theBOMBsurf blog - theBOMBsurf - South African surfing magazine

When the pendulum swings

28 January 2010, 22:31

Last week we were in CT and had an absolute 'mare...broken boards, a crashed car, delayed flights and a bunch of other stuff that just plain sucked. This week, the pendulum swung the other way. We arrived in J bay without too much hope of waves or anything else too exciting, just focusing instead on geting our graft done. To our surprise, not only did we manage to see a bunch of unexpectedly cool people, but we scored 4-5' Supers at lunchtime yesterday, in boardies with only 3 other guys out, we hit the sundown session as the swell dropped to a clean 3-4' but, we also managed to score some SICK accomodation....check this out:

3 Comments so far:

Riekie on 29 January 2010

When the pendulum swings will you admit that with this video you're effectively selling editorial for larney accommodation?

JMc on 29 January 2010

Reikie we have a trade deal with African Perfection. We trade them a certain amount of accommodation for a certain amount of advertising on our website. Check out http://www.thebombsurf.com/pages/50/accommodation. It's a quantified deal. There is no pressure on us to do anything else other than carry their banner. Likewise there is no pressure on them to give us their most luxurious accommodation. We usually stay in the more modest self catering unit whenever we're in J-Bay, which by the way is still amazing. Upon our arrival we learned that we'd been upgraded rather like you would on an airplane from economy to business class. We were so stoked with the upgrade so we made a video to share the experience. We're also trying to see if there is a way we can get our subscribers upgraded occasionally, simply for booking into the regular accommodation. Dunno if this counts as selling editorial for larney accommodation, but if it is we're happy to do it.

Jonno J on 29 January 2010

WOW, nice spot, will check them out next time in in JBay Sick..

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Talking Story

26 January 2010, 12:31

Back on the road, we're in J-Bay today. In our favorite J-Bay Deli, In-Food, home to the famous Apple Crumble Muffin, the best coffee in J-Bay and our old friend Steve Walsh. He's not really that old he just lives fast, ha ha. The surf is not great to be honest. Onshore with the occasional rain squall. So what do old surfers do when the surf is shitty and they're supposed to be at work? They talk story of course. I love talking surfing with Steve. He's so passionate and always has a unique perspective on things. We're joined by Ronnie Veldhuis, whose son Jarred is busy representing SA at the Worlds in NZ.

Today we were talking about the jnr surfers and young pros and the fact that there is a five star on at Pipeline (The Volcom Pipeline Pro) at the moment with not one Saffa in the mix, not one even entered! What the...? "That woulda never happened in Shaun's day" muses Steve. Add that to the fact that our WQS and WCT surfers are conspicuously absent on The North Shore in what must be the best winter in living memory. "MMnnn at least the Big Wave Crew are all over it" I add. It's funny how as you get older it always seems like we did it tougher than the kids of today are doing it. But did we really, what do you guys think? There are stories of guys sleeping in their boardbags at the beach, catching container ships to Hawaii and hiding out from Da Hui in the sugarcane fields. Were Shaun, Gavin, Pottz, the Lawsons, Spowey, Sims, Tostee and that crew more hard core than our current crop of pro surfers? If so what does the future hold for South African Pro surfing?
John

4 Comments so far:

Deon on 26 January 2010

damn-
that coffee is good there
I get dirty looks from steve when the band is playing there and I'm drinking coffee instead of some hardcore rocknroll alcoholic beverage.

tamarys on 27 January 2010

hey guys not sure if you know this, but Ray Brown (the dog) from North beach, is fighting for his life at the moment. he is in a coma and not looking so good. keep him in your thoughts. great to be back in the water!!!

simmo on 1 February 2010

john, without a doubt a great run of surf for hawaii, the best winter i can recall in a decade, however i know that a six star only carries enough points from the quarter-finals onwards to count as a keeper result for 2010, therefore the 5 star at pipe means you probably have to win the thing to count it. that might be a big factor...also there are 2 six stars back to back in brazil ( one of them being a prime) over the hawaii waiting period... if you are seriously trying to qualify, its a no brainer.

Bruce on 1 February 2010

Simmo is correct about the points. Also to put on a 4or 5 star event realy says "we want mainly locals". The only time you will get top international surfers to a 4 or 5 star is if you surround it with a few other 6- 6 star prime events.Now it will become worth while.No one is going to travel 1/2 way round the world for 1x 5 star event.
Were the crew in the old days tougher( I dont know about that crew you mentioned!!!!) for sure; what new crew has ever been tougher than an old crew; history does not allow that/ no stories to tell.

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Bodysurfing naked.

24 January 2010, 19:26

This morning I got up reasonably early hoping to get a surf in before the day got too hot and the Bluebottles and Jellyfish took over the Durban beachfront with the expected NE winds. I had a couple of fun rides on my Alaia and had been out for about 25 mins before the bluebottles pulled in en mass and cut my session short. I bailed on the idea of surfing and decided to take my dogs for a walk instead. Every weekend (when I'm at home in DBN) I try and take them to this quiet beach out of town for a good run and swim. My dogs are the only living creatures I know who love the beach more than me so its always a good experience and usually leaves me feeling stoked. Unlike in town the surf on this quiet stretch of coastline was being fanned by a gentle side offshore breeze. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the water was that translucent blue you sometimes see in the Cape except it was 25 degrees celcius. There were these fun little A-Frames spitting left and right all the way down the beach. I was gobsmacked. I hadn't brought a board as I wasn't expecting waves, I hadn't even brought baggies! As I walked down the beach throwing the stick for my dogs I mindsurfed all these beautiful little peaks. Half way back I cracked, I just couldn't take looking at these perfect waves any longer. I stripped off my gear and swam out to backline naked. There I spent half an hour bodysurfing the most fun waves imaginable, with only my three labradors as witnesses.
What a session. After the freezing water and wetsuits in CT last week it was like moving from the sublime to the ridiculous. It's funny how these moments hit you when you least expect it. One thing is for sure though as surfers we're blessed to be able to tap into the energy the ocean has to offer, even if it is just via a random bodysurf.

John

4 Comments so far:

will on 25 January 2010

thats what its all about!! we try do that every morning. i got a question.. these big jellies we seeing... whats the best treatment of a sting from them... i know alot of okes getting stung ( including myself) leaving these roastie like scars..! any secret treatments out there?

Royster on 25 January 2010

Quite a week dude....2 f&%k up's in a week in Cape Town...it's what happens when you don't drop your homey a line!

