Looking back on the week that was. Coupla fun days to get wet on, some better than others, but definitely the chance to get your glide on. 

Water is pretty warm, to the point you'd be happy in a 2mm out there. Boardies if you very brave! Mia Baard was on the nose at Millers in her new Billabong capsule. The new Billabong range has some lekker prints. Always fun to be in something other than black!

Guys who drove round the corner also snagged a few slabs. There are always some diamonds in the rough round that way for those dedicated to the hunt.

And if driving isn't your thing you can always just walk down the beach and get shacked there instead.

​The Pearson surf team came out on top against their Parel Vallei High rivals in a derby surf comp at Pipe on Friday.

There was an unusual competitor who was keen to get in on the action, but he couldn't decide whether he was a regular footer or a goofy so ended up just hanging in the shorey instead.

Shane Pyke had a lil a;altercation with him at Millers earlier that arvo. The tuxedo'd torpedo was swimming all around the surfers and under their boards, so Shane decided to splash some water at him as he came up nearby. Mr Penguin took great offence and proceeded to dive down and nip Shane on the ankle! So moral of the story - don't p*ss off the penguin!

The whales are around at the moment so keep your eye's peeled. Most of the time once you grab your camera to shoot them they disappear, but sometimes you can strike it lucky like Heather did here.

Unfortunately one washed up on Kabeljouws beach just down from JBay, and had to be euthenized (plainly put, it was blown up with dynamite). Remains were then removed from the beach. Whale blubber acts like the smell of freshly baked bread to finned friends, so it's a good thing this guy was removed from the area.

Chopes is the next World Surf League comp, and they are running a trials just before the main event to get some wildcards. The swell was pomping so they called the trials  off and let a free surf go down. Should be a kiff comp if they get conditions like this.

Bit of a neither here nor there week with nothing much on the charts. Chances to get wet nonetheless. Make the most of it. 

The long weekend delivered some waves, even the bay had a few fun one's. Still lots of really good surfers hanging out in JBay since the Open. Plenty guys pulled back in for the swell. Including a coupla famous one's. They guys at Surf Centre were pretty surprised when Jordy pitched up at the shop and needed a board and some goodies. He had a rather well known ou in tow too! One of the best surfers out there, pity he isn't on tour anymore.

Not often one can score a decent dawnie in winter in PE. The nature of how we're situated in the bay means the morning costal offshore is actually a really horrid onshore for the town breaks. But sometimes the early birds do get the worm. Like Allan scoring a kiff sesh during the week. Even luckier when someone on hand to take the shot.

Plenty of ships cruising past our shores these days "thanks" to the Coega harbour. Wonder how many containers get washed off these things in the big swells? Specially when you see how it ploughs into the waves. 

Weird looking ship spotted in PE harbour during the week. Turns out it's a submersible freight loader' The whole ship sinks down and the cargo is then pulled onto the deck. The ballast tanks are then emptied and the ship rises out of the water with the cargo then on the deck. Pretty clever. This one is taking stuff to the Total Ethane Cracker Project in Texas. There's also a drilling rig anchored near Coega at the moment. Wonder if they'd find anything if they dropped their drill!? 

Do remember a while back there was a survey ship doing seismic surveys along the coast for oil prospecting. Hopefully they found zippo. Fish farms are bad enough without having to contend with oil rigs drilling for oil!

The recent dearth of swell (until the drought was broken over the weekend) has seem lots of guys heading round the corner for their fix. Some spots that normally only have a handful of guys out are now seeing up to 20-30 guys in the line-up. Desperate times call for desperate measures (which in PE terms means a "long" drive past Cape Recife.)

Surf watches are neat. Tell you how far you've paddled and how many waves you've caught. Not too sure about their accuracy when it comes to measurements tho', take the below for example. 4 waves and 1.5k's paddled, something doesn't quite stack up! One thing they do prove tho' is that the right at Pipe should actually be called a "straight" Thanks to Greg Heasley for pointing that one out!

