The week that was...

© Heather Nel

Pretty mediocre week as far as surf went. Things were meant to hot up over the weekend with weather warnings and the charts calling for big surf. But was a bust on both fronts. No real storms, no real waves in the bay. You could have got lucky if traveled west, but if you stayed put there wasn't too much on offer.

©Allan Bezuidenhout

The winter solstice has passed, so we're officially heading in to summer. Which is a bit of a pity cos winter hasn't delivered any swell yet. A coupla solid days but bogger all in between. Maybe with crime being so rife in the country these days the ou's are stealing the waves too?

© Luc Hosten

There's always something on the wild side, even the seagulls were getting barreled it seems. 

Josh Saunders © Robbie Irlam

Lekker shot of Josh Saunders charging big JBay from a few weeks back came across my desk. At least Supers hasn't been suffering quite the same wave drought as we have. 

© Robbie Irlam

Boneyards ain't called Boneyards for nothing. Bone crunching waves heave through waiting to unload on unsuspecting boards and bodies. It's pretty good entertainment watching that stretch of the golden mile. Bit like the surfing equivalent of stock car racing - you go to watch the crashes not the ride!

© Luc Hosten

Sardina Bay is one of PE's prettiest beaches, and can also hide away some good waves on occasion for those willing to trek across the sand. It's also a fairly wild stretch of coastline and local surfer Jurg Brand got to say howzit to a 2m Great White which popped up next to him. Nothing like eyeballing a finned friend to make you hightail it to the beach!

© Robbie Irlam

JBay is starting it's metamorphosis into the mini Surf City in preparation for the upcoming Corona Open. The CT event kicks off in early July so expect the pro's to be pulling in soon now that the Rio event has ended.

Small waves and desperate surfers often mean Pipe can be an intense grovel fest. Which in turn can lead to some gnarly situations. Andre Clarke was the unlucky recipient in a comedy of errors. Guy trying to go right got dropped in on by 2 other mullets, so he veered off left - only to discover Andre in his path, and neither surfer had any option for avoiding the collision. Andre tried to duck dive but still got ridden over like a snail crossing a highway.

Nice fin thump on the thigh that cut through the wettie and popped the guys fin out his board, and a nick on the heel. Just another day at the Pipe!

© Luc Hosten

Luc Hosten got a lekker shot of a moon ring, as Luc explains: "Interesting halo around the moon last night in Schoenies, Google said this: Rings around the Moon are caused when moonlight passes through thin clouds of ice crystals high in Earth's atmosphere. As moonlight passes through the ice crystals, it is bent in a way similar to light passing through a lens. The shape of the ice crystals causes the moonlight to be focused into a ring." 

© Clive Wright

Clive Wright out in St Francis captured a moon set. Which is a whole lot neater than a sunset! Pretty awesome whats possible with modern camera's these days - if you know how to use them that is. Clive definitely does.

The next of the City Surf Series went down in good surf at Vic Bay over the weekend. Bianca and Slade took the titles. 

You have to wonder at the lil lifesaving towers we have installed on our beaches. At only about 3ft above the sand they don't exactly give a huge additional viewing platform to be able to spot ocean users in trouble. Anyone remember the red wooden lifesaving towers we used to have?

© Peter Schwartz

​You can check out more vintage beach shots like these of PE and surrounds in the Vintage section of the website.

Mark in the days when he had shorter hair, charging the Millers end section

 It was very sad to hear this week that one of the regular Millers Locals, Mark Difford, is severely ill with cancer. Mark had been out the water since last October after catching a nasty bug whilst surfing after heavy rains near the storm water drain at the bottom of Millers. This illness masked an underlying pancreatic cancer which was only discovered recently. It is unlikely Mark will ever surf again. So every time you're standing in the car park wondering whether you should bother getting in for a surf, do so, and go catch a wave for all those that can no longer go for a surf. Sending plenty of positive vibes and prayers to Mark and his family during these challenging times. If you'd like to send Mark some well wishes you can drop me an email here and I'll pass them on.

Charts don't look like much for the week. Just a bit of something for the weekend again. But even if it's miff and onshore, grab a wave when you can. You never know when you might not be able to get in the water again. ​