JMc on 25 January 2010

Hey Will ja everyone I know in Durbs is sporting a few scars, myself included. Will ask our resident doctor Nikki and get back to you.

robby mcdonald on 1 February 2010

the best cure for a bad jelly sting is to put ice on it,it takes the sting out of it and calms the swelling down,aloe ,vinigar,and piss dont work with jelly fish,be prepared for pain if you get a bad sting.robby

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The right tools for the job

22 January 2010, 08:04

The right tools for the job

Over the last three months I've enjoyed the challenge of learning to ride the Alaia. It's been a hell of a ride. I've had to get into shape to do it but its really stoked me out. I've ridden it all over the coast from Ponta through the Kei, down to J-Bay and in CT. It's increased my understanding of waves and surfing and made me far more sensitive to the nuances of conventional surfboards. The other day in CT we ran dow the Dunes and it was firing. 6' solid with a couple of bigger sets. The wind was howling offshore and the barrels were gaping. Guys were getting shacked silly and beaten senseless. It was just one of those sessions. As I prepared to paddle out Simone Robb (who was on the beach shooting) had a good chuckle and said "bru you are gonna get klapped on that thing". Turns out she was right. The current the wind and the size of the waves combined to make me realise the outer limit of the Alaia and me at this point in time. In an hour and a half I caught 3 waves and I got smashed on every single one. Later I spoke to Ian Armstrong about it. Ian's a man of few words all he said was "I use a 7'0" thruster when its like that down there". Next time I go surf down there and it's grinding, that's what I'm gonna use.
John

5 Comments so far:

Mark on 22 January 2010

Hey John at the end of the day it comes down to riding the right equipment for the conditions...but I do admire your determination in trying to get the Alaia going in whatever the ocean has to throw at you! Just read an article on Derek Hynd surfing his finless creations and there are some pics of him surfing solid supers on them, so reckon you should have that wired in a few months time... good luck!

Paul on 22 January 2010

Hey Johnno, maybe not a reply to this blog but thought I would share this.
Just had one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, surfed Llandudno yesterday, only one in the water when a pod of Dolphin about 8 strong joined me. Surfed, dived swum with many dolphin in my time but this experience was very different. The small dusky dolphin came within arms length buzzing me, circling coming back being very inquisitive. First thought; Awe! One with nature. They persisted, second thought hey maybe they trying to tell me something! Better look out for the feared lurgie! After a while they moved off and hung around about 100m off.
I was given a Polar Heart Monitor and scheming that I would collect some Vitality points while partaking in my passion, interestingly the session averaged 73% heart rate. More to the point I wondered and am convinced that this was the reason for the extra inquisitiveness from the Dolphin, this got me wondering, has any one else experienced this. I have heard of Surf Ski guys being harassed by sharks, were they wearing a heart monitor, was the guy swimming/training off Fish Hoek wearing one. I�d be very interested if anyone had more experience/researched in the electro magnetic effects, for me the jury is still out, do shark shields attract! Repel!
I know this much my heart will no longer answer to the Surf monitor, Back to the Bike!

Jag on 22 January 2010

@Mark, dude have you seen this vid? http://www.thebombsurf.com/thebombsurfvideos/520/speed-testing-the-alaia-in-south-africa

John Mc on 22 January 2010

Hey Paul cool experience and thanks for sharing it. I remember a few years back while desperately trying to condition a warm blooded Durban surfer's body to the reality of braving the Cape water temps by swimming in the early morning (in a speedo!) off Muizenberg in May. We were trying to swim from Robben Island to Blouberg, but that's another story. One morning we were surrounded by the little dusky dolphins and they swam with us, in arms reach, for about 20 mins before moving off. We were not wearing any electronic devices at the time.

BUT recently I had an interesting discussion with Mark Addison of Blue Wilderness Safaris who believes that electronic devices actually can attract sharks under the right conditions, so it is possible that the heart rate monitor had something to do with your experience.

Either way cool experience.

Russ (Rascal Andraos on 24 January 2010

I admire and envy those who have so much time on their hands to travel the country/globe trying out new equipment and searching for perfect waves.
Unemployed!!
Anyone got a job like that for me??

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We're sorry!

21 January 2010, 15:34

Hey Guys

You may remember in our spring issue we ran a feature on the new New Pier locals. It stirred up quite a bit of controversy at the time, but what we were not aware of was the damage that it caused to two organisations that are both active in attempting to rehabilitate and assist street children in Durban. Umthombo and Mahala have been working with these kids by using surfing (amongst other things) to get them off the streets and rehabilitate them into normal society. I recieved a mail from Tom (the CEO of Umthombo) the other day an excerpt of which is posted below.

“We want the children to be portrayed truthfully and...if there is going to be an article on them then you need to know Umthombo's programme as it is central to their lives. Strong opinions were published but no research was done to explore the possible difference between reality and the authors perceptions..... The damage that the article has done is to make local surfers feel that the kids are something negative. There are hardened attitudes towards them. The surfing programme has brought new hope to the lives of children that would otherwise be huddled on a corner sniffing glue. For some of them it has meant that they are no longer street kids. This has been done through merging surfing with progressive and pioneering social development principles based on therapeutic intervention. The key ingredient of all of this is the stoke derived from wave riding.”

Upon reflection we realise we may well have broadened the gap between the new New Pier locals and the regular locals when in fact the opposit was our intention. Also we've hampered the efforts of Umthombo and Mahala to help these kids as support for their initiatives has been compromised as a result of our feature.
For that we offer our sincere apologies to both parties.

Also we made some pretty heavy generalisations about street childen in the feature and while there may be some truth in them in the context of broader social issues, many of the things we said were not true about this specific goup of kids under Umthombos care. For that we also apologies to the children concerned.

We have undertaken to do a follow up feature in our June mag to see just how these kids are really doing and find out what positive impact surfimng has had on their lives.

We'd be interested in your views, so if you've read the feature and would like to pass some sensible or constructive comment we welcome it.

John

1 Comments so far:

Dolores on 27 January 2010

Hey, that's my bro at the restaurant!!! He is soooooo happy there and in Jeffreys Bay.

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Mechanic schenanigans and sunset surfs

20 January 2010, 23:04

We headed out to Gordon's Bay to see our mate Tim, who runs the Ocean Minded brand. He promised us he'd take us for an evening surf at one of the quiet beachies around the GBay area. We like Tim, he's cool. He doesn't stress much and unless he's in pursuit of waves is pretty chilled. Check out this pretty hilarious clip of our adventure last night!

