In an effort to “share the feeling” and assist local surfing outreach programs in underprivileged areas, Billabong South Africa have launched the Surfers Helping Surfers initiative that encourages all surfers to donate their old wetsuits and in exchange, qualify for a discount on a new Billabong suit.
Surfers Helping Surfers has collection bins set up in all coastal Billabong stores across South Africa where surfers can drop off their old wetsuits. In return they qualify for a 20% discount off any new Billabong suit. The old wetsuits are then collected, sorted and distributed to a number of recognized surf outreach programs that Billabong currently supports; these include Surf Shack, Aleph and Christian Surfers. Chad D’Arcy, Marketing Manager for Billabong said: “This is the first year we’re running this campaign and so far the response has been fantastic. We launched the initiative at our first Billabong Junior Series event in Mossel Bay in April and to-date we have had over 50 wetsuits donated through our stores. It is a great way for surfers to give back and to help less fortunate kids share in the stoke of riding waves. We are aiming to do our first handover in July and keep the campaign running through our stores indefinitely.” Rehgert Van Zyl, Founder and Director of Aleph Surfing Foundation, said: “‘A wetsuit can tell many epic stories of surf sessions that have been spent with its owner, but once a surfer gets a new suit, the old one is quickly forgotten and ends up discarded. Billabong is taking initiative to continue the life of a wetsuit by creating avenues for people to donate their old suits to some amazing surf related causes – and get some reward for it!“ “It’s great to see a company connecting the dots and channeling wetsuits to people who do not have the same access to resources. As an organization we can then share and send wetsuits where they are very needed and appreciated. What a way to make surfers from either ends of the scale be part of the same process of sharing in the stoke. I would encourage people to make use of this opportunity presented by Billabong and be intentional with giving and receiving. Aleph Surf International is honored to steward these suits and make a lot of surfers and other projects very happy.” Below are the Billabong Stores in the Eastern Cape running the Surfers Helping Surfers initiative, where you can drop off your old suit: · Billabong Boardwalk Port Elizabeth · Billabong Moffet Park Port Elizabeth · Billabong Concept Store J-Bay · Billabong Magna’s Surf Store J-Bay The swell machine decided to take a bit of a break last week after a pretty good run. "Break" being a relative term. It just didn't cook every single day, just some days! Let's hope it's recharging it's batteries and will come back firing. Just as well it looks like it won't wake up again this week - as the charts show a full week of winds out the north. Dylan Lightfoot was spotted getting some practice in for this weeks Mr Price Pro at Ballito - which starts Monday. Be a good warm-up comp for Dylan, who has a wildcard slot in the JBay Open, which will be taking place in his back yard soon (10 - 20 July). Despite the good surf, the taxman still demanded payment - so the odd board and suit were trashed to keep him happy. Bystanders were impressed by a display of boardless surfing from what looked like Shaun Payne. Quite a few of the international contingent have arrived to start getting some practice in for the JBay Open, so some impressive surfing going down. PE local Brad Beck is still over in Maldives training as a surf guide getting barreled off his pip and making everyone back home pretty damn jealous. He steps it up a notch this week as he'll be joining his Tropicsurf team on a charter on the ridiculously pimped out Four Seasons Explorer. Not your typical leaky feral bumboat with no aircon and rice & fish every night. Bit of drama at Sards late Thursday arvo after some kiters got themselves into trouble and were spotted trying to swim back to shore. Local residents kept an eye on them, and the NSRI and Coastal Water Rescue crews got out there super quick. Apparently an ou had to ditch his kite cos he couldn't get it up, and swam back in to borrow another kite so he could go fetch the one he had to dump. Him & the mate that went out to help him retrieve it then got into trouble, again having to ditch kites. They got swept out the bay, but thankfully managed to swim in a gully around the corner before the rescuers had to go out & fetch them. Bit of an expensive kite sesh that - 3 kites goodbye gone (for the NSRI report on the incident, click here) Just a reminder that we're really lucky to have a jacked up water safety crew patrolling our coast. So next time you see an NSRI collection tin, make sure you put a few greenbacks in it, as you never know when these guys might have to come pull your ass out the water. The local Coastal Water Rescue crew also do a great job. Shot to the NMMU surf team who took 2nd spot overall in the SA Student Champs held at Vic Bay last week. Really solid surf saw the guys display some serious commitment. Jean du Plessis took the men's title, and NMMU won the men's division. Plenty discussion about the spate of recent shark sightings along the JBay stretch, but at least these johnnies have been in cruisey mode, unlike the flying submarine snapped by Brandon Kilbribe just off Seal Island near Cape Town last week. Imagine seeing this bearing down on you!?