Greg didn't need a watch to tell him he'd caught a blerrie long wave - saw him hook one from Millers all the way down to Hobie Beach. Doesn't happen too often. Greg must have fitted in about 50 turns on that wave!

Dave Morgan sent me this shot from his archives. A big day out at Bell Bouy. As Richard von Wildeman commented on the post - the Buoy 5 meters tall (the lil bit sticking out the top of the shoulder), and the base of the wave is not visible. Richards been out there on a windless day and says it lets you in kinda easy but then bowls up really fast. 

I remember Jason van Greunen telling me the story about how he paddled out there to surf from the beach at Pipe on a massive day. Dennis Ellis quipped that his boet was with Jason that day and half way out the NRSI boat came up to them to see if they were OK and had drifted out to sea! Which would be a fairly valid assumption spotting to ou's on surfboards in the middle of the ocean on a heaving day.

Another landmark always featuring in pics of PE is the pier, and it's neat to see a shot from a slightly different angle. You can check out some old Hobie Beach and Pier history here:
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/blog/the-history-of-hobie-beach
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/blog/the-dr-muesli-pier

A cool vintage shot of the beachfront popped up this week. It's taken from just off Hobie Beach across the grass area towards 1st/2nd avenue Summerstrand. The tall building is Grosvenor Court (corner of 3rd avenue - opposite Millers). The building on the far right is the old Hollywood Hotel. It was a surfer hangout back in the day.

Forecast looks like there'll be the chance of a wave before the week's out. So get those suits dry. Thankfully water temps have sky-rocketed, and you can easily do a 2mm if you want.

Coupla waves about, the harder you looked for them the better they were. Winter is still essentially in a slumber, so hopefully will cough out some decent swell before we head into the tail end of the year.

PE surfers are always on the move, and finding waves wherever they at. Nic Flood scored some typhoon surf in Taiwan, and Josh Saunders is hooking some beauts in Indo.

The Nahoon locals had a bit of a heart stopping moment last week when a White the size of a kombi cruised up to them so say hi. Wave skier Bruce Viaene was out there with his surfer mate Aaron when a fin that dwarfed Aaron popped up right next to him. Bruce made the paddle back in right next to his mate, giving some paddleski protection to his prone pal. Respect the egg-beaters in the line-up - as you never know when you gonna have to jump on their boat to get your toes out the water!

From big sharks to big boats. This unusual visitor was spotted offshore. It's a ​semi submersible heavy lift vessel. 

PE beachfront lends itself to some lekker drone shots as we have lots of bits sticking out into the sea. The 6 pack at Humewood always looks kiff from above.

An old pic of Humewood also showed up during the week. Taken from the bridge over the beach and looking back at the valley with Brookes Hill in the background Looks like they jolled back in the day, sign on the hut says "​Victorians Concert Party Nightly 8.15."

Despite all the celebrating that the fin fish farm location has been moved away from in front of Pollock Beach (the issue around them replacing it with a mussel/oyster farm remains), let's not get into the "outta sight outta mind" mindset. The site now identified for fin fish is right near Coega, and right next to the newly created Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area (MPA) which officially came into effect last Thursday.

An MPA was an area of coastline or ocean specifically protected for the benefit of people and nature. Their primary purpose is to help manage part of the marine environment to rebuild fisheries populations, keep marine ecosystems working properly, and protect the range of species living there. So the decision to place a fin fish farm right next to it is a rather kak move.

So let's not drop the ball in terms of letting the fish farm slide off the agenda now that it isn't right on our beachfront. It still poses a big threat to our bays ecosystem bu being located right next to an MPA.

Quite a lot of the older surfers in town have been struggling with back injuries lately. Getting older stiffens things up so use it or lose it - good idea to introduce some daily yoga or stretches into your routine to make sure you don;t end up with a miff back and having to stay out the water. If you can twist your neck like Nelson the Seagull here you all good!

JBay local, Emma Smith, probably thinks JBay water temps are pretty balmy now that she's surfing in the Arctic Circle. Plus it's always lekker to ride your horse to the beach! Lofoten in Norway is home to a committed surf community that don't seem to mind the freezing temperatures to get their salt water fix. 

