Surfing in PE made simple: Waves are good, wind is kak. Wind is good, waves are kak. That pretty much sums up last week. Some really decent swell got decimated by some pomping wind. Sure, you could try paddle out and grab a few, but it was definitely favoured effort in the effort:reward ratio.

Glance at this from afar and it looks like a dolphin jumping though the surf. Turns out it's just Jonty succumbing to the ever-present chop. 

​For those who prefer their chops on the braai and not on their waves, then a trip west to JBay solved all your issues. The protection from the hillock and the slight change in coastline angle meant that Supers was rather super.

And if you went even further west there were some sandy barrels to be had. There's talk about some groynes being built along this stretch of coast to try replenish the beaches. Could be an interesting project if they do it right.

As far as PE went, it was mostly Pipe or bust unless you really like hopping the chop. At one stage the chops moving along the wave face were actually breaking, so there was a 2ft wave breaking sideways on a 4ft wave. Welcome to PE. 

With summer on the way it means the early morning surfers are getting more bang for their buck. The warmer temperatures also mean less likely to be the usual morning devil wind,which is a double whammy win. Winter dawnies are usually ruined by the heavy cross-shore.

Spring highs combined with the big low pressure that came past meant super high tides. Took some chunks out of the wall at Millers, and even bigger chunks out of the sand dunes. Everyone is always quick to point out that sand dunes can recover, but not if there isn't a back beach to replenish them with - as is the case at Millers. So when they get chowed, they stay chowed. The same problem at Pipe, not sand behind the dunes to feed back into them again. 

Some comps coming up soon. The NMBS Closed is at the end of the month at Kitchens in JBay, and there's the Something Good Classic coming up this weekend at Pipe. Check out the shirt size option on the entry form!

Always something interesting floating past out at sea. Last week saw the heavy lift vessel Hua Xing Long en route to the USA head past Schoenies, dwarfing the pleasure craft Bam who looked to be dicing it.

Sunsets and sunrises always good in the bay. More of the same this week. 

Nothing too flash on the charts this week. But with the crazy summer weather, anything could happen.

Pretty small week. A few crumbs here and there to ensure your board still got wet, but nothing to shout about. Weather still doing it's bipolar thing. Stunning to crap in about 10 minutes, and vice versa. 

Thankfully the waters been really warm, so even if it's small it still seems fun cos you not freezing your pip off. 

Somewhere else with warm water was cooking this week. Not known usually for it's wave size, the Maldives had some biggish one's. Pretty much a real-life wavepool. Although that new one just opened in Bristol in the UK looks damn fun - hope someone decides to build one of those in PE.

Jordy got to the finals in Portugal but got beaten in the final. However,  it does mean he gets enough points to be in with a chance of the title at Pipe. Here's hoping he can pull the rabbit out the hat.

Besides the fact our waters been warm, it's also been really clear. Ideal for the spearo's who frequent the bay.  This camo suited but not so camouflaged guy spotted at Humewood.

On the subject of fashion, check out the very cool homegrown threads available at Relic surf shop down in the valley. Pop in and grab yourself a Holmes Bros. shirt. Made by Saffa's for Saffa's.

Not many waves, but plenty of stunning skies. Check em out.

And one more just to really cement home the fact that we live in a beautiful corner of the world! PE sure is one schweet lil town. Just wish it had more waves! Sunsets we good on, waves not so much.

Spring weather in full effect. Howls one way, stops for 10 seconds, howls the other way. Gotto be on the ball to score a wave in between all that. 

When there isn't much to go around sometimes sharing is caring. Always helps when you can drop in on your lil brother. That's the joys of family hierarchy!

Whilst there wasn't that much happening wave-wise the dolphins didn't seem too perturbed about the lack of swell and still did their daily swim past the pier. Be interesting to tag one of them to see where they actually go during a day. Mostly they come past at about 10-11am from the south direction, and then back towards Pipe again after 2pm. Hardly a day goes by when you won't see them at some stage. 

Quite a bit of sand at the moment along certain stretches of the beach, making even the small days fun. Very tide-specific though, so be in it to win it. 

