Cape Town is crawling with surfaholics. If there is a hint of a swell at their favourite break, local surfers will drop everything to head out into the water, and if their break is unworkable, they will follow the wind and find a spot that is “cooking”.
Nowadays, it is not just hard-core surfers who dominate the waves around Cape Town. Surf schools have cropped up everywhere along the well-known breaks, and children’s “surf parties” are even on offer at which partygoers learn to ride a board before blowing out birthday candles.
Surfing has evolved through the years, and if you want to learn to surf, you can choose from a range of options – such as the newest trend of stand-up paddle surfing, or kitesurfing, longboarding and bodyboarding.
Our local surfer tribe is spoilt with our huge variety of good surfing spots, breaks, in a very close area and you can usually find an offshore wind, which creates good conditions for hollow waves.
It is no longer so easy to spot a surfaholic – they can come in all shapes and sizes, from the barefoot “grommet” (junior surfer) at Muizenberg to the professional sponsored surfer who gets a thrill from the bigger waves at breaks around Kommetjie or beyond.
Speaking to a number of serious surfers, the Cape Times found out how easy it is to get addicted to the sport.
For surfers, it is the sense of freedom that the sport brings. For those few hours in the water, one can escapes the hustle-bustle of modern living, and find spiritual contentment in salty waters.
”It’s always about that ‘one more wave’,’’ says big wave surfer Michael Baleta. “And then the next thing you know it’s dark and you cant see the beach anymore. I have lied to surf before…”
Michael, known as “Mad Mike” to his friends, started surfing at the age of four. These days he surfs big waves as often as he can and manages his career so that it allows him this freedom. When asked if he ever fears for his life while he’s out there in the water, Mad Mike laughs and shows off some scars.
“I’ve had my share of stitches and encounters with the reef,” he says. “Being pounded by a big wave is like being in a car accident – you have whiplash for days afterwards. But I’m never discouraged.”
“Surfing is a lifestyle sport – people plan their lives around surfing,’ explains Steven Pike, known as ‘Spike’ on the Cape Town surfer scene. His online magazine, www.wavescape.co.za is a local favourite for looking up swell predictions, the latest surf news and getting to grips with surfer slang.
“There are those who make allowances to surf and those who will just drop everything to surf and bugger the consequences,” he says. “I am constantly in trouble… Fortunately I’ve managed to use surfing as a way of making a living.”
Spike says Cape Town is considered one of the most prolific surf spots in the world, with a huge variety of from 40 to 50 different surf spots within an hour’s range.
One of South Africa’s best woman longboarders, Simone Robb, is a local legend of her own.
“I just love surfing. I surf and skate, that’s all I do. I’m actually quite lazy otherwise.”
Travelling to some of our planets best surf spots to compete – despite a lack of governmental or sponsorship support – Simone has had the chance to compete in the World Longboard Women’s Championship. Her home in Kommetjie it’s just a stone’s throw from Long Beach.
“Women’s surfing almost doesn’t exist in this country – it gets about as much attention and money and sponsorship as peeling naartjies,” Simone explains.
“If you actually really wanna be a dedicated surfer you have to make a helluva lot of sacrifices. There’s probably about five people in the whole country who make money as a surfer and I aint one of them!”
The mother of two makes surfing movies with her husband and has a website called www.stoked.co.za. “If you wanna start surfing you better be nice, because the water only has place for nice people, horrible people will get eaten by a shark,” Simone warns with a smile.