Lots going down and up with a late-Winter flurry of swell the goose is being chased hard both left and right- some long lefts, and rights…The Dungeons had a yawn and a stretch that had the Spartan warrior in almost everyone affiliated to the Cape Town Tow Surf Association chasing lumpy windblown beasts- it’s been a long Winter- but up until then i had managed to evade any significantly giant paddle sessions rolling with The General twig- but with Greg Long flying in and Hawaii’s Ian Walsh in the mix there wasn’t really much of a choice- pity Ian never got to tow but rules are there for a reason and i definitely respect where the CTTSA are coming from, so many crazy scenarios can potentially unfold- like what we saw with JJ the skipper on his big rubber duck with Wayne de Lange and Teegan Smith who were filming Ryan Payne having a go- they got caught by a sneaker swell on the wide bowl- he had to open the throttle last minute airborne and fell about twenty feet into the trough tail first- JJ broke his hand on the throttle lever, his partner broke his pelvis and was knocker out cold on impact- Wayne and Teegs were clearly shaken, with swamped camera gear- but there were way worse scenarios that could’ve played themselves out right there- but thanks to the presence of guys like Ross Lindsay and Greg Long on the day doing safetyon their skis, and of course the inimitable Grant Spooner who with more experience then most out there and a lifetime of water safety behind him knows what could actually happen out there…I caught up to him back on land and he was more upset then anyone, with way less then the usual animation we all agreed what we’re doing out there with a flotilla of boats and jetskis so close to the impact zone really isn’t clever, most of those boats are seagoing yes- but they weren’t designed to burst quickly on the throttle and evade a twenty foot swell- they’re for deep sea fishing! JJ’s cat is equipped with some serious horsepower thankfully- and he was able to avert a potential disaster- good on him i say! get that man a beer- but next time, and whenever else anyone wants to step into the fold at a place like Dungeons- stay on your toes, your big balls will only get you so far so beware be aware and be wary

As far as the surfing went, Ian and Twig padlled into the melee of spartan warriors on their jetskis and caused a minor sensation which prompted Mike Shlebach to have a go while all the tow-teams buzzed around agitatedly and an hour slipped by- no waves paddled- then Mike Shlebach sctatched into a huge one- nailed it,then nothing another fifteen minutes and the tow-show was back on. I liked the look of Stu Bradburn and Jem Johnson as a team, they know each other well and will ride a lota crazy waves in the future. Paris Basson has teamed up with Mad Mike Baleta, uh-oh the super-frothers are a classic duo they stayed out there late on the second day towing, Mad Mike is in a league of his own, and Paris a veteran charger considering, Jacques Theron and James Taylor are so at ease out there you could go on and on about these guys they’re calculated madmen on a mission- as far as paddling gos though, there’s an interesting twist as the guys who cant afford a ski or dont really give a shit about towing come to the fore- Frank Solomon and Josh Redman come to mind, and on the opposite end, Stu Bradburn doesn’t really feel the paddle vibe as much, preferring to meld his downhill skating skills with the tow which he clearly handles with aplomb….

I sat on the boat the first day of the swell happily, the second day was different, but i still wasn’t feeling it. Long Winter, not many sessions lately the bullshit excuses were pouring outa me, inside i had already convinced myself that all this bigwave stuff is too much of a show for me, im a tube rider, i ride good waves- these waves arent good- i found a spot in te tower of this 30 foot cat wedged in listening to tunes sucking a Fishermans friend when Kaitlyin- Jem Johnson’s girlfiend tugs on my bootied foot : “Are you coming roosta?” in that cute little girly voice, without even a thought i climb onto the deck, strap on vest on under the suit and hop off the boat- me and Kaity are all over it, Jem idles by on his ski and chirps me in his man-tone: ” now i know how to get you in the water hey roosta…” hinting about his girl witha smirk- gota love it, and Kaity had a go- we scrambled onto the shoulder and bumped into John Barker Gouldy who was having his second go out there stoked- three little rookies on the shoulder- i ditch them and set up shop next to my good omen of the Cape Mickey Duffus, with his thousand yard stare i cinfide to him in all myears of surfing in the Cape whenever i see him in the water i feel good, and basically use him as a marker- thirty metres on my inside is Paris Basson who’s stoked to check me out there- aweh! he says: ” I’d rather ride twenty waves on the inside then sit out there for two hours and catch two waves- stoked- i use the madman and the calculated veteran as my markers- and stroke into three bombs on the 2,5, the one is such a liquid runway Paris tried his hardest to go with me but it was all mine there is quite simply nothing like the traditional perfect paddle in on a giant swell- i got to my feet so early right at the top thanks to the 9′0 beast of an experimental boat Spider Murphy shaped for Twig eyes forward, ears back- smooth glas and a burst of sun shafting my approach worked, like the last session i had out there in 17th August 2008 when Twig got his xxl paddle award- i waited for the lower tide- and souled out on the ‘photo bowl’ the real lanis were out the back back- like a hundred metres further over- dodging giant bowls, its my third paddle session out there- and i feel so priveledged to be a part of it- i probably enjoy the over-priced Castle drafts at The Deck overlooking the slipway a bit too much watching all the teams coming in and heading straight to us at the bar, smiles and beers all round, stories are swapped- food inhaled and the collective good endorphin and adrenaline released after a day like that leaves a palpible taste of satisfaction and a glimmer in everyone’s red- eyes i salute everyone involved, and drag myself outa there to an interview on the the big guy Kaptein Kai’s radio show on Two Ocean Vibes Monday night from 8. the station manager;s frothing to go home so he shows Kai what buttons to push and leaves us in this epic studio with Jack Daniels lying all over the place! Craig Kolesky arrives a Kai’s other guest and we’re on air! what a jol, i drank too many Redbull JD’s and git real excited, we spun some tunes of our choice and i finally got to get as drunk as i thought i should after two days bobbing in boats and on a surfboard under The Sentinel in Hout Bay- what are we dealing with? im still not even sure if im into this bigwave thing, Twig, Ian and Greg have bailed to the deserts of Namibia with their dollars and big travel-budgets and im left hiding on the Island of Llandudno happily typing these words to you out there- people of the blogisphere- hope you enjoyed my story- love and gratitude…
roosta