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.

The ocean was active last week - coupla fun days - and north of the equator was going off as well, with 'Chopes showing it's teeth before the start of the  WSL comp. Even Millers was overhead - that is, if you were just a brick n a tickey high....

Nahoon cooked for the SA Champs. Big surf and serious currents saw the guys working hard in their heats. Nelson Mandela Bay Surf riders took a second place overall, with JBay's Joshe Faulkner claiming the Men's title.

The ballies did well too - with Pipe local Andre Venter scoring some bombs. Andre got an 8.75 in his heat which was the highest wave score of the day. 

The wind has certainly started to settle in to it's pre-spring routine of being pretty blustery. Those with kites don't mind though. Well, maybe they mind having to walk the thing in the pumping wind back to the car, but otherwise all good.

Wind on the wild side can be a special thing. The waves are wild n wooly and the sand can feel like you're getting your skin blasted off. If ever you'd like to find out how pervasive sand can be, 

Man's influence can be so destructive on nature. A dead whale washed up on the rocks at Seaview, which had a whole pile of crayfish pots wrapped around it's tail. Really sad to see.

Early birds still scored the worms this week. The early risers that hit the beach at Pipe got themselves some fun runners whilst the sun rose. 

Each week always has at least one lekker sunrise, just to make you sit back for a second and appreciate what a beautiful place good 'ol PE is.

You don;t need to wait for the sunsets to appreciate the beauty of our slice of the coast. Just a quick trip to the wild side for a walk will help you take  a few deep breathes and let the world slip off your shoulders. 

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.