1 Comments so far:

Gazza on 22 January 2010

Tim, that steam pull back reminds me of that "White Dragon" move you used to pull in Stellies.. Epic.

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One stoked ballie

19 January 2010, 21:42

I just got to download my mails and saw all of Mike van Heerden's photo's of the Celebration of Peter Milne's life which happened today in Durban. The photos were not captioned, they didn't need to be. They told the story of a community celebrating the life of a special person and sharing in the loss of that person. We were prevented from being at the ceremony and paddle out but our thoughts are with the Milne's and Paynes today. Peter was a pioneer of SA surfing and a gentleman. I'll always remember him with his huge board when I was a grom and the crazy thing was he was just as stoked as me.

John

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On the road again...CT this week

19 January 2010, 11:36

So we're on the road again - Cape Town this week. Don't you hate it when everyone you meet from Cape Town is saying "Oh, you should have been here on the weekend, the weather was peeeeerfct". It's pouring with rain as we sit huddled over our Macbooks in the Kloof street vida e getting our daily fix - the usual BOMBsurf mobile office style. Looks like Insight have opened a really rad store across the road from vida since we were down here last..some new brands on the up and up by the looks of things.

The Insight store in Kloofneck street.

TheBOMBsurf mobile office...

Looks like a little pulse is building for CT tomorrow, nothing epic, but definitely gonna be some surf around. We'll be making some media while in CT and posting it on the site this week, so stay posted. If you live in CT, why not contact us and let's go surfing.

Iain

1 Comments so far:

John Mc on 19 January 2010

Dude are you kidding me? I love the view from my new office window. Seriously been here for half an hour and seen more pretty girls walk in here than to one of our BOMBshell castings... Gotta love CT!

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Shark solutions?

14 January 2010, 10:44

There is something macabre about the way that technology these days allows us to 'be in the moment' of some dramatic happening when in reality we are 1000's of kms away. I remember watching a video online of some poor bastard being beheaded by masked extremists a couple of years ago. I was horrified, sickened and yet fascinated all at the same time. Tuesdays shark attack at Vishoek and the way that witnesses were able to twit about it immediately was like that, both sickening and fascinating. To say it was awful in the extreme would be a an understatement. Imagine that was your loved one and you were sitting on the beach as his girlfriend was? Trying to process that emotion defies imagination. There can't have been too many surfers who hearing that news didn't silently cross themselves and say a prayer (at least figuratively if not literally) and thank god that it wasn't them. Certainly there are positives to this. Sharing the knowledge of the fact that there is a big shark in the Vishoek/Kalk Bay area who eats people may help prevent another short term attack. Unfortunately the broader population just soak it up with ghoulish fascination. The knock on effect of this horrible happening is that the uneducated vilify all sharks and this is used to justify the slaughter of many innocent sharks to protect 'the public'. The irony here is that this particular shark was probably a Great White which is a protected species and has been for 10 years. So while we've been fishing a lot of harmless sharks out on the East Coast (along with some predators) the Great White shark population has exploded in the Cape. More people in the water, more Great Whites... there is a sense of inevitability about this.
There will be more shark attacks unless something is done about this. The big question is what and by who?

Personally I feel the City of Cape Town has a responsibility to it's residents and visitors to at least keep them informed of the risk variables and the current risk level of using the sea in certain areas.

I have some questions and would welcome some opinions or potential solutions.

Is the culling of Great Whites a solution?
Do shark nets work and would they work in Cape Town?
Where is the shark device and why have the government not got behind the industrialisation of that technology so that it can be deployed at beaches?
How able are we to communicate the build up of risk factors to the public?
Is it all about economics?

What do you guys think?

John

22 Comments so far:

Jason on 14 January 2010

Hey John,

I'm curious to know how many shark attacks there have been in Durban since their nets were put up as well as how many sharks get themselves caught in them.

I'm debating myself as to whether one should really get all worked up over a shark attack. I mean, surely if it's your time to go it's your time to go? I could walk outside and be hit by a car, or more common in SA, be hit with a stray bullet :P

However, to lose a family member, a loved one is not cool and so my thoughts do go out to his family.

Otherwise interesting questions John, I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts on them.

J

Grant on 14 January 2010

I don't think any of the above are solutions. Why are we placing ourselves above all other animals? The reality of the situation is that one animal ate another animal. It happens in nature all the time. As much as the majority of us like to think that we are not part of nature (and our high-tech lives have enabled us to see ourselves as being removed from nature), we are a part of it, and shit like this happens. There is no need to process it, screw with it, whatever with it. Trying to stop it happening removes us even further...gives us the perception of control over nature that we don't really have.
I think the answer is simply acceptance. Acceptance that we share the planet with other animals and things like this happen. Chuck out the need to "process" what happened, and just accept it as part of being an animal on Planet Earth.

John, I'm not sure if the culling option is something that you think is an option or if you just threw that in there to stimulate debate. Personally, I think that it's pretty offensive.

John Mc on 14 January 2010

Grant and Jason thanks for your response. Jason I'm trying to get some KZN shark stat info and will post it as soon as I have it. The thing to remember about shark nets is that they do not work as a protective barrier in the sense of preventing sharks from coming inshore, rather they work by fishing out the sharks which get trapped in the nets and thus reducing the overall population. Less sharks = less shark attacks is the thinking. The major problem with this is the collateral damage these cause by fishing out harmless sharks, dolphins and turtles which far outweigh the no of mature predators that are netted. My personal opinion is that in this day and age they are an archaic 'solution' that is ecologically criminal.

Grant, 10 years ago when we decided to protect the Great White while continuing to fish out other species of both sharks and fish we screwed with the eco system to the point that we now have, relative to other species and natural prey, a disproportionately large population of GW sharks in the Cape. This is an exponential problem as yearly fish stocks decline while the Great White population flourishes. While we may not control nature our action has caused an imbalance in nature. The longer this continues the increased likelyhood you have of an attack. While right now this could be manageable and the stats 'acceptable' can you imagine where we'll be in another 10 years? The point I'm making is if we don't do something now will we just end up stuffing up the eco system even more? I raise the concept of culling only because to a certain degree this has worked in our game reserves where resources are limited and the land can only sustain a certain population of each species. Could this be true for our marine life too? Honestly I don't know and even if it was is it practical? I don't think so.