The guys at WERK_  in the Baakens Valley have made some seriously #localislekker sunnies. The frames are made of old ironwood and teak parquet flooring from old buildings in P.E. Grab your pair of history before they sell out. R700 a pop.

More talented locals doing their thing - Pipe local Andre Clarke designed  a lekker T for the Saltwater Scumbag gang (a whatsapp group of surfers). Tune Chris at Surf Centre if you want to but a shirt.

JBay local Remi Peterson is looking for his brand new board which went AWOL just 2 days after he got it. Either went flying off the back of his cabbie or else someone nicked it whilst he was surf checking. Either way keep your eyes peeled for it please.

Not too much on the charts for the week, so keep looking a bit further afield than the bay if you're after something decent sized.

Ah, wishful thinking that the warm water crystal blue barrel is here in the bay. North of the equator in my other home town it has been cooking all week. But the bay didn't do too badly either. A few fun waves to be had in the latter part of the week. Lulls were long, but the weather was lekker and the line-up certainly wasn't the worse place in the world to bide some time.

Plenty of rainbows about lately. Was blessed to see one last week whilst sitting out in the surf and it impressively arched over the sky and hit the horizon just past Bird Rock - was wondering if it meant there was gold there - as in waves at Avo's! 

Interesting fact about rainbows. They not actually arches but are full circles. We just see them as arches cos we on the Earth’s surface and the horizon gets in the way. People in airplanes sometimes do see them as a full circle. You can read all about it here:
https://earthsky.org/earth/what-gives-rainbows-their-curved-shape

Heaps of sand all over the line-ups at the moment. Supers has got tons of it by the looks of that shot! Also plenty out on the reef at Millers.

Big news is the change in the fish farm application. The fin fish proposed for the site off Pollock beach has now been changed to bivalves (muscle and oysters) and the fish farm location moved to Coega harbour area. A fish farm anywhere in the bay is still a kak idea, and a mussel/oyster farm, although better than fish, isn't so great either.  Things like the visual impact, how water quality will be effected by something the size of 300 rugby fields etc. Also, having  a large structure out there can act a bit like a FAD (fish aggregating device) where the lil dudes seek shelter in the structure, then the slightly bigger dudes lurk about the outside hoping to chow the lil dudes, and so it goes up the food chain. And of course the change of big strings/rafts of mussels coming loose and washing up on the beaches during the winter storms. So yah - still probably not a good thing to have right off the beach!

So the objections to the whole idea will still continue. You can see the full post here about the changes. http://www.millerslocal.co.za/blog/cheers-fish-farm-hello-mussel-farm

Please note that you can submit comments to the consultants via email - info@anchorenvironmental.co.za up until Wed 28 August

Nothing much on the charts for the week, but enough of a bump to get wet. Everyone is itching for another decent winter swell to make it's way outta the roaring 40's.

​Ending off with a coupla random shots from the week that was.

Seems that the powers that be have finally acknowledged that establishing a fish farm off Pollock Beach isn't such a bright idea after all. In a statement released on Friday by DAFF's consultants, Anchor Environmental, it was stated that "based on the revised significance of negative economic impacts linked to finfish farming at Algoa 1 Option 1 from ‘medium’ to ‘high’ after implementation of mitigation measures, DAFF has revised its priorities in respect of mariculture in Algoa Bay and has nominated Option B as the preferred Alternative Option. Alternative Option B involves:

• Mussel and oyster farming at Algoa 1 Option 1 (Summerstrand site)
• Mussel and oyster farming at Algoa 6 (PE Harbour site); and 
• Finfish farming at Algoa 7 (Ngqura Harbour site)"

So in a nutshell that means no fish Farm off Summerstrand, but a mussel/oyster farm instead. The area, if approved, would most likely be split into a 70:30 ratio 218 ha would be allocated to mussels and 94 ha allocated to oyster farming. Despite bivalve farming having less impact than finfish farming it could still pose risks to the environment. 

