34.7 - The Mission Issue

"We had been given some vague directions to a wave in the area and it took us a long time to find this particular spot. But to tell you the truth, we are still unsure if it was the right wave because...well, it it really a wave? - Twiggy"

The hard charging crew of Dave Smith, Grant "Twiggy" Baker, Sean Holmes and photographer AVG load the 4x4's and head out of town to tackle a giant, heaving mutant of a slab that they had caught wind of. Is it SA's most evil wave? Is it even a wave? Check out the article and decide for yourself.

"It's funny that we, as South African surfers, don't know much about the island of Reunion. Our volcanic neighbour collects most of the swell pushing up into the Indian Ocean from the Antartic. The waves are incredible, the water is clean, warm and tropical and the woman are both attractive and friendly."

Sounds too good to be true? A posse of Saffa's including Davey Weare, Dan Redman, Dale Staples, Andy Davis and Greg Ewing hop on over to our island neighbour to taste it's fruits and test it's waters.

Dedicating yourself to a wave, getting to know it's every nuance, living by it's whims and reaping its rewards is a life-long mission of discovery filled with a few hard knocks, and many ultimate rewards. We paddle on the inside with a handful of surfers from up and down the coast to share their collective experience in this issue's photo feature.

"things were mellow at first, until some unsavoury looking elements came to investigate the slowly growing crowd. One of the lighties then forced his way to the front, tapped on the window and did his best to mime that this new lot were a gang of thieves and pickpockets, and suddenly things exploded around us. Fights were breaking out, stones were being thrown and door handles were being pulled in attempts to get into the car."

Morocco is not all about right points and heaving slabs as this crew of Saffas discovered on their recent trip. In between the cooking waves was danger, adventure and even a snowfall.

The Zag contact the experts and get some advice on how to deal with surfing injuries and accidents. These tips could save your fellow surfers life and even yours when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, so make sure you and your surfing buddy read it before your next session.

"There's no laughter in his bungalow now. Only the roaring sounds of dementia as the malaria overcomes him completely, hot-wiring his brain with stabbing incisions that burrow deep into his cerebral cortex, fusing his neurological functions to his diseased blood."

Despite the threat of Malaria, corrupt officials and landmines, Mozambique still lures surfers to its cooking waves and wide open spaces. We take a finer look at this stretch of paradise.