The Coastal Water Rescue guys did some training at Hobie during the week. We're lucky to have a dedicated group of volunteers to supplement the metro services. More is better when it comes to stuff like that.

Andre Clarke has had some of his stickers printed, so if you keen to grab some Proudly PE surf stickers, or the cool Octopus or Pipe bomb one's give him a holler at ​andre.synergy@gmail.com or hunt him down in the Pipe carpark if there's waves. Small size is R15 and big one's are R20. You can also buy a whole sticker pack which includes a variety of all the different stickers. 

Always envy people who are early risers - best part of the day it seems, cos apparently the wind in PE also sleeps late. So if you up early you might miss it!

Life's all about perspective. Sometimes things aren't as they seem. Like for instance the wave here looks pretty fun...until you at ground level and realise it's only knee high! But hey, knee high in PE ain't such a bad day. Could always be worse. Flat or onshore spring to mind!

Always bigger round the corner. Take a drive and see what you find. Sometimes more than you bargained for.

Still hoping to find a pair of lightweight, waterproof infrared goggles, cos look what we missing during the dark hours. Plenty of fun lil lines streaming in. Know a few guys who have done night surfs under a full moon. Apparently it's a pretty common thing in the States. Heard of 20-30 guys out at Trestles at night. Imagine if that's their version of "escaping the crowds". Eish, we lucky!

The latter part of the week saw some waves about. Friday and Saturday morning were probably pick of the bunch. Good timing as a few guys decided to get in the water to grab some shots. Thanks Tristan and Vaughan! You can check out their images here:
​http://www.millerslocal.co.za/latest-shots/avos-12-oct-2019
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/latest-shots/pipe-9-oct-2019

Both JBay and Seals had some good one's. Even the "secret spot" had a few, although a bit smaller and slower than elsewhere.

Plenty of PE guys burn a few litres of fuel to head west for a surf on the weekends. JBay can be pretty localised at times, so you have to be pretty confident to rock your PE local stickers on both your cabbie and board when you surf Supers. No skin off Andre Clarke's nose though, a proudly PE local! PE surf spot stickers will be available soon for purchase. Watch this space.

Not only the East Cape getting some surf , but Taiwan is cooking too. PE local Nic Flood is getting his share of the pits.

Millers could be one of the best right points on our coast if we could just trim a bit of Cape Recipe back and open it up to some more swell. Sometimes it gives little glimpses of what it could be like. Specially when it's pint-sized swell and there's little peelers coming perfectly down the reef, and you wished you were ant-sized to be able to ride them.

Interesting article on Wavescape during the week about guys going leashless on their logs. With the advent of small summer sessions upon more guys will be longboarding so it's worth taking a read of this: https://www.wavescape.co.za/surf-news/breaking-news/wear-a-leash-man.html

Leash-free at your own quiet spot is all good, but doesn't make as much sense if you're in a crowded line-up. A number of our local loggers are very proficient and I can't say I've ever seen them lose a board. But that doesn't apply to everyone. And the hiccup is that the not-so-proficient guys want to emulate the style-meisters and then the potential for getting clipped by a runaway log becomes a possibility. So please be careful peeps.

Big surf round the corner over the weekend. With some long paddles and lots of duck-dives if you were up for a challenge.

Unfortunately the big seas had a very sad consequence. A ski boat with some fishermen was returning to Noordhoek on Saturday morning and capsized. Three of the men made it safely back to shore, but a 4th guy sadly didn't make it. RIP.

Impressive full moon saw some nice big spring tides. Always remember Len Payne teaching me the trick about spring tides and tide times about 20 years ago. Spring high is at about 4pm and spring low is about 10am. Always. Every single spring tide. Neap tides are the opposite, so 10am high and 4pm low. So now all you need to do is look at the moon to see what the tide times will be. Who needs an app!?

Sad to see marine litter dotting the shores of our coast. Ropes like these are just what tangles up whales and other marine life. Such a pity that many who use the sea to make their money have so little respect for it. Luc says this rope is near the high tide mark so could well be swept back into the sea So if anyone is feeling like a work-out, go drag this lot further up the beach.

