distraction

Yes, the posting has been minimal.

But, then, it about matches the amount of surfing going on as well.  Truth be told, I seem to be getting a solitary weekedn session in and leaving it at that. 

Why haven't I been surfing... I dunno.   I could blame conditions.  But, then if you're amped and you go looking there's always something round here.  And I haven't been looking.

I could claim injury.  My shoulder was acting up a while back.  It may be sleeping badly.  It may also have been trying to change gears in the Landrover.  That'll screw your shoulder for sure.  But, that mended itself.  And i've been swimming and play waterpolo, so can't really fall back on that excuse.

Maybe I've just been distracted.  I think that's it.  And it's a good type of distraction.  Typically, this time of year, the Cape starts gearing up for silly season, and everywhere you look there's another party going down.  The social calendar gets clogged with this and that and what have you.

But, I've managed most of that.

I think I've got a draft saved somewhere whinging about how the stormy winter didn't actually produce the swells we would have hoped for.  It wasn't a good winter for us.  No-one really had a good winter.  Except for plants.  They had an epic winter and so are now enjoying an epic spring.

As such its been an awesome time to get into the mountains.  They're bursting with colour and fragrance like I've never seen them before.  So, I've been strapping on shoes and backpacks and getting high in the berg.  And I'm fine with that.

Hopefully some swells will come and will regain that surf stoke soon.  But, in the Cape there are just so many activities, and only so much time.

somewhat close, somewhat far

A shot from a sunday stroll we took.

I like it.   I like the way the rocks and bushes frame it.  I like the way there is no one else to be seen, despite there being a small pack just behind the wave, and quite a few people on the beach.  It gives it a very isolated feel.  Also, if I'd lifted the camera just a bit, there would be quite a few houses on the horizon. 

Still, here's a guy, ace out, about to get shacked.

The pity is the waves doesn't lend itself to too much anticipation.  You know it's going to close out on the guy, and I think this detracts from it being a really cool shot.  Actually, there was a guy who was about to take off on the peak to the left in this shot.  I was POed when he wussed out, but then the other guy came along and almost saved the day.

If you're Cape Town based, you may be able to work out where this is.  It's well known, but I haven't seen it shot from this angle before.  It's one that may need to be explored over the coming months.

I think I'll skip

An endless left on this perfect friday.  I think I'll pass on this one.  why?  you may ask.  well, it's fairly well documented how challenging this wave is.  And you really need to have your A-game on to be able to squeeze the juice out of this desert nugget.  Lest it squeezes the human juice out of your frail tissues.

 
I compare it to a recent article I read: 3 women/waves to fall in love with.  The beachie was the party girl, the girl next door - up for fun.  The slab was the cool bitch - try me if you dare.  The pointbreak was the supermodel - you better know how to impress me because I see jokers like you all the time.  When I'm at the bar and the girl with mile long legs and angelic features walks in, I'm not going to waste my time there.  Some other guy can do all the hard work there.  I know my limitations.  I'll just survey the scene with cool beverage in hand.

Or maybe I should just man the fuck up and dare to live the dream.

Mindsurf this.

This is a little beachbreak around home that I'm quite fond of.  It's well named and often surfed, but in the spirit of things, we wont go further than that.  I've been surfing there for a long time, but on this morning, I stayed dry and behind the camera and tried to capture it in a different light.

The best part about it was seeing the place from a new angle.  I parked at a different spot, walked over the dunes and saw the place differently.  It's great going somewhere familiar, but being able to appreciate it as something else.  The dune plants were looking good after the winter rains and just coming into spring.  The flowering ones were coming on, but what I like about these is they still show it as a cool morning - the last of winter fading as it gives way to spring.

In the 2 hours that I watched this bank roll through, not one toe got wet.  The forecast had been good for the day, so I thought at least a few people would be there.  But, not.  Goes to show, with some free time and bit of petrol money, that uncrowded session you've been dreaming for can be just around the corner.

Perfect Fridays - also making a much needed come back

'Y' for 'Yowzers, look at that'

We've seen this wave before here on Perfect Fridays and it is magificant.  Look at that.  It's school workbook sketch perfect.  And the way the colours in the bowl make such neat, defined lines lend to it being the work of a human hand, not so much a natural phenonemon.

But, then again, consider the guy in the foreground.  Why is he not riding it?  Or anybody else?  We could say that such a wave deserves to go un-surfed...but, fuck that!  Someone should be getting the best barrel of their life on that thing.  But then again, look deeper.

That wave is not small.  And it's fast.  Look at the bend in it.  It's going to zip through that next section with pace, and you'll have to pick a perfect line to avoid being sucked over as well.  Because, you know it's going to drain just by looking at the beast.

And so, maybe, for our own sakes, we can just leave this one un-surfed.  But, as you may know, it's an awful thing to watch unreal waves go by as you sit and cry on the beach.

It's the weekend.  See you on the beach.

A much neglected blog

There's a joke about why a dog is better than a girlfriend:  Lock both in your car boot and see which one is happier to see you when you get back in  two hours time.