Thanks to the Rhodes University Ichthyology department for doing some in depth studies into Algoa 1 and showing it to have limited economic viability and a high impact on tourism and recreation in the bay, together with the well-publicised public outcry, it seems to have been sufficient for DAFF to change it's mind. 

That doesn't mean the end of things, as the effect of a mussel/oyster farm just offshore the public beaches now also has to be evaluated. As well as the effect of the new fish farm location at Algoa 7, and it's potential impacts on the Algoa Marine Protected Area.

So if you lent your voice to the public outcry by submitting an objection or participating in the protest, give yourself a pat on the back, as at least the worst case scenario has been avoided.

You can check out the shots and wrap on the fish farm protest organised by Adventure Swims ZA here:
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/blog/the-fish-farm-protest

The next phase of the upcoming application-phase public participation process (Public Participation Phase 2 of 2), will commence on 23 July 2019.  Please submit your comments on the Draft Basic Assessment Report (BAR) by Wednesday 28 August 2019.

You can check out the Draft Basic Assessment Report and Appendices here:
https://anchorenvironmental.co.za/node/344

Two public meetings will be held in Port Elizabeth during the upcoming public participation process:
Date: 31 July 2019Time: 18:00 - 20:30
Venue: Main Hall/Reception Area, Port Elizabeth Vuyisile Mini Square, Govan Mbeki Ave, Port Elizabeth Central, Port Elizabeth, 6001

Date: 1 August 2019
Time: 18:00 - 20:30
Venue: Motherwell NU2 Community Hall, Chief Poto Street, Motherwell, 6211

The objective of the application-phase meeting is to present the outcomes of the pre-application public participation process and how comments provided by stakeholders were considered in the Draft BAR.

Here's the updated Draft Basic Assessment Report - all the new info that was included based on the input from the Britz & Sauer study as well as all the public comments have been underlined so it makes it easier to see what's been amended.

Adventure Swims ZA were the organizers of a successful protest against the fish farm over the weekend.

Andrew Stewart gives us an overview of the day:
"Saturday’s event surpassed our expectation by a long way and we estimate that between walkers, swimmers and the rest of the sea faring craft that there were between 2000 and 3000 people. The message was quite clear as a huge amount of people went to the trouble of making placards voicing concerns.

The media coverage was also very good with interviews on both Algoa FM and Kingfisher radio, The Herald covered it both before the weekend and after, and there was a live interview with ENCA and 3 SABC interviews.

Invites went out to the Municipality, The Business Chamber and Anchor Environmental Service, the Company tasked by DAFF to head up the viability process, but none of them sent representatives. In their absence, the memorandum was handed over to the head of WESSA (Wildlife and Environmental Society of SA).

Gary Koekemoer from WESSA who is the go-to guy regarding the fish farm reports that DAFF (Dep of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), the proponents of the fish farm are clearly a bit rattled by the support and coverage the protest received. Whether or not this will result in them having a re-think on matters remains to be seen.

Gary reckons that could be a long fight, similar to the nuclear (Thyspunt)  objection. The best approach is to keep finding ways to stall the process. DAFF still have not launched the plan, but as they have appointed Anchor Environmental Service to conduct an assessment it shows their intent. Gary, as part of WESSA, will be engaging with groups like the Business Chamber and our Metro to get them on board and they also work with other environmental groups to plan and strategize.

A new round of public participation is expected to be opened soon, so everyone is encouraged to make their objections known when the opportunity arises."

Andrew has made some No Fish Farm Here stickers and these are available at the Blu Smooth office (152 Main Road, Walmer )

Add your name to the petition here:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/community_petitions/DAFF__No_to_Fish_Farms_in_Algoa_Bay_Yes_to_rehabilitating_the_Swartkops_Estuary

This week was all about the Corona Open at Jbay. Thankfully the comp got blessed with some really lekker conditions and there was plenty of awesome surfing going down. JBay as usual puts on a great show and well done to Koffie and the manne for making it such a slick gig. Just wish Billabong could get the naming rights back - just rolls off the tongue so much easier to say watching the Billabong, instead of Corona Open JBay.!