"Surfers Helping Surfers is a new initiative brought to you by Billabong that gives you a chance to feel stoked by helping the less fortunate surfers know the feeling...
Bring in your old wetsuit and get 20% off on a brand new BILLABONG wetsuit and we will donate your old suits to our surf outreach programs!" So there you have it peeps - go scrounge around for all those suits gathering dust or taking up space in the garage, and go take em in to your nearest Billabong shop to trade em up for a nice spanky new one for a kiff discount, whilst knowing your old suit is gonna get a new lease on life - and keep some less privileged surfer a lil more toasty this winter. The winter swell machine was still going full ball last week. JBay was the place to be as usual, as handled the heavy winds that battered the coast. Rumour has it that both Twiggy Baker and Remi Peterson caught waves from Supers all the way through to Point. That's a kilometre long ride. Ou's must have legs of steel! PE surfers had to cry into their coffee as they watched Thursday solid swell get decimated by the cross chop, rendering it basically unsurfable. There were those that tried. Guys reckoned the chop was so big you had to duckdive it! Such a pity as there were some really great lines pulling through. The torment of being a bay surfer. Friday was International Surfing Day - which woulda been a good one. If it hadn't been for the wind. Again. Common theme this is. Still, a nice lil rainbow pitched up mid-arvo to highlight the pot of gold at the end of it - a solid set at Avo's. Wish we'd get a visit from the Sand Fairy so that all our low tide spots can come back to life. Can't remember when Humewood, Pier and Avo's broke properly. West of the bay's been pumping all week. The locals were stoked about a service delivery protest that threatened to block off entry over the weekend - so they had some great waves to themselves without the usual influx of townies. Mike Hill has a sketchy back at the moment, so is resigned to swimming instead of surfing. Scored a great shot of Dane Staples - who's normally on the other side of the lens. Sunday closed out with another spectacular sunset. Cape Town can keep their mountain and Joburg can keep their money. There's no place like home.....
Good to have another winter's week that delivered a few waves. From Monday through to Sunday there were waves to be had. It also delivered some serious wind - which was only appropriate given that Saturday was Global Wind Day. Happy to say that the Eastern cape came to the party for that one. The predicted storm delivered some serious surf to the more exposed breaks. JBay continued it's epic run, and even some lesser known beachies put on a barrel-fest for those in the know. Elevator drop straight into heaving barrel, and mostly makeable. Ou's were smiling. Ou's were not smiling when in the midst of the kiff swell they got chased out the water by a toothy fiend. The man in grey cleared the line-up at Supers quicker than any gnarly local could. Deon Lategan came cruising through on a wave from Boneyards and couldn't work out where everyone had gone. Until frantic waving from those on the rocks conveyed the message pretty clearly! The saying goes that the early bird gets the first worm. But this week it tended to be the those out at last light that got the bombs. Still, the sunrises were nothing short of spectacular. The johnny at Supers might not have snacked on anyone, but a fin in the Kowie certainly caused some major damage. Mickey Witthuhn's session went from awesome to awful in a split second when a wipeout went bad, and his fin sliced right through the top of his foot. Thankfully prompt action by some locals saw him off to get some needlework done. Always a good idea to sand down those fins peeps - they don't have to be sharp enough to slice ya limbs off. Thanks to ex-local Jaryd Mason for letting my fins hitch a lift back from Australia in his grandparents luggage - beats paying courier and customs fee's! Got a set of Hanalai quads from Lance Pearson a while back when he was out in SA for a school reunion. Loved em so much ordered another set of them, so can stick em in my shortboard too. Current set lives in the Gobbler. Have loaned em out to Bruce Campbell to test drive for a bit. Also got a set of the hammer side bites, which are super drivey and fast - see Bruce rode em over the weekend so keen to hear what he thought! Speaking of fins, anyone spots a silver H2 in the reef at Millers....that'd be mine. Had a battle vs my calf on Friday and lost. Went fin searching at low tide the next day. Found zillions of sea anemones, a few pearlemoen shells and a fin - but not my one. Brad & Hannah are over in the Maldives at the moment - and aren't missing out on any of the surf back home. Cos what hits us hits them a week or so later. Hannah's already creased her longboard and broken 2 leashes. Brad's broken one leash. Plenty of pits and beatings, and they're loving it. Winter seems to be clicking in to gear - so lets hope it carries on rolling. More waves, more sunsets. Bring em on.
