turned to see a dave falling. Awesome! He'd been on his feet. I missed it, but the fall and the later stoke was evidence enough. Now we were all having good sessions.

A bit later i got on one of the more unreliable lefts. I was paddling back out when one swept wide. And Dave was on it. He was also coming straight at me. I slid of the board so I could push it out of the way. I was actually more concerned with the board than me. I couldn't go back with a huge ding in it from a head on, especially if a mate had done it my own borrowed board. So much shame in that. Dave missed me, but not by much. He hooted as he flew past on his knees. As i recovered on the other side, i turned to him wobble to his feet again. Awesome.

The channel off the left of the peak was also unreliable. Being swept further in, Dave had to battle a few ice-cream head inducing foamies. And that was enough for him. Still, not a bad first session and a fine introduction to the sport.

My session carried on. I got some cookers, from backline to shorebreak. I even got covered on one, and so introduced the new board to the barrel. On another long one, i was about a foot length from getting my toes over the edge. Everyone else was also getting good ones. The paddle back out looked like a tropical reef pass, if you airbrushed the wetsuits out. The vibe was mellow. Big smiles all round. At one point, I asked a guy going out to tell Dave to meet me at the Red Herring, and that's where I met him later. Over a few beers we decided to hit Muizenburg, tomorrow first thing. So much is the stoke. I want to give SUPing a go there, and suss the vibe a bit. Dave will have to hire one, as Nola is taking her longboard out then as well.

Its just so cool to be back in the water and sharing it with friends who are discovering, or rediscovering the stoke.