Local surfer fans were making the most of the opportunity to get some shots with their hero's. A chick in a purple wettie was stoked to be able to get a shot with the legendary Dennis Eliis, and some dude with a bok-baardjie was just frothing to get a picture with the one and only Car Park John.

Dusty was bitten by a shark whilst surfing Port Alfred on Wednesday morning. Thankfully he is doing well and after coming through to hospital in PE, he’s all stitched up and clean. But he's got a long road ahead of him and the Kowie Boardriders Club want to encourage peeps to contribute donations towards his hospital bills. Any little bit helps! It's estimated costs will be approx R140k in total (hospital bills as well as the recovery/rehab ahead). Wishing Dusty a speedy recovery and hope he gets back in the water soon!

You can check out the crowd funding link here:
​https://gogetfunding.com/help-dusty/

It's not only sharks that are dangerous in the water - it turns out surf schools are pretty dangerous too! Dave Lippie was out at Point during the week and a beginner had the stupidity/bravery (take your pick) to paddle right in front of him as he took off - anyone that's seen Dave "leap" to his feet will know this is a maneuver definitely designed to curtail your genetic potential.

Some rather gnarly board damage but thankfully no body damage. Not sure that a crowded line-up at Point is the best place for beginners or surf schools. Back in the day we all had to learn on crappy  waves at a random outta-the-way surf spot in town til we got competent enough to be unleashed in a crowd. 

Although all the attention was on JBay for the week, there were still rides in town.

Also some nice rides north of the equator - Josh Suanders has a short term gig as a surf guide in the Telo Islands and is making the most of some warm water waves.

The view from the hill never gets old. The mini surf city that is set up each year for the JBay Open is pretty impressive. Must surely be one of the best venues in the world for a WSL contest.

Alfonso got to hang with the legendary Sal Masekela. Wish they'd get Sal in the booth permanently for the commentary as he's heaps better than most of the other ou's, having done XGames and ESPN's surfing for many years. Sal is planning to spend more time in SA going forward (he's just applied for dual citizenship) and plans to get involved with development surfing.

Sad to see that the oil spill in Algoa Bay last week resulted in lots of oiled sea birds being brought in to Sancob. These poor lil dudes don't deserve to be the unlucky recipients of our mess. All that happens to the tanker that made the mess, slap on the wrist fine. Maybe if they doused the captain in oil and left him like that for a while he'd better appreciate the mess he made.

Great turnout for the fish farm protest on Saturday - that saw peeps swim/paddle/walk from Hobie to Humewood. Will get a blog post about all that  out soon.

If you haven;t yet gone to Jbay to watch some of the surfing make a plan to do so soon, always awesome to see the world's best going ballsitic!

Charts showing a bit of promise for end of the week into the weekend. Hold thumbs.

The week delivered a few surf-able days and then the weekend delivered the surf. And the wind. Pity the two are often mutually inclusive in PE during winter. Some good lines poured through, but you had to have a dik set of thigh muscles to handle the chop. So waves were more hop hop hop thanks to the chop chop chop.

Thanks so a slight kink in the coast compared to our bay, JBay handles the west a helluva lot better. And it was PUMPING out there. The whole WCT circus is in town so there was the opportunity to watch some of the CT ou's getting in some practice before the Corona JBay Open kicks off this week.

There were at least a few less wind days during the week were those that weren't into the challenging wind conditions could at least get a few sessions in.

Gotto wish that ou's get given a Rules of the Surf pamplet when they buy a board. So many new guys paddling around out there that just don't have a clue. Like when you paddle out at a point break you don't just paddle straight to the top of the line-up and expect to catch the first wave that comes through. It's called a line-up for a reason. But guess logic isn't a strong point these days.

One cool thing about having the pro's in town is that the groms get to grab some autographs. Young Kai was stoked to get a snap with Gabe Medina over the weekend.