Local kneelo Craig Seale had a close encounter at JBay when a dolphin decided to leap before it looked. And crashed into his board. Which is of course better than landing on his head! Nonetheless. A rather bruised looking stick after the unusual accident.

Lots of nice sunrises and sunsets during the week. Always good to get your dose of orange at either side of the day.

Some swell in the water this week, winds might be a bit flukey though.

You know things are slow when the highlight of the week is the fact that it rained. Super scratchy surf on offer. Usual story. If you missioned you could find a wave. But not a helluva lot in the bay.

​The groms don't mind iffy conditions though and went banana's at Lower Point in Jbay for the SeaHarvest SA Junior Champs. NMBM came 4thm with our best performers being Angeloa Faulker getting a 3rd in the u18's and Joel Dace getting a 3rd in u14's. Well done to all our groms for taking part and having a blast. The overall title was won by Buffalo City. First time their groms have won the comp.

Summer time is approaching fast. Which means be happy with knee high peelers. you can find 'em around for sure. Just need to upgrade your shooter to a log and you'll be good to go. Rumour has it that CarPark John might be finally thinking about a mini-mal. Time will tell.....

Yin yang weatherwise for the week - some perfect beach days interspersed with some horrendous weather days. But that's the change of season for you. Four seasons in one day.

Some vintage shots cropped up during the week. Always cool to see what our beachfront used to look like. Sure did have a heap more sand. 

Industry news for the week was that Ripcurl got bought by a camping company Kathmandu for $200 million. Hmm. Their marketing hoopla said as follows: “Rip Curl transforms Kathmandu into a highly complementary, seasonally balanced, global outdoor and action sports business."

​So there goes the last of the privately owned surf brands. All gobbled up by international business. Maybe a case of Icarus trying to fly too close to the sun. Woulda been better off staying niche instead of selling to department stores. Hindsight is an exact science as they say.

One of those neither here not there weeks. A few waves, a lot of wind, the odd nice day. A real mixed bag as is per usual for early Spring. 

Those that went west got some fun one's. The end of the road delivered a few good rides, although the lighties took over the point for the weekend for the Billabong Seal Point Pro Junior event. Local surfer Nathan Plomaritis was in great form in the U14 Boys Final to take the only win for the East Cape.

Sometimes you don't have to spend that much on fuel to find waves, maybe all it takes is a walk to the end of the beach. Might even hook a sneaky barrel or two for your efforts.

If only they could make a decent artificial reefs. The long stretch of Kings Beach is just crying out for something to turn the long straight-handers into rippable lil rights and lefts. The guys from Coastal Water Rescue didn't mind the flat conditions for their practice session though. The crew are all volunteers who are just a phone call away for any sea rescue or emergency situation, and are a great supplement to the municipal rescue services.

Round the corner had a few if you went looking. 

But mostly the bay was flat. But flat can be pretty too. Add some long shutter speeds to your camera and it can blend it into prettiness. Humewood hasn't seen much action lately, but when it's on form it's easily the best wave in the bay.

Always lekker to have community-minded surfers. The early morning Pipe crew of Allan Bezuidenhout (owner and chef at Muse Restaurant) and Jacques Mong (Dial-a-dump) got gatvol of the mess in the carpark at Pipe so decided to make a plan. The guys bough some trash bins and have set them up in the carpark, and Jacques will arrange to have them emptied regularly.

So support surfers who support you - grab a chow at Allan's place, or if you need skip hire, tune Jacques (he specialises in mini skips - perfect for garden refuse/building rubble etc).

It was International Coastal Clean UP day on Saturday, so plenty of beach cleans along our stretch of coast. Thanks to everyone who went and did their bit. But remember every day should be a clean up day - coming back from your surf always keep a look out for some trash you can pick up and chuck away.

Unfortunately this poor guy had to be cleaned up as well. Dead seal washed up on the beach at Clubhouse over the weekend.

With the advent of spring the sun is setting a bit more to the SW than during it's winter setting position, that means not as easy to get the cool sunset pics over the back end of the pier, as now from my viewpoint it's more behind the buildings in Humewood. But sunrises don;t get obscured by anything other than where they pop up relevant to Bird Rock.