WHAT IS IT?
Surf forecaster and founder of Wavescape, Spike, gives a multi-media presentation to depict how waves form, how swell moves through the sea, what happens when it arrives at the coast, and how to predict surf. This fascinating, graphical journey brings home the catastrophic power of nature. Forecasting insights give it a unique perspective with appeal to all ocean users or interested parties. WHO IS IT FOR? * Ocean sports (surfers, sailors, kiters, boardsailors, divers, paddlers) * Marine industry (Sailors, harbour workers, lifeguards, fisheries, shipping) * Recreation (beachgoers, anglers) * Other (retirees, paragliders, marine tour guides, oil rig staff, naval officers) WHAT DO WE COVER? * The genesis of ocean storms * The destructive force of waves * Video footage inside intense hurricanes * Damage by freak waves & tsunamis * Ways to understand wave period * Ways to interpret weather models * Surfcasting tips and tricks * Storm and big wave case studies WHAT IS THE FORMAT? 1. Section 1 (40 minutes) Genesis of storms and swell, how to define and observe swell, and the mathematical connection to energy dictated by the formation of swell 2. Section 2 (30 minutes) Propagation of swell, role of period, destructive forces, how swell becomes surf, shoaling, storm damage, shipwrecks 3. Section 3 (50 minutes) The Internet, weather models, prediction and interpreting the data, big wave case studies, questions and open forum WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY ABOUT IT? "You've read his twisted humour in the surf reports. Now experience it in person, with 'stories from the deep' - simple explanations of where waves come from, and a generally fascinating delve into weather patterns, storms and swell from around the world. Oh, and you also get a great dinner, a few beers and the chance to skinner with other surfers and kiters. Highly recommended!" -- Ian Henderson (kitesurfer) "Over the years I have attended dozens of courses on various topics but nothing has the vibe of having a real enthusiast share his passion. Multo obrigado." -- Mike Ohlson, Richards Bay WHEN? Tuesday, 15 July 2014. 18h00 - 20h30 VENUE The Venue - next to Bridge Street Brewery. COST R180 BOOKING Book online at https://www.quicket.co.za/events/5529-spike-swell-course-port-elizabeth/ Or buy tickets at the door. But if you gonna buy at the door please still shoot Spike a mail to say ya coming. Also 2 courses in JBay: Wed 16 July - Jeffreys Bay: Love Food Cafe, 4 Da Gama Road Thur 17 July - Jeffreys Bay: Surfmasters, TO BE CONFIRMED By Brad Beck Hannah and I are at the Four Seasons resort in Maldives at the moment. We’re in the process of training to become surf guides for a company called Tropicsurf. Tropicsurf are pioneers in the art of ‘luxury surfing’. It’s for everyone who wants to improve their surfing, whilst catching plenty of waves at exotic surf locations around the world - all in the comfort of a five-star resort or boat. We’re busy learning what that’s all about. We get to surf cooking waves every day here, it’s always offshore somewhere and the water’s warm (and so clear you see right through it to the reef below). And wow – we get to work here! It’s crazy that this is even a job! Being a surf guide is not just being able to surf well or thinking you just go out there and catch as many waves as you can. You have to have a whole variety of skills. Tropicsurf is based at 5-star resorts or charters luxury boats, so manners, grooming and social skills all come into play. Being able to communicate and socialize with your guests is important. You have to know about all aspects of surfing; coaching, psychology and be able to offer expert advice specific to each individual. Being able to surf well is important, but so is being a role model in and out the water. It really is a full time job, with no weekends off and two surfs and a surf lesson each day. Trust me, it is work. But one thing is for sure, I don’t mind surf-guiding as a job! It is really awesome to see the smile on the faces of guests that have just had the wave of the day or the wave of their life - and all because you put them on it. That basically what it’s all about, getting people stoked. To get someone who’s just learning on to that perfect little runner and let them feel the real joy of surfing is so rewarding. So to all the lighties wanting to find a cool career path, being a surf guide is a good option. But keep studying and surfing hard. Hannah is a fully qualified commercial helicopter pilot with her instructors rating and I studied Sports Psychology. If it weren’t for our qualifications we wouldn’t be here. We hope we make a good impression whilst we’re here and get taken on permanently, as it’s such an opportunity to travel the world doing what you love.