The start of the waiting period for the Corona JBay Open starts on Tuesday and runs til the 22nd. Here's hoping they hook into some solid surf. Jordy is looking strong at the moment so holding thumbs he performs well at the event. He won it back in 2010 and 2011, so be nice to add a hat-trick of crowns to his trophy cabinet.

It's hard to miss out on solid surf even when conditions are windblown. So the next best thing is to hang out in the car park and talk story, whilst watching a few brave souls try their luck in the bump. The Pipe Crew were out in force over the weekend.

The cool thing about surf is it's always perfect and light offshore somewhere! Like the Maldives for instance! Anyone keen for a surf charter in that part of the world, give me a holler. 

Schoenies photographer Luc Hosten posted an interesting lil bit of history during the week. The story goes that a Schoenies resident was returning home late at night during the Second World War, and spotted a submarine just offshore and alerted the authorities. Turns out it was just a uniquely shaped rock. Which from then onwards became known as Submarine Rock. 

Frikking mullets dropped about 400L of diesel into the bay over the weekend whilst trying to refuel a cargo ship. Crazy that we permit bunkering ships to operate here. The heavy sea and wind conditions will hopefully move it offshore, but that still isn't great news for any wildlife unlucky enough to encounter it out there in the ocean.

Speaking of mullets. There are those that are still keen to try establish a fish farm in Algoa Bay. One of the sites being considered is right off Pollock Beach. Adventure Swims ZA is organizing a protest swim/paddle/walk protest on the Port Elizabeth beachfront this Saturday.

It starts at Hobie Beach at 9am on Saturday July 13. Peeps can swim or paddle on surfboards or in kayaks from Hobie Beach to Humewood Beach. And those that aren't keen to get wet can walk.

​Do pitch up and get involved if you're around. So often peeps like to bitch and moan about things but when it comes to actually taking action they do bogger all. Don't be one of the moaning apathetic types. So if you think it's a kak idea pitch up and show your support.

In between the blustery conditions there was the usual selection of awesome sunrises and sunsets that we are so blessed to enjoy in Africa. Specially along our coastline.

Charts look medoicre for this week - but Spike has spotted a big one brewing offshore at the end of the week - which might throw out something big early next week, so lets see what Neptune decides to do. Taunt us, or deliver.

Plenty of waves during the week. Some solid east swell pulled through and lit up all the usual spots that love a bit of that 160 degree angle. Lotsa chunky stuff at Humewood. And some decent runners at Pier, provided you didn't mind the backwash. If only the municipality would yank out those concrete slats between the pylons and let some of that Hobie Beach sand through to the other side....

Humewood was definitely the pic of the bunch for the week. Crowds went through stages of being thick as molasses to just a handful of your mates. Just had to time things well.

Plenty of action at Humewood, and even some world tour hotties blowing through. Carissa Moore was staying in town for a coupla days with Duncan Scott and was seen ripping the place to shreds. ​Plenty of stoked locals vying to a selfie or two.

When Hummies breaks you know for sure that another secret-not-so-secret spot further west will be doing it's thing. The locals were treated to the Jordy Smith Show - his first time out at the famed right point. And looking in top form for the upcoming JBay Open - here's hoping he can reclaim his title.

Go check out the Millers Local Facebook page to check out some insane drone footage that Nick Christy captured of Jordy's sesh.

PE also had it's share of barrels. Even Millers had some decent one's.

Pipe doesn't love the east swell as much as further north in the bay, but it still had plenty to work with for those who just wanna park n ride.

Relic surf shop in Baakens Valley hosted it's inaugural Sons of Ride event, which they plan to run quarterly. Some lekker vintage bikes on show, surf movies playing on the big screen, skate ramp, live music and food trucks. A kiff evening all round. 

