Rest in peace Christine “Bippo†Miller who passed away peacefully in Jeffreys bay last week- one of the original girl surfers of the late 50’s early 60’s era she helped usher in the start of modern surfing in South Africa…
Christine was one of the first girls to surf Sunset and Waimea bay in Hawaii on her sponsored 9’10†Greg Noll gun, she even shared some big Sunset waves with none other then Anthony Michael ‘doc’ van den Heuwel- Christine lived the ‘Aloha’ lifestyle in an old ice-cream van- she spoke fondly of Paul Gebauer the legendary guitarist and crazy trips into the volcanoes and craters- recently Jimmy “Z†Ganzer was looking to contact her. She married Tino Petrucci and gave birth to Measha and Jeffery all the while winning two SA womens surfing titles- just like that! After raising the kids in Durban she retired to be in J-bay with old connections Tony van, Shorty Bronkhorst and Bruce Gold. In her final months she enjoyed son Jeffery’s baby daughter Arusha- a grandmother finally and a bit of a fairy godmother to myself, Bruce and many others- Joshua and Lulu her two lovely dogs are gona miss her too…SHALOHA
There will be a memorial and paddle out at the Point in Jeffreys bay on the 3rd of January 2010 where her ashes will be scattered and flowers spread and songs sung- her final request…
Long live all the legends of South African surfing-past and present! may they be sharing perfect waves in a beatific, better place!
Bruce Gold was gracious enough to help me out with Cristine’s story- many thanks and shalom chom! Anyone traveling to Jeffreys bay before the third-Bruce would love a lift please contact him on 0793727391 more fire!
They found us that same afternoon, deep in the Puesto estuary. We were caught like a rat in a trap. They slowly circled us like a shark, making no effort to conceal four AK 47’s. An ancient looking revolver was in the holster on the side of the consul. There was no sign of the bale that we chucked over board that morning. On their fourth circuit the coxswain turned the wheel and slowly bumped up against shimmi. My heart was beating in my throat. Duf, Duf, Duf. I recognized the barman from Gigante. He grabbed onto one of shimmi’s stanchions with his left hand, beckoning me with the right. I came forward, trying to act cool, but I was now beyond kukking myself. I could feel all the blood falling out of my face, I felt like I was going to pass out. He extended his right hand, and I took it with mine. From my elevated position on shimmi’s side deck I could see into the bottom of their panga. And I shit you not my mateys, in the bottom of this boat was a stained green tarpaulin, covering what was with out doubt a human body. I looked back up into the steady gaze of the friendly barman. ‘Gracias senor’ was all he said, like I just gave him a tip or something. Then he let go my hand, shoved his boat off and pushed both throttles down. The panga jumped forward, charged out of the estuary, and into the open ocean. The five armed men did not look back. Their wake rocked shimmi, sending a set of perfect 4 inch peelers down the bank of the river.
The Boom
After that we surfed the Boom, and hung with boys from the Rancho, for a solid month. My memory is a blur of deep shacks and ice cold rum. This hidden gem is one of my all time finds and I know that I will be back, one day. I still wonder about that bale of coke, the wealth and misery that it stands for. As it turns out, we were very lucky to come off unscathed. Shane from the Rancho told me that those gunmen were ‘cocaine pirates’. They ambush and attack the Columbian drug traffickers who come up the coast, taking their cargos of coke and leaving only bodies behind.
North Nica reo
Rancho also marked the turning point of shimmi’s exploration up the Central American coast. We now need to get back down to Panama which is our jumping off point for sailing into the South Pacific. This is the longest stretch of open ocean in the world, a whopping 3200 Nautical miles which translates into a 3 week crossing. Three weeks. How do you stock up for that? But we were amped. Ahead of us lay the wave rich islands and atolls of the Marquesas, Tuomotus, Tahiti, Huahine, Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa….to name just a few. And if we need to be at sea for 3 weeks to get there, then that’s a sacrifice that we are prepared to make.
Lurking at the Mantis and Moon the last few daze raiding the left bowl and getting nice and messy behind the bar when these two dudes approach and ask if they could play some live music- I’m like: “For shore!†and within half an hour one drumkit and guitar started wailing and banging at the hands of these two cats- Us Kids Know is music without a genre- kinda Dick Dale ambient distortion with a bit of Interpol in the mix it was the highlight of my Summer so far- besides the pawpaw war but that’s another story- Colin von Berg on his Fender Jazzmaster was so smooth and oldschool while Chad Polley made it look like he was on an arvo jog in the sun- big smiles everyone was quite positively blown away check these guys out on Facebook and myspace- uskidsknowband im looking forward to cranking their tunes between sessions in Indo January and they were kind enough to allow is to use a few tracks to edit our surfing to so stay tuned for more from this “Post-Apartheid twee-piece†the krilly krills shall rise!