Guys were flying high at the Surf Ranch WSL event. Still like watching paint dry, but it does allow for some progressive surfing, once you get over the monotony of the bulk of the surfing. Jordy got an 8th and so slips down to 3rd in the overall leader board. Medina won and cements his spot at the top.

You don't only have to have a wave pool to fly high, can always grab your skateboard and got get some air at the Kings Beach skate park. 

Another new possie for skaters to enjoy is the half pipe at Relic surf shop down in Baakens Valley. The ramp was officially opened this weekend as part of the opening function for the Cobbles Classic.

Spring doesn't look like she's ready to throw us another bone yet,charts looking stagnant. Anyone wanna burn some boards to appease the wave gods?

A scratchy week wave-wise. Some lekker weather and some fun slides, but nothing that would really shake the cobwebs off. Usual story - those that put in the miles had the biggest smiles.

The saying goes that months that end in "-er" are those that are the windy one's. And so far September is living up to that theory. Some pomping days where you were happy to hang on to the hair on your head. The kiters don't seem to mind. Reckon "must love sand" is a pre-requisite for being a kiter. Cos that walk up the dunes must be a long one.

The annual Jam Jar rally started off at Something Good. The rules are simple, your car has to be at least 30 years old, worth less than R30k and pimped out to the max. And you have to commit to being very stupid and silly and having heaps of fun. Sounds like a plan!
(Images Innova, and Dave Randle)

Sometimes the ou's stand at their cars having a puff. And sometimes a puff just drops by un-announced. Andre Clarke and local paddle-skier Jeremy were suiting up at Noordhoek, when this guy slid slowly out from behind the rear tyre. After a brief stare off he decided he didn't mind the guys on his turf, and continued slithering languidly off into the bush. The ou's heart rates were warmed up for their surf even before they hit the water.

There's another kinda snake in the car park - those that break into your darn car. Yet another break-in at Millers car park during the week. Ironically after I'd been chatting to the cars owner in the line-up and saying that altho I thought the car park was still sketchy it had been better lately - well, I guess not, as after his surf he got to his car to discover it had been broken in to!

Staying on the subject of snakes. Don't forget your line-up etiquette out there peeps. When you paddle out, take your place in the line up - not right at the top of the queue thinking the first wave that arrives is yours. And after catching your wave, slot back into line - don't paddle straight back to the top of the line-up. Don't be that d**s. 

PE's infamously slack surf can have interesting consequences. Gavin Cherry got so gatvol of the pap waves that you can hardly stand on, he decided why not stop bothering to stand up in the first place. So Hein lent him a kneeboard, and after a month or so he was converted and went off to buy his own. Reckons it's heaps more fun than trying to struggle with the swak stuff  - and it's also overhead most days! Life is all about perspective!

All the frothy groms chosen for the Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders team got their colours, and are all geared to go. The lighties will be surfing the SeaHarvest SA Champs to be held at Lower Point starting 25 Sept.

Our Bay is looking more and more like Durbs these days with all the huge ships anchored out near Coega Harbour. It was these mullets that brought the infamous red tide to our bay, and now they're adding to the pollution issues with oil leakages when they get fuel from the bunkering ship anchored out there. So basically our bay is like the local petrol station along this stretch of coast. Fecking stupid idea if you ask me.

​Bogger all on the charts for this week - unless the east winds manage to drum up enough swell to make the wind switch on the weekend turn out to be something worthwhile.

Summer continues to unfold upon us, with the usual array of kiff sunrises and sunsets. Nature sure does like putting on a show when she's in the mood. Just play along Neptune, and don't forget the waves!

Give the dog a bone! Boneyards doing it's thing during the last week. Luckily Neptune threw us all a bone with a few waves about to have a bit of fun on. 

Not only did we get some surf, the slip towards summer means that the sunsets are getting earlier, but still as beautiful as ever. Those that can do the early bird thing sure do get rewarded for leaving the comfort of their beds earlier than the rest of us.