Where am I at personally on this issue?
1. Remove shark nets on the East Coast.
2. Remove drum lines.
3. Stop protecting Great White Sharks (but don't actively cull them).
4. Agressively develop and test industrialised shark pod devices to be deployed and maintained by lifeguards at high penetration tourist areas on the East coast and introduce these to certain Cape beaches. This would require the buy in of the government to fund and maintain and would slowly phase out shark nets/drumlines.
5. Introduce a system of risk management at key beaches where the public is informed on a day to day basis of the current collective risk factors. These would include no of sharks in the area, other sea life active, time of year, local weather, time of day etc.
6. Continue the development and testing of the personal pod device for use at isolated areas by surfers or divers.

John

Grant on 15 January 2010

Late. Tired. Going to bed. You raise good points. Question: Don't Great Whites feed mostly on seals, especially in the Cape area?

julian on 15 January 2010

Apathy. A word you all should know as it exists in the lofty halls of goverment and municipalities. I am not a defeatist, but a realist.
The points you raise and solutions you put across are valid but a fat cat municipal worker only goes to the beach on new years to get drunk, eat KFC, litter and hopefully get laid. The top dogs don't care about surfing,surfers or regular beach goers, as they are relics of a past regime. Promise of poverty alleviation and politcal manoevering for a better future for themselves are the order of the day.

Don't look to officials to resolve any shark problems, rather invest in a Shark Shield and go surfing.

Your point of culling great whites is off the mark. Not enough information exists about these creatures and nobody knows how many existed in the seas 30 or 50 years ago, so one cannot claim a population explosion of whites. This is akin to looking at the whale population of the early 1960s and comparing it to to-day to justify the re-introducting of whaling.

Bottom line: sharks live in the sea. They are predators. Humans are on their menu.
Best place to be to avoid a shark attack is on dry land

OJ on 15 January 2010

Hi John
As you know I am passionate about this topic. Am going to tackle it briefly as I have to bolt to a meeting but will invite shark researchers and experts to post here. In a nutshell my 2c worth is that shark nets are indiscriminate and should not be called "shark nets" they are in fact gill nets which kill dolphins, whale sharks, whales, whale calves, rays, turtles and of course sharks which is unacceptable. They do not have a place in our oceans.

Don't even get me started on drumlines which most surfers don't seem to pay too much attention to... they are in fact baited hooks which are being used at so called "netted beaches" in KZN. If you are trying to reduce the risk of encountering sharks whilst surfing, then entering the water at "baited beach" that has drumlines is not the way forward. Also people need to realise the shark nets are not a barrier, they are a fishing device and do not prevent sharks from entering into the surf zone.

As surfers we have a responsibility to get to know more about the marine life that we co-exist with. As everyone says - we are entering their world. If you want a sterile, shark-free environment with no risk of seeing anything then please go to Sun City's wave pool or Gateway's flowrider where you also won�t run the risk of being stung by jellyfish etc

We fear things we don't understand so IMO surfers should spend some time getting to know the marine life better by snorkelling/ scuba diving to break the mindset of "not wanting to know what is underneath us".

The recent shark incidents have been tragic and there certainly have been quite a few in a short space of time which has in turn sparked the usual media frenzy and panic. Personally, I find it strange that no one flinches when reading our road death toll figures � well over 800 people (last time I checked) died in car accidents over the holiday period. It�s too terrible to even picture 800 dead people and yet there is no major public reaction e.g. let�s destroy all cars/ close roads...

I think we need to educate ourselves about how to reduce the risk of being attacked e.g. don't surf in dirty water but rather focus on the more terrifying reality of the fact that a lot of surfers think nothing of drinking and driving which is a more likely way to die and can be easily avoided; the same applies to skin cancer which seems to affect almost all of us that spend too much time in the sun.

Will see if I can get shark experts onto this ASAP.

:-)

OJ

will on 15 January 2010

GRANT -the dominant species should strive. you talk about nature... fair enough the animal ( shark) killed the animal (human) as you illustrate. now it is time to level the fields. lets fight them like the animals you say we are. find and cull this agressive shark and lets take dominance back.

Grant on 18 January 2010

Shame Will, you really don't get it do you? "The dominant species should strive." Says who? You? Laughable...red card...go back to your cave.

Russell Andraos (rascal) on 18 January 2010

Howzit Johno,

We surf/swim in the homes of these creatures. The risk is always going to be there. CT has some monster sharks and my question is why are they venturing in so close to where people are swimming? Cullings are not the answer and I feel is a bit unfair. Once again its the usual case of "something needs to be done" after something has just happened.
Those who know the areas of risk where sharks are active need to put a "no-go area" at these locations. Those that are vacational areas need to be netted -off (like a fence)around the area where people swim. This needs to be done in a manner where no ocean living creature will be in harms way.
Televise this issue. Not just on the news but on as many stations as possible. Educate those who come down to the coast the possible dangers that lurk in and around our waters, sharks/rip currents/jellyfish etc etc..

Legs up everyone

Rascal

BigG on 18 January 2010

I wonder if people are aware that shark-repellent metal alloys are available?

See this article... http://biggreenfactory.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

KEY WEST, Florida -- SharkDefense Technologies and HEFA Rare Earth Canada, Co. Ltd. announced today that shark-repellent metal alloys are available for sale. The metal alloys are proven to reduce the accidental capture of sharks and are anticipated to benefit many commercial fishing operations.

The shark-repellent metal alloys work by generating a small voltage in seawater, which affects a shark's electric sense. Bony fish, such as tuna, do not have the organ responsible for the electric sense and are unaffected by the metals. While conducting experiments with magnets in 2006, SharkDefense discovered the shark-repelling effects of the metal alloys. The alloys induced repellent responses on sharks which were similar to those effects induced by the magnets.

Craig O'Connell, a partner with SharkDefense who has participated in the repellent trials pointed out that "through extensive testing on a variety of species of sharks, it is evident that these metals induce repellent responses which will allow fisherman to focus their effort on target species."

Application of the metal alloy repellent simply requires a small piece of metal to be secured near the bait at each hook. Continuously submerged in salt water, the metals last for up to 48 hours.

Dr. Patrick Rice, Director of Marine Science at Florida Keys Community College, carefully monitors the development of shark repellent technologies and advises that a number of recent "repellent tests performed by marine fisheries scientists and independent scientists confirm that these metals are able to reduce shark bycatch."

