SURFING: New Wave of September - Now that's more like it!
Hello everyone, and especially the SurfHive Community! It's Jasper, the musical-surfer dad from Cape Town in South Africa.
At the beginning of the year I made a New Year's Resolution to surf at least one new surf-spot every month of 2023. I have been able to find something new from January through to August... although I must admit that the August adventure was a bit ridiculous as the new wave involved navigating thick kelp (seaweed)!
I was occasionally able to find a gap in the thick kelp I could navigate through!
But usually not!
Any surf is better than none, especially on a calm and sunny winter day here in Cape Town, South Africa. Still, I was hoping for better luck in September - maybe something more on my actual bucket list! You know, the kind of wave that is the reason I set myself this New Year's Resolution in the first place!
There is a spot that I have been wanting to try all winter. It is a reef in a very sheltered bay that only breaks after proper storms when the open ocean is huge! Apparently according to my hardcore surfer friends and some footage I have found on Youtube, it has broken a few times this year, but I have always been too busy with work and other responsibilities!
I figured today, as a big storm was finishing up and the sea still had a 4.5m+ 15s swell, might be my last chance to get it working!
It was literally hailing one last time as I packed almost every board I own (besides the mini-mal... Haha) into my car. It is hard to predict how well the swell would wrap around the corner, and the wave is about an hour's drive away, so I wanted to be prepared for anything!
So where is this wave close to Cape Town?
Well, you might see one or two of these guys trying to sunbathe on the side of the road when the winter sun comes out!
You may see some distant cousins too...
Yes, I drove just far enough to feel like I wasn't really in Cape Town anymore - even though I arguably was!
When I got there, the reef was working, and the sun was winning the fight with the clouds!
There were usually 5 to 10 people out, but here is the left being ridden, while the better right drains off by itself!
Yes, most people were focusing on the right! The conditions were head-high and offshore!
Let's paddle out!
Arriving at the take-off spot...
There seemed to be a hardcore little crew who know what kind of conditions this spot needs and are excited to be there when it happens!
People sharing the peak, taking off left and right...
I assume this older gentleman, and his big lightning-bolt board, have been enjoying this spot for years!
My turn!
Enjoying a smooth wall...
And then carving back towards the kelpy reef...
So, that's more like it! Honestly this spot is one of the reasons I challenged myself to try and get to surf a new spot at least once a month this year! I'm glad I can tick September off with a good one! I'm keen to see what this place is like when it gets slightly bigger - I think it can get quite intense!
For comparison's sake, here is a picture I took of the open ocean, exposed to the raw storm swell, on the way home!
Oof, what a mess! But isn't Cape Town amazing, there seems to be somewhere surfable no matter what!
Thanks for checking in! May the waves be good where you are!
THE END
Stunning!
The drive to this place is absolutely stunning but I had nervous anticipation the whole way... it is hard to predict with this place whether it will be too small, just right or quite scary and big! A couple of degrees difference in swell direction or tide movement can change things a lot! I got lucky this time and got great conditions for my first time!
wow ! I can imagine ! glad you got such great conditions! :)
Dope mate.. stoked you had a good one. Spot looks sweet.
Do you have a rough feeling for where I am? It's South of my house, and even South of your house!
This is fun.. ok you kinda have me stumped ..though the water looks atlantic ..the coastline looks like something I would expect in Kommetjie - which I reckon seems south of where I'm at. Long Beach for the spot? ..and you would be more Muizenberg'ish?
Hahaha - let's say Kommetjie is west of you (Long Beach is pretty consistent as well - this spot is a rare treat!). Think even more South! The picture of the messy stormy open ocean is the Atlantic side on the drive back home, and even that picture is taken from south of Kommetjie as well!
Lmao.. I'm pretty sure I know where it's not - haha. I really don't think it's Scarborough.. you seem like you can handle waves that would likely land me in hospital.. hmm.. Crayfish Factory?
The picture of the messy ocean was taken between Scarborough and Misty Cliffs! Believe it or not, I was somewhere on the False Bay side, and inside the Cape Point Nature Reserve! - it takes an enormous swell for any kind of wave to wrap around Cape Point to get there, but it's a rare treat when it does!
I would have never guessed that. I was trying to make out that mountain in the 6th and 7th pic.. was pondering what Chapman's looks like close up haha. Glad you had a dope day!
On the wave I'm riding, you can see along a series of steep mountains that lie between me and Smitswinkel Bay near the entrance gate to the Cape Point Reserve.
good name bro....
Snap!! Jasper is a rare name here in South Africa - My father was a very good Mountaineer and named me after the Jasper National Park in Canada where he had some of his big first ascents in the Rocky Mountains there!
I've heard of a few other South African Jaspers (one is a good boxer, one is a good surfer), and met one from USA and Sweden... So where are you from?
Brazil!