For the last three months I have been in the running for a new job. If truth be told, it was a really good job and I wanted it badly. I was in the mix, having made through to the last four people vying for the job, so I had something that they were looking for. It was the chance of a lifetime and I wasn’t going to blow it. I was going to be like Rabbit the rapper and capture the moment, as Slim Shady spouts on about in 8 Mile. So it was time to prepare, to train and to get ready for the final series of interviews. This was about three months ago.
On the other side of the world the World Tour results were bouncing around all over the place. Joel was in the lead, then Mick was in the lead. It was going to be a close finish – the final proving grounds were going to be Pipeline in Hawaii. After the Billabong Pipeline Masters someone was going to be World Champion.
My final playing field was going to be Cape Town. I drove down the coast, thinking that I could use the 8-odd hours to clear my head, to recite what I would need to say in my interview to wow them and secure the job (of a lifetime). By the time I arrived I was well-versed in every single possibility that could possibly come up. This job was going to be mine, unless something really serious went wrong.
At Pipeline Joel needed a good result to beat Mick. He is a standout at Pipe, he is a former Triple Crown Winner and he knows what need to be done to win a heat. In other words he was well-prepared and the title was well within his grasp. It was going to come down to one day of surfing at Pipeline that was to decide the victor and the World Title crown.
My interview went off incredibly well. I had all the answers, I had the correct tone, I was dressed smart but casual, clean-shaven and fresh, and I wasn’t even nervous. I could feel this job. It was going to be mine.
Joel had a shocker. Mick took the title, and was eliminated the next heat. Both surfers out of the event, with Joel losing the title and Mick getting his second title. Well done mate, and bad luck mate.
I got the call. The job wasn’t mine. someone had come in and beaten me in the semis. I smiled, thanked the dude on the phone for telling me, and went on with my life. The disappointment was so strong that I couldn’t even feel it. It was shoved away into a deep, hidden little recess in my heart, no doubt to come out later when I least expected it.
I know how Joel Parkinson feels. No doubt if he knew me well enough and knew what I had just been through he would say that he knew how I felt. We’re in the same place, millions of miles and different societal levels apart, but we’re in the same place that’s for sure.
You see, first is first and second is, quite literally, fuck all.
There are many superlatives used in the world of surfing on a daily basis – the best surfer in the world, the best big-wave surfer in the world, the best freesurfer in the world, the best board in the world, the best wetsuit in the world. These superlatives are used freely in marketing and in editorial on an almost daily basis.
So I came upon one such superlative recently, the best boardshort in the world. The company that has brought out the best boardshort in the world is (warning: free advertising zone) none other than Hurley.
Machado, the best free surfer in the world wearing the best boardshorts in the world.
For the last two years their Phantom series boardshorts have won the SIMA best boardshorts award, (which means they are the best boarshort in the world,) and their new design looks set to do something similar. The Hurley Phantom with Nike Flywire is a rad collaboration with surf and shoes, with Nike technology kicking in to make the boardshorts pretty darn comfie, durable ,… add more marketing adjectives here…
I wore a pair recently, and they were everything that they were made out to be. Super stretchy and super light, they felt almost like surfing with nothing on. They have this lekker non-seam design so there’s no way you can really get chafed no matter how much hair you have, or if you have layers of fat where you don’t really need layers of fat. There are no metal grommets and there is a bunch of other pretty rad other technical info on the construction of the shorts that make them sick.
They come in a pretty cool package, that includes a glossy book that shows the production process of these shorts, and there is a DVD included. The DVD includes Hurley team members Machado, Timmy Curren, Kalani Robb, Ace Buchan and Rizal amongst others going mad in Indo on achingly perfect waves.
Makes you surf like Rob.
The boardshort package (boardies, book, DVD) is going to retail for R1999. That’s quite serious lettuce leaves for a pair of baggies. Thing is, they really made me surf like Machado;
apart from the fact that he’s a goofy and I’m a natural;
and he’s good and I’m shit;
and he’s thin and I’m fat;
and he’s stylish and I’m etc etc….