TrevorG on 18 January 2010

Greetings John
As always your blog raises valid arguments. I however feel that you may be off track regarding the number of Great whites increasing over the past 10 years. My personal feeling is that there has always been a sizeable population. however with the commercialization of shark tourism, the awareness has greatly increased. Also the spate of attacks have raised the attention of media.It must be noted that there is very little known about this apex predator other than their inter action with us. Seeing as the sharks take 30 years+ to reach the size we now see, the culling issue has not yet resulted in an explosion, if it were so there would be more attacks of juvenile sized sharks(1 to 3 metres).In fact these sharks should be far more likely to attack humans as their hunting skills may not be sufficiently refined.

A key issue is the lack of research and knowledge of sharks and triggers for attacks. I recall May 1996 when there was a spate of attacks/encounters on the East coast. In fact there was over 10 incidents within a week, including 3 in one day in P.E. It was attributed to pelagic fish presence. Why was this pattern not repeated since?
There is tremendous scope for transmitter tagging of Great whites to ascertain their patrol routes and feeding tendencies. I believe this will allow us a far greater understanding of exactly what is needed to minimize the chances of fatal encounters. I believe the Ozzies are working on tagging as many sharks as possible and setting up monitoring devices near beaches to alert authorities to the presence of these creatures. As always the question of money and the will to actually do something remains an issue with our comatose government.
Culling is not an option as it will further disturb an already heavily stressed eco system.
Regarding P.0.D.s, the cost and portability is still not there yet.

Finally as a water enthusiast( fisher, paddler,swimmer, surfer ) I was shocked by this weeks attack, as it was clear that this was not a case of mistaken identity. The predator took the victim out, no doubts as the body has not been recovered. On the previous occasion at The Hoek Daniel Boorman( boogie boarder) was able to make it the beach where he tragically passed away. The same applies to the recent Glentana and Hartenbos attacks(both surfers) Tayna Webb(swimmer) body was not recovered. In the case of J.P. (surfer) who lost a leg, this limb was recovered intact at Gordons Bay. Clearly there was not a need to devour the victim in all but two instances. I believe that surboards have been instrumental in minimizing the severity of attacks provided that the shark bites at least part of the board. Even in Daniels case this was sufficient to cause the shark to disengage. Again tragically the bite was fatal. My point is that we need to understand the triggers and work toward preventing water users from being mistaken as a food source. Other common sense precautions will also help.
What do you guys think?
Regards
Trevor

John Bromley on 18 January 2010

.Dear John, This is an e-mail that I sent to wavescape in 2004 Before Tyna Webb's attack. I have been surprised that there has not been an attack for so long since. The population is undoubtedly increasing. The more people in the water argument is not valid as every individual diver is seeing dramatically more. Just my own experience and divers I know bear this out.
" I have been spearfishing for 15 years and surfing for nearly 40. Divers are unanimous that Great White shark numbers and activity have increased substantially over the years. In the 60s, 70s and 80s divers rarely saw Great Whites even when entering shark territory like the 5 mile reef at Struis and Skipskop at Arniston. They have however always been encountered in areas like Seal Island and Dyer Island.

There are now areas where even the hardcore don't go. We are seeing whites almost every time we go to Arniston now.

I use a sharkpod but it is getting to the point that we may give up diving there. Two friends of mine have been attacked while diving recently -- one knocked clean out of the water at Arniston (offshore at Skipskop reef) about a month ago and one off Maclears at Cape Point. The latter attack was warded off by poking a spear at the shark both with mercifully no permanent damage. No damage to the sharks either. False Bay inshore activity has undoubtedly increased. Mosselbay just off the surfing point is becoming a no go zone for divers. Clovelly is becoming another such place.

Scientists talk of research to be done and propound theories which are just that. What we know is that Whites are magnificent creatures worthy of preservation and unpredictable aggressive predators and they occasionally prey on us. I think that it is possible that like baboons which are fed and not hunted white sharks may have lost fear of man and may have become more aggressive and bold towards humans. Until sharks can be darted and effectively monitored or until effective barriers are installed at popular beaches. I am in favour of selective culling perhaps at the discretion of a responsible person like say the Kalk Bay Harbourmaster or a reponsible Lifesaver.. Sharks should only be culled if they are threatening (even by their mere presence) popular inshore swimming and surfing beaches only.

Thus if a shark is patrolling inshore areas near popular swimming or surfing beaches it can be culled. I do not think that we have to prove that such a shark is a rogue shark which could be too difficult. Such culling would not affect the general White Shark population, which has undoubtedly increased dramatically.

This could be an interim measure until a non aggressive effective safety strategy can be introduced, I think that shark viewing operators should be obliged to pay a substantial levy for their licences as a contribution to research and technology to improve water safety at swimming and surfing beaches.

It is absurd that Great Whites cruise almost daily into Fish Hoek Bay and swimmers rely on a chance sighting by lifesavers or Trekkers to warn them. Divers say that the shark which is going to attack will often stalk its prey and not announce it's presence on the surface. Swimmers and surfers should be protected in these areas.

Many surfers and divers venture into higher risk areas which are the primary habitat of the Whites and they take their chances. I do not think that we should have the same attitude to swimmers and surfers many of which are small children at places like Muizenberg, Fish Hoek and Long Beach. "

Mark on 18 January 2010

Sharks at the end of the day are the apex predators of the ocean, in the same way lions, the apex predators of the bush. We respect and admire lions for this and actively pursue the photographing/viewing etc of them at game parks etc...but we don't get out of our cars to do it?? No!! Hence the number of lion kills every year?? (next to none!) so why is everyone surprised when sharks do attack when we enter their domain?? In the research done... 99.% of the time it is a case of mistaken identity and the shark will release the victim upon "tasting" that it is not its normal prey/food source, but due to the nature of the sharks hunting weapons - it's teeth this can prove fatal. Sharks are not out to get us, we are not a natural part of their diet and we need to respect and get to know these magnificent creatures whom we share the oceans with a whole lot better! Instead of concentrating efforts of producing shark pods and the development of such...let us rather look at ways in which we can save our environment, which we are doing a great job of trashing all on our own! I feel that would be money better spent! Think of the sharks as the eco Vigilante police, patrolling our oceans and just reminding us every now and then that we need to clean up our act if we want to share the oceans - THEIR HOME!