Well, I have to say, my girlfriend is better than this blog.  I've been on two surf trips since I last wrote, and my lady was happy to see me return on both occasions.  This blog appears abjectly indifferent.

If you've been checking in and hoping for updates, thank you for your patience.  More content coming up.

My excuse is the standard blog failure one, and strangely similar to the not surfing one:  Yeah, I've been busy.  Although I have, neither is an excuse, just a display of your priorities.  And if you dont want to write, that's fine. (I do, by the way)   And if you don't want to surf, that's fine, too.

Actually, no it's not.

So, i've got a lot that that I could tell you about the last month and a bit.

Strangely, my last post is kind of a bite-sized version of the interim.  I've had two very different surf trips.  One was to the Maldives: warm water, white sand, coral reefs, planes, boats and everything taken care of.  Your ideal holiday, really.  The other was up our desolate, beautifual west coast: thick rubber, deadly slabs, beachies, 4x4s and everything to be planned and excecuted by myself.  It was for work, technically.  Both were awesome in their own way.

I've promised the details of these excursions to some magazines, so wont do too much of them here.  Sorry, to tease like that.

But, the long absence has also given some time for reflection.  It was a winter that wasn't.  I've got a certain post surf tradition for those epic stormy days that I was going to describe in graphic detail.  And I cant remember doing it once this winter.  Dammit.  But, there's still some swell around, so I can't complain too much.

But, as always, I'm looking forward to summer.  The missions are being planned.  The skin is coming out.  And hot chicks seem to be arriving by the plane load.

I've got a few summer projects lined up.  So, that should be entertaining at least. 

Here are some recent pictures.  No captions or explanations.  But, i'm sure you can create something good for yourselves.

Oppo/sites

The sessions in question were about 5 clicks from each other, and a little over 2 days apart.  But they could have been half a globe away and at the epitome of each season.  I had the same wetsuit and board, but otherwise, everything else was different.

Session one was a dawnie last thursday.  I hit a little peak just after sunrise and surfed this merry beachy ace out for about an hour.  Not a breath of wind.  As the sun got higher, it reached down through the crystal waters and I could see the sand easily beneath me.  I kept an eye out for the little sharkies that hang out here.  I'm not sure what they are - seven gill cows or gully sharks, but you see them quite frequently at this spot.  The lefts were more consistent.  Bowly and fun.  They also dropped you into this sweet rip which made for a lazy paddle back out.  The rights were racier, and more sectiony, with a harder paddle, so I opted for my backhand more often.  Ah - the choice of waves.  Bliss.  After a while, two other guys showed up, followed by a fourth.  Still, not as selective, but still plenty to round.

The last guy in, was also the first guy out, but he definitely took session of the day.  Riding a flat epoxy fish, he just got in so easy and being goofy foot, just destroyed the lefts.  Again and again.  Goes to show:  the right board for the right person on the right day.  One of the other guys was a bit inexperienced.  He was riding a standard thruster and making heavy weather of most of the waves.  How much better his session would have been had he had some more suited to him and the day.

After about 3 hours I got out.  Tired.  Stoked.  That was Thursday

That evening we stood and watched our braai smoke go straight up, seeing the calm before the storm.

Friday was windy and small.  Swell was still coming.  That night we got hit hard.  And the rain and wind tore at the roof tiles.

Saturday we woke to similar conditions from the day before, bar the occasional driving squall.  We were expecting the swell to build. We needed the wind to drop.  We drove around, getting wet sand on our shoes, hoping to find things had changed.  We drank coffee.  We played jenga and put more logs on the fire.

At one point, we stood on a dune watching waves that were almost worth it.  "Let's stop wasting time," someone offered.

"No, we're biding time." Another countered.

By about 4 we knew it was going to be as good as it got.  We squelched into the wet gravel of the parking lot and suited up in spotty rain.  Clearly, we weren't the only cabin wracked with fever.  A few mates also came jogging through the dunes.

We got out and surfed the right running off the rip.  It was good fun.  The occasional bigger one would hold up and run right across the rip.  It had a shape to it that allowed you to stay high, but build speed and fly across the sandy wall.  It's not often you talk about beachies with walls, but this was it.

It was still just the 6 of us when then squall came through.  It sleeted at an unholy angle.  We are all hooded up, save one and he had to shelter under his board, leaving his bare knuckles to the mercy of the thrown ice.  It was a surreal moment as the wind wipped up the sprint drift around us, leaving only opaque hooded figures, like wraiths in the maelstrom.  I tried catching a wave, but with the skin of the wave barely visible, it was nigh impossible.

The squall passed and everyone else in town took their que to do one final check of the beach, and finding it suitable, joined us out there.  There was a good crew before too much longer.

The weather continued to change around us, and at one point, the late sun broke through and front lit the waves.  The bright spray, the dirty water and the black wall of clouds made for some dramatic lighting.  I was really missing my GoPro about then.

The clouds rolled in and somewhere beyond the grey, the sun sank.  The darkness grew and we fought our boards in the wind back across the beach.  We clothed up and retreated to the warmth of an indoor fire, hot drinks and lively chatter.

All through the dark night though our thoughts betrayed this sheltered and wandered out to the cold sea beyond.