The week that was....

A few goodies later in the week © Christopher Scott

Strike three and you're out. So says baseball. And so say the swell gods to us as the punishment continued for that good run of swell a while ago. Yet another lacklustre week in the bay as far as waves went - the 3rd in a row, although things did kick up a few notches on Friday. 

Calm conditions saw heavy mist on Tuesday morning, which always begs the question: is it 6ft and cooking out there in the whiteness? Probably not, but optimism is the lifeline of every PE surfer. Would be pretty fun to actually surf in those conditions one day, if ever the stars did align and we had mist and swell coincide.

© Robbie Irlam

© Dean Cothill

As usual up the coast delivered some fun days if you made the trek. The further west you traveled the better surf you got. Swell quality and the size of your petrocard seems to be directly proportional.

Pretty big cold front pulled through on late on Wednesday, and those that had got in the water for a paddle about in the glassy lumpy onshore surf were stoked when it blasted through late arvo and went offshore. Humewood had some good 'uns. The groundswell arrived overnight on Thursday to deliver some decent sets on Friday before the wind went onshore. 

An optimist is someone who always sees the bright side of any situation — a trait that can be either encouraging or annoying, depending on your frame of mind. Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Well, this dude deserved the Optimist of the Day award for sure. The wind was howling, there was tons of chop, the water was chilly and brown, with probably a viz of 6 inches....and he went out for a snorkel! 

Brief discussion about whether friendly fin or not! © Robbie Irlam

© Thelma Nel

© Thelma Nel

Still plenty of sealife about during the week. The big pods of dolphins continue to cruise past on a regular basis. Still lots of bait fish about close inshore, so the mobile McDonalds drive (swim) thru continues. 

© Shayne McGee

The dead whale is still vrotting away down the beach at Kabeljous. Be careful if you decide to go take a look, cos it's releasing some pretty gnarly gases during composition, and besides smelling kak, can actually make you sick. So don't hang about there too long. Another reason not to lurk about is that apparently dead whales can explode - due to the build up of gases in their stomachs. That would not be a lekker experience to get covered in rotten whale....

October. November. December. January. February. March. And now April. The 7th month in a row that has broken highest global temp record for that month since weather records started getting kept - about 100 years ago. El Nino certainly has delivered in terms of some crazy temperatures. Can't imagine it's going to be doing good things to the coral reefs  - as higher sea temps can kill of the lil critters, causing coral bleaching. Eish.

© Luc Hosten

Pumpkin shells on steroids! Paul Hosten found it out at Schoenies. The one's we normally get along our shores are the guys on the right - a Cape Urchin Parechinus Angulosus. The monster one on the left is called a Short Spined Urchin Tripneustes Angulosus. Only about 4 of them have been spotted in the last 20 years at Schoenies so it is not that common in the area. Just as well we don't get many of these guys - cos imagine they would not be fun to stand on whilst in urchin stage!

The Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders (NMBS) were pipped into 2nd spot at the SA Masters Champs at Seals buy a coupla hundred points by Border - I mean Buffalo City. Alan Byram won the over 60 division and is SA Champ. You can check out the wrap, results and shots from the event here:
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/comp-news/nmbs-2nd-at-sa-champs

© Stanley Badger

There are certain things that grant one immediate kook status. One of those has to be sticking your board in the sunroof, and further compounding matters by having the wax facing upward. In it to win it? Maybe not - but at least you'll be assured of a lekker waxy back seat later. Admit it - we've all left a board in the car before and learnt how quickly wax melts....

© Dean Cothill