Paul on 18 January 2010

Hi John, First off I am not a hunter and feel the word cull insights many negative connotations to the problem. I surf; dive, practice catch and release fishing and am happy with my lot/risk ratio to the sharks and there threat. That said and some thoughts towards a solution, we have stuffed up the balance of nature, if you look at most hunters, that I know, they are more conservation orientated then the next, they argue the practice of hunting improves the big picture, areas are developed/set aside to allow game to exist, Money drives this at the same time areas of no hunting exist and again money drives this. I suggest that catching of Great Whites should be allowed only in dedicated areas, permits issued to a limited Charter Operators (Only allow a "clean" fishing practice, a code of conduct not allowing chumming etc), the revenue from this should go into research and the funding of non intrusive shark shield devices. Those areas that the fishing is allowed would be close to where bathers/surfers (the greater area)use. My point here is that in a hunting concession area the game fear the consequence and move out, in the viewing concession area the game have no fear. The Great White is believed to be highly intelligent, if a guinea fowl can learn to avoid roosting in the farmers tree close to where he may be shot compared to the next one that pecks on my door in the Estate where he faces no threat, surely the GW would choose to avoid the danger area.
I expressed this view once before albeit edited by the papers to sensationalize, in a letter to the media and got lambasted, so before anyone would like to shoot me down maybe a more qualified researcher can explain why this won�t work

Green Goblin on 18 January 2010

Dear Mark and other shark lovers, maybe you should learn more about the great whites by going for a swim with them in chum filled water. I am sure that would help save not only the oceans but the planets and our final destruction of the universe. Lets get a few things straight. Sharks are animals. They attack and kill people, no matter what intentions you ascribe to them. The great whites are protected and are flourishing. More and more attacks will take place. Drunk driving and shark attacks have nothing to do with each other. Lastly if you have nothing worth saying don't say anything at all.

Rika on 18 January 2010

Quick question: "If a tourist leave his car in the Kruger and a Lion catch him,is it the Lions fault?"

Make that two..

"If a person swim in the sea and a shark attacks him is it the sharks fault?"

Just wondering....what the hell was that guy doing so far out?!

Grant on 18 January 2010

If Great Whites were not protected, they would need to be after an each attack. The boats would shoot out of Cape harbours and the slaughter would commence. Chew on that one.

TrevorG on 19 January 2010

Greetings, regarding John Bromley's comments, his personal experience of sightings and encounters make for worthwhile evidence of increased activities by Great whites especially the deep reefs off shore. Also the observation that divers see far more than surface dwellers is also relevant. I am pretty sure that if we were able to see what is prowling beneath us we would be far more cautious!
I still however feel that there is a very small ratio of shark encounters that result in full blown attacks,hence my summary of the past few incidents.The simplistic idea of culling indiscriminately is rather backward. The notion that man must be master of the universe is totally bizarre, only by adapting to circumstances and conditions has man managed to survive thus far. I understand that there are some individuals who choose not to consider their actions and are dismissive of those who do endeavor to be well informed and rational in their response to pertinent issues. I suppose that these are the same individuals who believe that global warming is a myth.
Man as a species has an obligation to preserve the planet, any action should be carefully considered and embarked upon only after sufficient research and investigation. Therefore I believe that short term measures should be undertaken that are not irreversible and extreme.The hunting of sharks is not a solution until we have ascertained the population totals and behaviour of these predators.
In closing I am compelled to respond to the Green Goblins infantile and rather disturbing comments regarding those that do wish to save the oceans etc.In short your narrow mindedness and myopic views are breathtakingly dumb and stupid. Is this is why you feel the need to use a pseudonym? I urge you to take your own advice and refrain from having anything to say.And if you are concerned about being bitten, do not go in the water.
P.S. What on earth does drunk driving got to do with shark attacks, no one mentioned any connection!

Mark on 19 January 2010

It seems this issue has sparked the most debate on the BOMB blog thus far and I think with good reason. It is a topic that is relevant to us as ocean users but also in terms of the bigger picture of conservation, not only of the species that inhabit the planet and oceans but that of the planet as a whole in itself. The main reason that Great whites were protected in the first place was that indiscriminate hunting/fishing was leading to their demise and that in turn lead to the explosion in the seal population, which in turn led to a depletion of fish stocks which in turn led to our fisherman having to head deeper offshore in order to fill their catch quota which in turn led to an increase in the price of fish which in turn cost us! The point being that every action has a reaction and ultimately it WILL affect us, but what we do now will decide on what this impact will be. If we look at nature and at the balance that she achieves (without our "help" and interference) I believe that at the end of the day, there will only be as many Great Whites (and other Sharks) in the ocean as can be supported by that ecosystem. People need to get it clear into their heads WE ARE NOT PART OF THE NATURAL PREY OF THE GREAT WHITE (OR ANY OTHER SHARK)!!!! Attacks that do occur are mostly territorial and /or mistaken identity NOT a natural hunting!

As for Culling I am sure more people would be up for the selective culling of some people than animals, I know of a few people that would be on my list...Oh and Green Goblin, here is your "IDIOT" stamp...wear it proudly across your forehead!!

TrevorG on 19 January 2010

Howzit Mark!
I fully endorse what you say. There seems to be a blind eye turned to serious degradation and abuse of resources in the name of progress,which is too often an excuse for greed and avarice.As soon as humans "suffer" there is an outcry.

will on 20 January 2010

no one said cull every great white shark, and also some of you guys say its ok because the great white is a very intellegent species... but then you contradict your statement by saying the only reason they attack humans is by mistake..? to clear things up, i agree with PAUL's comments, but il add that i would rather see more preventative measures in place ( not sure if it will ever happen).... Some of the top surf brands need to get involved ( must be loaded as baggies are on average R800 now) and spend some of there loot on Research and Development of shark barriers, or POD's. until then surf first ,surf hard, and feel the stoke.

TrevorG on 21 January 2010

Re Will
The apparent contradiction is that Great whites do not actively seek out surfers and devour them. A 3000 kg predator will chow you one time and all. Evidence seems to suggest that the majority of incidents are of an exploratory nature. My personal experience bears this out. In short, I was paddling between Little Bay and Big Bay and was shadowed by a 5 metre Great White. I only became aware of it's presence when I heard water being displaced behind me.(it surfaced) I paddled steadily to the rocks and Kelp nearest Kamers. The shark circled the rocks 6 or 7 times and I paddled into the shallows and aborted my paddle.Yes I KAKKED myself! Had it bumped my boat or actively attacked, it would have been a different matter altogether.
My point is that there is plenty of Great whites in the ocean yet very few incidents. When these incidents do occur, we need to know what the triggers are and what the solution is.Culling is too vague and extreme. My original post discussed the spate of attacks in a particular year. Our knowledge and awareness has not subsequently improved. This is a worry for me.