Really really sad to say goodbye to one of the regular Millers Locals last week. Mark Difford passed away after succumbing to an aggressive cancer which kept him out the surf for these last few months. He will be sorely missed in the line-up, as many of us enjoyed long chats with him whilst waiting for waves. After his funeral service on Monday a couple of the locals hunkered down under brolleys in the wind and rain to have a few beers for Mark at the Millers bench. Unfortunately there weren't any waves to ride, but we pretty sure Mark would have enjoyed the send off nonetheless.

JBay local Garth Robinson helped save the day during the Thursday swell at Bruces. He'd taken a drive out of town to go watch Jordy ripping the guts out of Bruces Beauties and decided to get some shots with his old Century 1000mm.  After nailing some decent pics he then panned left and suddenly spotted a 23 year old surfer girl caught in a bad rip way out to sea. Garth called the NSRI who were there in about 5 minutes flat (out of the harbour) to pick her up. It was discovered later that she had paddled out at Granny's Pool, got caught inside and had her hair all tangled up in her leash and was then swept out to sea way down towards Anne Avenue and then out in the rip caused by the pumping east swell. Good spot by Garth and quick action from the NSRI and all ended well.

East swell means winds. Lots of it. It takes a special breed to brave those conditions and head over to Sardinia Bay.

The usual lekker sunrises and sunsets during the week to reward the early birds and the late sleepers alike. Charts look interesting for later this week. Say your prayers to the wind gods.

Late last year I finally got gatvol of wax. "Gatvol" is a wonderful Afrikaans expression meaning completely fed up. And fed up I was. Wax sticking to my boardshorts. Wax melting in my boardbag. Having to swap cold water wax for warm water wax when I traveled. Wax obscuring my cool board design. Dirty wax from my booties. That was it. I was done with wax.

So a bit of googling turned up RSPro Hexatraction - and their awesome see-through deck grip and cork traction pads. Soon I was hooked up with some products and was ready to ride waxless. And what a joy it was! You can check out my initial review of Hexatraction here
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/blog/goodbye-wax-hello-hexatraction

But as with all new things - does the spark last - or does it fade? So here I am 6 months later to tell you this stuff still rocks as much as it did the day it first went on my board. I am absolutely and truly converted to a wax-free surfing life.

I knew it worked a treat in cool water at my home break, but would it still tick the boxes on a 6 week surf trip in Indo? Yip - happy to report it did just that. I bought some extra grip to sticker up my husbands board as well, and he also loved it. Super grippy, no hassle of having to re-wax after every session (cos the tropics are good at sucking wax off your board in a flash), no messing up your nice boardshorts with sticky wax.

Best of all it didn't even rash your chest up at all - he did a 4 hour bare-chested sesh without any hint of a rash. And for those who love their front grips - the RSPro cork traction is definitely a winner. Specially for a rash-free surf, but also super-light whilst still being super grippy.

Indo's tropical reefs are a tad carniverous, so it's easy to get rail dings on your boards. I'd seen the rail tape that RSPro was selling and decided to try some of that out too. It was a wee bit tricky to apply cos it's hard to keep it tracking straight as you glue it down the rail. But a coupla adjustments here and there and it was good to go. Hubby can be a bit of a crash-test dummy at times (loves riding waves until they end up on dry reef!) and the rail tape definitely protected his board from the usual bumps and dings. Also great for when you transporting your board from surf to beach in the dingy.

Have suggested to RSPro to put a few notches in the rail tape to allow for slight direction adjustments during application, so hopefully they consider that for future editions.

Also hope that they soon come out with a cork back grip, cos that will be just next level. Normal deck grip chows your knees and your wettie, and the cork front deckgrip is so much more forgiving on skin and suits alike, that once they get the back grip out it's game-on.

I'm stoked to report back that the RSPro hexatraction and cork deck grip are both still performing awesomely 6 months later, still as grippy as ever, perfectly stuck to my deck - no hint of peeling off, and still super clean. You really have to seriously consider going waxless, it'll change your surfing life!  

Check out your local surf shop for stock (In PE Surf Centre has some in store), or tune Deon Bosman here, the local South African distributor - he can send you some. If you're overseas, then just grab your from the RSPro website. 
Trust me - you won't be sorry!