We hope you all come visit us over here in the Maldives. For the rippers we can find you plenty of great barrels, for the ballies - we will keep your wave count up and ripping that beer belly into the lip! Tropicsurf’s motto is a Mark Twain quote ... "Throw off the bow lines, and sail away from the safe harbour. Explore. Dream. Discover ...." So we hope to see everyone somewhere tropical soon! The skollies are on the prowl again, looking to grab your cabbie whilst you are out in the surf. Mark Impey is the latest victim, with his late Sunday surf costing him his car (below). Quite a price to pay for a coupla waves.
He'd parked in 2nd avenue and then hidden his keys under a rock in the dunes in front of Millers. As it was a super high tide he was sitting in the line-up only about 20m from the spot he'd buried them. Next thing he noticed a guy pacing up and down close by (pretending to be on phone). Mark had to watch as the ou turned the rock over and found his key! He caught a wave in straight away and sprinted across the road, but it was too late.....and his car was gone! So please keeps your eye's peeled peeps. Cos the bad ou's are watching you! The scum-bags are only to keen to affirmative shop your shit. So don't give them the chance. Don't leave you key on the wheel or hide it on the beach. Rather hang it round your neck or stick it in your wetties key pocket. If it's one of the fancy-ass computer one's you can get a plastic version made which you can take into the water with you. Otherwise go grab a surf lock from Surf Centre for R500 - cos you can't get a R500 car. They have nice deep one's which can take a big remote. Also, don't tempt fate by leaving stuff visible in your car. That shiny new ipad or iphone is gonna guarantee you a broken window for sure. Everywhere else seems to be getting waves other than the bay. Like PA, not looking too shabby at all (image Peter Britz). JBay & Seals have had some good days. But the bay. She be flat, or close to it. That means there're a lot of frothing surfers without waves. So anytime there is a small lil bump there're a stack of guys scrambling all over it. Which means that sometimes ou's forget their manners. Don't. Everyone is just as hard up for waves as you are. So bite the bullet and don't lose sight of basic surf etiquette. Need a refresher course? Take a look... Peter Coffey paid the price for an over-crowded under-waved line-up when he had the nose of his board taken off by a beginner riding over him. Think a good approach to dinged or bust boards is to make the ou who rides into you pay the damages. If someone dings your car they pay, so the same principle should apply to a board. Then maybe the guys would be a bit more careful. Brad Beck has escaped the flat spell at home by bailing to the Maldives for a stint as a surf guide over there. Not a kak job to have to surf all day - in kiff waves, warm water, waving palm trees and wearing baggies. And definitely not slumming it all feral-like either. Four Seasons hotel if you don't mind. Gonna let him settle in for a few weeks then hit him up with and interview to find out all about island life. Not much else going on due the almost complete lack of surf in the bay, so here's a few shots from the week.
First South African Surfing Pioneers Inducted into Surfers’ Circle Walk of Fame in Muizenberg
The first 12 pioneers of surfing to be inducted into the Surfers’ Circle Walk of Fame were announced on Saturday at the launch function for the national landmark that will celebrate the past, present and future legends of South African surfing at Muizenberg in Cape Town. Honoured for their inspirational and influential contribution to the surf community in the period up to and including 1964, the inaugural group of honourees consists of three pioneers each from Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town where the majority of the country’s surfers resided 50 years ago. The crowd of nearly 400 surfing and local celebrities were treated to the wacky antics of MC Deon Bing, a thought provoking talk on community spirit and songs by Verity Price, the grand niece of Heather Price who in 1919 at Muizenberg became the first South African recorded riding waves standing on a surfboard, and presentations on the background and aims of the project and the need to raise funds to design and implement the landmark. Tony Smith, chairman of the Muizenberg Improvement District (MID), explained that the non-profit company that is driving the Surfers’ Circle project and obtained permission to use the traffic circle at Surfers’ Corner for the landmark was inspired by Heather Price’s historic achievement, the role surfing has played in the economic development of the town, the way it has fostered cultural diversity and social cohesion and gained international recognition for Muizenberg as a destination of choice in South Africa. He noted that the MID’s mandate included maintaining the landmark once it was built, but that all the estimated R2 million required for the design and construction of the centrepiece, walkways embedded with plaques honouring the country’s surfing legends and the landscaping would have to come from fund raising efforts such as the Big Jol and donations. An audio visual production on the landmark, live