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Fines for surfing the Wedge

12 January 2010, 11:02

One of our BOMBsurf readers was threatened with a R1000 fine for surfing the Wedge in Cape Town this week:

"Hi Guys

Some mates and I where surfing the wedge in Cape Town the other day and got told to get out and threatened with a R1000 fine.

Anyone know anything about the legalities of surfing there? I know we are not supposed to surf there but can they actually fine us, can you help us out here?

Kind Regards,
JK"

Let us know if you can help?

4 Comments so far:

Sean on 12 January 2010

I surfed there yesterday without incident.
There was a period where port security got pretty strict but they seem more relaxed now, it's hit and miss to be honest.

I think the regulations at all ports have changed post 911 & you need to have a permit or legitimate business to be inside the harbour. I love the wedge when it works and will keep braving the security & threats to get my fill of dirty water left peaks.

John Micheletti on 12 January 2010

Ya, surfed there reacently and just got in the water before security could stop me, then they called the cops and waited for me to get out, the wave were good so no one was getting out any time soon that day, they gave up eventualy. Got to my car and found out that they removed my Plate Number and left a phone number to call if i wanted it back.
Apparently we are not allowed to surf ther but we can go further down the beach they said ...haha...What ever, the Wedge gets good but i dont think is worthed getting my stuff damaged by a bunch of idiots.

Dave Vincent on 12 January 2010

Its officially off limits to surfers...been through the long haul with them as was hauled out the water in a police rubber duck and fined 1,5K for breaching security protocols...refused to pay so we in court now - LUSS, cant go back as will get a criminal record....

JK on 12 January 2010

Well that answers that debate.

Its a pity they cant exempt surfers from entering that area.
Well Dave I hope you get off the fine, rather hectic that you got hauled out like that. Its a pity though as it gets good and is a fun wave. Good luck with the court case. I guess its a risky one surfing there now-a-days.

Shot guys

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Don't drop in!

10 January 2010, 23:40

This is what happened to the last ou who dropped in on me. You've been warned. LOL.

7 Comments so far:

Albert on 11 January 2010

WTF, but legend, wait for it dary

John Micheletti on 12 January 2010

I love it cant stop looking at it....
john

Warren Loom on 18 January 2010

And I thought pulling someones leash was effective! Brilliant!

TrevorG on 18 January 2010

Greetings, good video! Only issue is that the consequences of the move. The supposed drop-in could result in serious injury for both parties, resulting in damages being claimed. Was it worth it?

BigG on 18 January 2010

Fkg classic NP guerrilla anti dropin tactic - gonna try that one soon, should be a bomb on the NP Coffeeshop 22KG longboard.

Grant on 19 January 2010

What a tool. He's obviously a good surfer who intentionally set out to hurt the guy dropping in on him. He could have landed the guy's head, neck, broken his spine....I hope he was arrested.

Iain on 19 January 2010

@TrevorG - just to clarify, Trev, It's really not me in the video (surprise surprise!) I was kidding when I posted that...I can't surf that well ;) I found the clip on the net.

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Stoke tanks overflowing

9 January 2010, 18:13

Man, what a day of surfing! After months of foraging for scraps in the summer doldrums we hit the payload yesterday. I can't remember when I last surfed for six and a half hours in one day, but by the end of the day we were kieshed, sunburned, dehydrated and the stoke tanks were overflowing. I had two sessions, one on my Alaia and one on my regular thruster. To surf such good waves on the Alaia was both exhilarating and humbling. It was exhilarating because of the new places I could get to on a wave and the speed was unbelievable. Humbling because after months of surfing slop on the Alaia I thought I was getting it figured out when in fact on such perfect waves I realised I have so much more to learn. To be honest my skill level on the Alaia wasn't up to the quality of the waves but it was a huge learning curve. The amazing thing was when I finally got onto my regular board I felt so in tune with the wave. The barrels, carves and hacks which had eluded me on the Alaia just seemed to happen so easily. My point? Riding an Alaia gives you an intuitive sense of what is going on with the wave and as a result when you get back onto your regular board you seem to just flow more easily with it. Check out the Alaia session here http://www.thebombsurf.com/thebombsurfvideos/520/speed-testing-the-alaia-in-south-africa. Its amazing when you share good waves with some friends how much more memorable the experience is. I saw some truly epic rides yesterday. Iain and George (my two traveling companions) both got some epic rides but the ride of the day belonged to Chappy. My word what a wave! What a way to start the year.

Wherever you were yesterday I hope you got some sweet ones.
John

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Do fins really make a difference?

8 January 2010, 17:36

I never thought fins really made a HUGE difference in my surfing until recently. I am an average surfer, so my philosophy was that a very slight tweak to my fins setup wouldn't really have too much of an impact on my surfing. Yesterday, I changed my mind on the matter.

John, myself and our accomplice, George, launched a surgical strike looking for waves. I took 2 boards on the mission - my usual 6'6 and a new 7'0 gun. The surf was a solid 4-6' and as I watched the reeling rights from the beach, I was computing which board to ride and which fins to use. The Wave was big, but it wasn't super hollow just nice, steep, open wave faces.

In my first session, I surfed the 6'6 with FCS M5s - an injection moulded composite fin, hence some flexibility:
Base: 4 5/8” 116mm
Depth: 4 5/8” 118mm
Sweep: 33 degrees

I had such a session! Lots of drive off the bottom, on my backhand and I was able to really draw a nice even arc off the top for a fast and smooth re-entry. It felt amazing. I was reveling in the conditions and in how well my equipment was working! After 2 and a half hours we paddled in for a chow and a 45 min rest.

From the beach we could see the swell was peaking - glassy 6ft perfection running forever down the point. I swapped boards and took out the 7'0 gun. This time I fitted it with slightly smaller fins: FCS M3s. The smaller brother of the M5s as follows:

Base: 4.28” 109mm
Depth: 4.41” 112mm
Sweep: 31 degrees

Left to right: M5, M3 & PG5.
Such tiny differences to the eye, such a huge difference in the water!

It worked beautifully - The 7'0 gun gave me a bit more volume to paddle into the larger set waves easily (which was a good thing since I was pretty kieshed after the first session!) and to my surprise, the smaller fins allowed me to really maneuver the gun around the face of the wave and I still managed to draw those nice big sweeping turns, bottom to top all the way down the line.

