The week that was.....

Lekker win by the Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders (NMBS) - otherwise known as EP - at the Vic Bay Quad. Third win in a row for our team, and the first under the NBMS banner. Not always the easiest surf conditions but PE ou's used to surfing sketchy stuff!

Not exactly a week for the memory banks as far as surf goes. Bit of a non-event winter so far. Had the odd good swell, but they've been few and far between. Wind patterns been odd as well, with loads of east. Maybe El Nino effecting us all the way from the Pacific?

Remember that lekker pic from Deon Lategan last week - had him print it on a big canvas as a birthday present for a mate from Indo who came over to surf Supers for his 40th. Didn't get it backed cos be a bit of a hack to fit that in your luggage, so he'll have to get it done the other side! If you looking for presents for surfing mates, husbands, partners, you can't go too far wrong with one of Deon's awesome line-up shots. Beats a pair of socks or a hankie any day.

Big news this week was the announcement of the Appeals Decision on whether the green light given to the fish farm off Pollock would be revoked. Turns out that the DEA has told DAFF to go back to the drawing board and consider Algoa 1 (Coega area) as a preferred location instead. It doesn't mean the Pollock site is off the cards completely, but it certainly looks like it's no longer top of the pile.

You can read a synopsis of the Appeals decision here
http://www.millerslocal.co.za/millerslocals-blog/fish-farm-location-being-re-considered

Annoying that no matter how hard you look out the window hoping to see waves it can stay stubbornly flat and/or onshore. At least the front yard got a trim, complete the typical Saffa approach to Health & Safety regs. Dude cruises up the ladder with his chainsaw. Could drop it, or the palm fronds his cutting off on ou's walking past on the boardwalk, but hey, no probs! Be so boring living in a place like the UK or Aus where everything is so over-regulated. Much rather have random dudes wielding chainsaws as part of everyday life! 

For every ying there's a yang. Nothing like the WQS grind to give you the best combo of heaven and hell. Get to surf lekker waves in amazing locations, but to do so you gotto grovel a bit in terms of accommodation thanks to our dismal Rand. Dale Staples gets barreled off his pip - but then has to go back to the digs and doss in his boardbag!

Quite a few of the local guys over in France at the moment doing the comp season there. Matt McGillivray, Dylan Lightfoot, Remi Peterson and Dale Staples all doing their best to rack up some points.

© Doug Stannard

Summer type weather conditions don;t do much for surf quality, but they do let the guys get out on their gliders. Friday morning saw Doug head up in his glider, and took this snap of a local cruising the line-up at Robberg. Gotto be tough being a Plett local and always having to share your waves with these boys!

Surfing at the end of the road no longer means you have to panic if you forgot your wax or snapped your leash or need some sunscreen. Seals local Cody Futeran who runs Surf Camp South Africa will be opening a lil surfshop next to the cafe soon. Keep ya posted when it opens up, should be in the next coupla weeks.

Some new wax on the market. Made by Gary Cooper, long-time PE local. Got myself a bar and will try it out as soon as we get some darn waves. You can grab it at Surf Centre, where R30 buys you 60g of lekker sticky local goodness. 

Plenty of talented peeps in the PE surf community. Andre Clarke just designed this lekker ad for Gearbox fin systems, and it ran in one of the Aussie surf mags recently. Andre's also the guy behind the rad lil comic strip the Grom Reaper in the Boardtalk surf mag. Speaking of which - the latest issue is out now so go grab yours from local surf stores or Warwick at Coffee's Up.

Ou's been klapping the skatepark lately for their fill of glide, given the absense of waves in the most part. Here's R-evolve's Wayne Barnes getting some air. Respect to skaters, cos blowing a bowl hurts a helluva lot more than blowing a wave!

Seals local & NMMU Archi student Scott Lenton will be studying in Barcelona this semester, and being the dedicated surfer he is of course his sticks made the trip over to Spain with him, although gonna have to say his "boardbag" leaves a lot to be desired. Massive amount of faith in the baggage handler critters just to give it a meagre covering of bubblewrap! Nothing like a bit of sleeping rough at the airports to get you amped to finally make it to your destination.

The Joburg Boardriders initiative is gaining momentum, with the crew having their first get-together planned for next weekend. So if you know any landlocked surf rats give them a heads up to join in. Ou's have got a kiff bunch of amazing prizes to win and some awesome raffles and spot giveaways, thanks to Spider Surfboards, Nixon watches and Ripcurl.

© Dean Cothill

Always stoked to find a photag who takes awesome shots of our lil town. Came across Dean Cothill's work, and he sure does know how to snap a shutter button. If you love good shots of the bay and it's surrounds, then check Dean out on https://instagram.com/deancothill/

© Dean Cothill