JBay had some good one's during the week, but sometimes you pay to play. Lippie had his stick become two. Usually two for the price of one is a good thing, but not when that means your board has decided to do that.

Bumped into Deno at Chomp whilst trying to avoid the crowds, and he has a cool ride at the moment. Super short (yet super thick) foil board. Heaps of volume packed into a lil package of dynamite without sacrificing performance. Luckily rails aren't issue when you flying above the wave face.

Never having tried foiling before I asked Deno what the gig was. Turns out it's quite a tricky thing to get the hang of, as the take-off is rather "violent". One second you paddling along happily and the next thing you're getting ejected into the air as the foil takes hold!

No-one conveys sand quite as well as Schoenies photag Luc Hosten does. I guess cos PE is blessed with plenty of sandy shores, and enough wind to make them interesting. Luc does such a good job of it he's been invited to give a presentation on photographing sand at next years Cape Photographer's congress. Now we just have to convince him to start shooting surfers again!

Some cool VW bugs spotted at Kings Beach over the weekend. Gotto love it when your board and bug match - check the kiff pink surfboard on the roofracks!

Some beaut weather on Sunday - hot as Hades and a sea as flat as the Vaal Dam. No surf options, but definitely  a lekker day to hang on the beach. 

Doesn't look like much on the charts for this week, so you'll need to go hunting a bit to find some slides. Failing that just wake up early and get energised by watching the kiff sunrise. And failing that, just check next week's blog for pictures of the sunrises you missed!

Last chance to get your objections in for the fish farm/mussel farm planned for the bay. The fin fish aspect has been relocated to Coega harbour area, and a bivalve (mussel/oyster) farm planned for off Pollock beach.

Neither are great idea's for a number of reasons so if you agree then get your emails in pronto. Here's why I think they suck:

Algoa 1 (off Pollock Beach)
The zoning has been updated to Bivalves at the Pollock Beach site, and although a slight improvement on the original finfish farm it still poses potentially significant risks.

• Eco-system disruption: bivalves species they will farm are not from SA and they are invasive so the danger is that  they will replace our native species on the Rocky shore and shallow reef systems in the bay. The EIA peeps reckon these invasive species are already present but this has not been verified and a comprehensive inventory should be done before they are farmed. Also, the high level of fouling that occurs on ropes and other structures may be a stepping stone  for other invasive marine invertebrates to make a home for themselves, and in turn then spread to the neighboring reefs (Philips reef, bell buoy and the extensive reef system from flat rocks to Whitesands reef). All in all not good!
• Lines/rafts from the installation can break and these wash up onto our beaches (and en route pose a risk to passing boats/yachts/ships)
• Still a pollution risk affecting water quality from huge concentrations of bivalves (feces falls below them onto the seafloor, changing the nutrient content of the water)
• Installation can act like a fish aggregating device (FAD) which in turn creates an eco-system in that area, and the presence of many smaller fish may as a consequence increase the risk of predators in the area,
• Visual impact on tourism, even though installation will probably be lower than fin fish cages still something the size of 300 rugby fields right close off shore

Algoa 7 (New fin fish zone proposed for near Coega harbour)

• All the same objections that were initially raised about the fin fish farm at Pollock apply here – but most notably the predator issue. Great Whites transverse huge distances regularly, so having the possibility of drawing them to congregate in an area still within close relative proximity to our bathing beaches is not acceptable. They routinely travel along the entire length of our coastline, so the distance between Algoa 7 and main bathing beaches is actually not significant to them.
• The added issue of farmed fish in close proximity to a marine protected area, and the genetic issues that arise from possible cross breeding of wild fish and escapee’s.

Drop Anchor Environmental an email with your objections. If you haven't yet registered as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) then you can ask them to do so at the same time.
Last day for submission of objections is 4 Sept 2019.
info@anchorenvironmental.co.za

More info about the proposed farms here: ​https://anchorenvironmental.co.za/node/344

Some waves about during the week. Crowds were thick on occasion, as everyone was frothing that there was something to ride at last. Just a pity that in their enthusiasm some peeps forgot their manners. Think we need a few ballie's to step up and bring a bit of order back to the line-ups.