I also had a set of FCS PG5s with me - very hard and rigid performance glass fins. I've surfed these in similar conditions on the 6'6 and I battled to turn my board, as they had such a tight purchase into the wave face - I guess I'l have to save these for those really hollow barreling days, when all you want to do is make the drop and get into the tube and rely on those rigid fins to hold that tight line in the tube under severe pressure!

So what I'm saying to all the surfers out there who are my kind of level - talk to your shaper or whoever you get your fins from and try some fins with different depth, base, sweep and most importantly, rigidity. You'll be surprised at the difference it makes!

I'd love to hear what you people are doing with your fins and what kind of difference it's made.

Iain

3 Comments so far:

slummiessurfa on 12 January 2010

The advent of removable fins has added a heap of new variables to surfboard performance. Different sizes, shapes, flex and splay angles are possible. All of these can drastically affect the feel of your stick. - Beware - too much fiddling can lead to indecisive paralysis. You may also end up with a box full of fins to lug around. It's also a bit of a mystery why, with all the adjustability of systems like 4wf and lokbox, manufacturers stick with the limiting fcs and throwaway plastic crap fins. I hear what Ian is saying, but the difference I experienced between moulded and glass fins was enough to turn me off for life.
My experience's 2c worth:
Throw the plastic crap things your board comes with away.
Get some quality glass fins like Maisch's.
Surprisingly, bigger fins work better in crappy waves.
Get the size right, then fiddle with the rake and sweep.
Drive your local fin supplier bezerk by ordering the wierdest things in the fcs catalogue. (Maybe then they'll actually stock the normal stuff)
When it feels right - LEAVE IT!! STOP FIDDLING!
You have been warned.

Jono J on 13 January 2010

Experiment fo sure.
I've even on a certain 6'2" i had used stiffer fins up front as a pair, with a flexier back fin as i found the board would fade through a turn and not hold with three flexy fins, it tightened up the turning Arc a bit, eventually i went with a full set of stiff fins and like the drive and control of them.

now im using a set of Bamboo cored fins, real stiff and slim, and i LOVE them as much as anyone could love a fin.

I agree tho when u find a comfortable set stick with em a while.
and DEFINITELY get rid of those plastic space-saver lucky packet fins that come with a board.

Chad on 19 January 2010

Without a bit of experimentation there is no progression . Changing your fins can be a revelation or a cure . I'm the first one to agree that if something works don�t fiddle to much . But having said that if your don�t play a bit you might never progress .
The plastic fins are generally for beginners/intermediate surfers because there is a bit flex which is forgiving . However Dave Weare won the Quik Pro on a set of G5 'plastic' fins . But he probably could have won win no fins .

Choosing the correct fin requires a bit of thought e.g. type of board , board dimensions , type of wave , your dimensions and style of surfing . You can surf a 6�1� Bilt with M5 fins but when you surf a 6�1� Baron you need the larger GAM fins . Why ? More concave you need a bigger fin , wider tail you also need a bigger fin . Surfing a beach break you can use a more upright fins , while on a point you might need more rake . There are a set of rule to help choose the correct fin - check them out at www.surffcs.com

The fin systems that play with tow and cant are probably best left for the �experimental� shaper . But it could be fun to set them up asymmetrically i.e. your backhand fin straighter and upright while your forehand fin has more tow and cant.

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Searching

7 January 2010, 22:29

Searching

As anyone who has lived through the last few months in KZN will tell you the surf and weather have been less than idyllic. True we've made do with the fun little bowls in town and the odd session up and down the coast, but we haven't had real surf for ages even though cyclone season is just around the corner. Gazing at the charts this week revealed a multitude of options for surf starved surfers all over SA. The West Coast and the East Coast both look good for waves. So we set up a mission and pulled the trigger yesterday. Now we're ensconced at our location and the swell hasn't arrived...yet we hope. That's the thing about all the wave tracking technology these days. You still don't really know until you wake up and see it with your own eyes. I hope wherever you are tomorrow is cranking and that you score. Best wishes for 2010.
John

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Solidarity is the key!

5 January 2010, 21:48

We woke up early and hit the South Coast. John, myself, Mark and Brendan. We favoured a quiet little point break where the banks were looking good - no one else out except the Doc, as usual. John and I surfed our Alaias and Mark and Brends favoured the regular shortboards. It was a classic session, clean and glassy and although a fullish tide, when the right one came through it was nice steep drop, a walling top section, through one flattish bit and then racing through on the inside bank. I was really amping to surf my regular shortboard, as the prospect of swimming after the Alaia for a few hundred meters didn't appeal to me, but before I knew it, John was off the bricks and I thought, "What the heck" and joined him in solidarity! Turned out to be the right move - the guys on the shortboards picking out the biggest set waves from the back, while John and I caught the better shaped insiders. I saw John do a full roundhouse cut back- to slide- re-entry on a really steep section - the dude is ripping! Mark and Brendan were doing some crazy shit out there too - My favourite move was Brendan's Reverse left take off - to right swoop. I thought he took off straight onto the bricks, but he actually made it and ripped all the way down the point. Eish! Charts are looking good for the rest of the week...think there's going to be waves all over the coastline in the next 3-4 days. Get on it people!

Iain

2 Comments so far:

Jono on 6 January 2010

I Carent be-leaf it

Jono J on 13 January 2010

OKay NOW i believe it

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Every cloud has one...

4 January 2010, 20:01

It's been hectic down at the beachfront over this past NY long weekend. I didn't dare venture down on New Year's day, mainly because I was incredibly hung over, but also because we were warned the night before that it was going to be carnage on the 1st. Not even the hardened Guardian Angels stuck around for NY's day. Judging by the photo in the Independent on Saturday - apparently 60 000 people swarmed to the beach. Anyway, Myself and my mate Brendan went down for a surf on Sunday...you'd think 2 days would be ample time to get the beach back into shape, but nope - it was still carnage down there. We had a surf at Wedge - there was a slopey little wave coming through which was such fun on the Alaia - but in the bathing area it was all still Vuvuzelas, singing and mass chaos leaping in unison over every breaker. Not that there's anything wrong with that - it's just the pressure on the infrastructure down there which is already in a mess due to all the construction that makes it difficult. The good news is that there were only 2 other surfers between Wedge and the whole of South Beach! A silver lining after all....

Iain

1 Comments so far:

Jazz on 4 January 2010

I live right over the road from Supers - and NY day is effing manic, pretty much what u described, 50 cars with boots open all playing different music till what time. My ears are still ringing. lol

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