music from the Robin Auld Trio and a heartfelt rendition of Andre de Villiers’ tribute to the late John ‘Oom’ Whitmore, the Doyen of South African surfing, were followed Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker celebrating his recent crowning as the 2014 Big Wave World Champion and inspiring everyone to follow their dreams. The highly anticipated announcement of the names of the first surfers whose names will be honoured in perpetuity on the plaques in the Walk of Fame, and particularly the appearance and comments by Cape Town inductees Dave Meneses and John Grendon, were the highlight of the evening.. Meneses, 76, commented wryly on the rigours of surfing in the frigid waters of the Cape Peninsula in the 1950’s and early ‘60’s before wetsuits and leashes were invented and the effort required to hang onto surfboards that weighed 20 Kgs or more in giant waves at the Outer Kom and other powerful West Coast breaks to avoid having to swim 300 metres to the beach to collect them after a wipe-out. Grendon, an extreme waterman and multiple SA Veterans champion, who is credited as the first surfer to ride a wave at Jeffreys Bay in 1964, laconically replied ‘Lonely’ to a query on what it was like surfing at Scarborough back in the early ‘60’s. He went on to explain that he, his brother Robert, who graced the cover of the SA Surfing magazine in 1966, and sister Jane, an early women’s surfing champion, shared a single surfboard and were the only surfers in the town that is now home to more than 100 wave-riders with many more visiting when conditions are good. The Cape Town pioneers include Whitmore whose energy, inquiring mind and pioneering spirit saw him experiment with innovative board building techniques in the ‘50’s before introducing the polyurethane foam and polyester resins that the vast majority of surfboards are constructed of now. He also imported the first international Surfer magazines and surf movies (including the iconic Endless Summer where he starred in the SA segment), invented surf racks, hosted the first daily surf report (which ran for more than 30 years on Good Hope Radio), was the first Chairman of both the Western Province and South African Surfing associations, managed the first official Springbok surfing team at the World Surfing Championships in California and won the SA Masters surfing title twice. The Durban contingent comprises George Thompson, a three-time SA men’s champion and four-time Springbok acknowledged as the country’s best surfer of the ‘60’s, along with George Bell, a standout in the early ‘50’s who introduced fins to the hollow wooden surfboards of the era enabling surfers to ride across waves instead of straight towards the beach and the late Leon ‘Dux’ Coetzee whose equipment innovations after returning from representing South Africa at the lifesaving championships held alongside the 1956 Olympic Games in Australia led to Finn Anderson surfboards becoming the equipment of choice for the country’s surfing community between 1957 and the introduction of urethane foam in 1961. The trio of inductees from East London comprise the late Bobby Joubert, a legendary man-mountain who mastered many of the breaks in the area, led Border surf teams in the early national surf contests and manufactured Joubert Surfboards before introducing Rick Surfboards under license from the USA. He is joined by supreme surfing stylists Roger Taylor and Mike Hornsey who discovered new surf breaks in the area and motivated their peers with their dedication to the surfing lifestyle and inspirational surfing. Port Elizabeth is represented by John Heath, who was also nominated as a Cape Town inductee for his surfing skills in the late 50’s before becoming influential in the Eastern Cape in the early ‘60’s by taking many youngsters along on his regular trips to nearby Jeffreys Bay and forming the Eastern Province surfing association that hosted the first interprovincial surfing contests. The evergreen Leo Davis, who still travels to exotic equatorial surf locales, inspired generations of 60’s PE surfers by forming the Commodore surf club and fellow inductee, the late Sandy McGillivray, became the era’s ‘Mr Surfing’, operating the first surf shop and building Seal Point surfboards. The party continued with nine recipients awarded prizes totalling nearly R25 000 before legendary surf muso Steve Walsh joined the Robin Auld Trio for another rocking session and the evening closed out with dance music from the Bacardi mobile disco. The success of the Big Jol launch party was made possible by the support of True Blue Travel, African Perfection Guest House, RVCA, Quiksilver, WaveJet, Roxy’s Surf Emporium, Boekenhoutskloof Winery, Hurley, The Drift Villa and Winery, Blue Bottle Liquors, Khuluma Meals, Soundworx, Grit Security and the staff and students from the False Bay College Catering Department, along with many dedicated volunteers and unsung heroes. Surfers’ Circle Walk of Fame 2014 Inductees – The Pioneers Cape Town John Whitmore Dave Meneses John Grendon Port Elizabeth John Heath Leo Davis Sandy McGillivray East London Bobby Joubert Roger Taylor Mike Hornsey Durban George Thompson Leon ‘Dux’ Coetzee George Bell |
AuthorMillerslocal Archives
July 2021
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