Jbay and out west obviously had their share of good one's, with plenty of barrels on offer for those who wanted to tuck 'n run. Of course sometimes that results in a snapped leash, and nothing worse than having to scramble over the bricks to try find your wayward stick.....and then not being able to spot it.

The wildlife showed up as usual to pull a few airs. Always awesome to surf with the dolphins, although can be disconcerting when a 300kg missile is bearing down on you in the wave face that you're about to have to duck dive.

Last chance to get your objections in for the fish farm/mussel farm planned for the bay. The fin fish aspect has been relocated to Coega harbour area, and a bivalve (mussel/oyster) farm planned for off Pollock beach.

Neither are great idea's for a number of reasons so if you agree then get your emails in pronto. Here's why I think they suck:

Algoa 1 (off Pollock Beach)
The zoning has been updated to Bivalves at the Pollock Beach site, and although a slight improvement on the original finfish farm it still poses potentially significant risks.

• Eco-system disruption: bivalves species they will farm are not from SA and they are invasive so the danger is that  they will replace our native species on the Rocky shore and shallow reef systems in the bay. The EIA peeps reckon these invasive species are already present but this has not been verified and a comprehensive inventory should be done before they are farmed. Also, the high level of fouling that occurs on ropes and other structures may be a stepping stone  for other invasive marine invertebrates to make a home for themselves, and in turn then spread to the neighboring reefs (Philips reef, bell buoy and the extensive reef system from flat rocks to Whitesands reef). All in all not good!
• Lines/rafts from the installation can break and these wash up onto our beaches (and en route pose a risk to passing boats/yachts/ships)
• Still a pollution risk affecting water quality from huge concentrations of bivalves in close proximity to bathing beaches
• Installation can act like a fish aggregating device (FAD) which in turn creates an eco-system in that area, and the presence of many smaller fish may as a consequence increase the risk of predators in the area,
• Visual impact on tourism, even though installation will probably be lower than fin fish cages still something the size of 300 rugby fields right close off shore

Algoa 7 (New fin fish zone proposed for near Coega harbour)

• All the same objections that were initially raised about the fin fish farm at Pollock apply here – but most notably the predator issue. Great Whites transverse huge distances regularly, so having the possibility of drawing them to congregate in an area still within close relative proximity to our bathing beaches is not acceptable. They routinely travel along the entire length of our coastline, so the distance between Algoa 7 and main bathing beaches is actually not significant to them.
• The added issue of farmed fish in close proximity to a marine protected area, and the genetic issues that arise from possible cross breeding of wild fish and escapee’s.

Drop Anchor Environmental an email with your objections. If you haven't yet registered as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) then you can ask them to do so at the same time.
Last day for submission of objections is 4 Sept 2019.
info@anchorenvironmental.co.za

Always interesting to see whether you gonna be a goofy or a regular footer. Logger Alfonso Peters just discovering his lightie ain't gonna be following in dad's footsteps cos he looks to be a regular footer!

When you get a lil older then you can go surfing with dad. This young lady has been frothing in the shorey at Pipe recently whilst dad gets a few out back. 

Coupla days of big seas last week saw the Coastal Water Rescue guys and the NSRI having to assist with rescuing a fisherman that got stranded on Black Rock and having to get helped across the gully. No fun when the waves are smashing through the rocks. Easy to get inadvertently cheese-grated. 

Besides the waves we had some wind. Proper Spring conditions. Every month that ends in "-er" seems to have pomping wind.

Wind + sand usually means you gonna get sand blasted if you're brave enough to take a walks seems like a good idea til you get home and realise you can't get the sand off of you as it's somehow embedded itself into your pores.

Despite the cold, windy and rainy conditions, there were still some great sunsets to enjoy. PE never disappoints. So even though Zigzag ran multiple features in their last issue covering a road trip around the entire SA coastline, they excluded precisely one town, PE! We have a lekker possie here, and we DO get surf. Sometimes! Zag - I think you owe everyone in PE a free subscription for that faux pas.