A year ago Kelly Slater created a fuss riding to victory his ‘Deep Six’ mutt at the 2008 Pipe Masters. The board was a cross breed between a big wave gun and a small wave board – literally – like gluing together a fish nose and a big wave gun’s rear end. The media murmur about the board went on for weeks. But unconventional boards aiding victors to a winner’s podium on the Dream Tour was not a first at Pipe. Taj won at J-bay in 2007, on an ultra-tech Firewire surfboard.
SLATER AND HIS DEEP SIX
After the Deep Six impact at Pipe, Slater turned up at the Quiksilver Gold Coast Pro for the start of the 09 Tour with another unusual sled under his arm – a 5’ 4†squash tail disk. It was not a fish and certainly not a regular shortboard. He bombed out in his first round – the result was less than he had expected. Slater thoughts on the matter; ‘I watched footage of that heat… and I actually thought the board looked pretty good… I wonder if I’d somehow won at Snapper, what effect that would have had on popular opinion.’ Despite the result in Oz Slater often whipped out the tiny stick during this year’s events. He also invested a lot of his free surf time on the boards tweaking them for a variety of waves from gnarly reef passes to ordinary beach breaks. Check out the full story on the truth behind Kelly’s surfboards in Slater’s article ‘A Time for Change’, in the latest issue of Zag.
TAJ ON FIREWIRE
Fellow ‘alternative’ board surfing World Tour competitor, Taj, keeps his dimensions pretty conservative. The difference with Taj’s boards lie under the chassis. Firewire surfboards use a unique construction of various high spec materials to make their sticks. The outcome is a durable board with a distinct flex pattern. Flex is hailed as the misunderstood – secret – ingredient in producing magic surfboards – so I have heard. Some pro surfers have confessed to being addicted to the feel of a brand new board’s flex – the ‘bendy-ness’ and return memory that you only get before the resin cures 100%. The aphrodisiac of these newly christened blades are the increased acceleration and snap through turns. But your shaper will tell you, surfing a board before it cures is not smart – They crease or break very easily at this vulnerable age. Taj has been working with Nev Hyman at Firewire for the past few years now to optimising this flex in his Firewire. The bonus is that they are super strong too. Taj only snapped one Firewire in 2009 – at Teahupoo! Before he was breaking at least one board a week (when he was riding regular polyurethane – the popular core choice for surfboards).
SLATER AND TAJ’S ‘ALTERNATIVE’ BOARDS IN THE 09 PIPE MASTERS FINAL.
This week Slater and Taj rode their unconventional sticks in the Pipe Masters. Both made it to the final (Taj won). It was a significant victory for the alternate board. Millions of surfers logged on to the webcast to follow the action. The surfing media locked into the significance of the moment. Fuss has been created. The issue is being discussed online and will probably linger for the next few weeks. Surfboard manufacturers will sell boards off the back of this. More importantly, you might contemplate tweaking your ‘comfort’ dimensions or going with a different construction under the hood in the near future.
Have a great Christmas,
Brandon (Zigzag Online Editor)
PS: Dane Reynolds has been surfing on a variety of his new small boards (with arb lengths, widths and even sillier tails). D-boy has been videoing some of his sessions on the dimes and loading it onto the web. Click here to check it out…
Rumours have been flying around about a proposed development in Eland’s Bay. Turns out a surfer is on the frontline of the fight against it going ahead; here’s the full story so far…
In November 2005, a property development company, Midnight Storm Investments, filed an application to develop three sites near Baboon Point in Eland’s Bay into residential and holiday units.
Brendhan “Jock†Kannemeyer is a local property owner, long-time surfer at E-Bay and chairman of EBEDAG (The Eland’s Bay Environmental and Development Action Group). In the past they have successfully fought similar – and what Jock calls “ludicrous†– development plans in and around Elands and the picturesque Verlorenvlei areas.
EBEDAG have been following this particular application process for the past four years. Jock tells me how after Midnight Storm initiated the original development process, EBEDAG launched an objection with the relevant authorities on the grounds that Baboon Point held cultural, geological and ecological value and should be preserved as is.
“The development was put on hold for two years while the significance and suitability of the site was assessed by Heritage Western Cape,†says Jock. “The outcome was that Baboon Point was proclaimed a Provincial Heritage Site in April 2009 – the only site to be declared anywhere in South Africa since 1998.â€
However, it seems that Midnight Storm has invested a lot of time and money into the project and won’t go away quietly. In October 2009, the developers re-submitted their application to the Built Environment and Landscape (Belcom) and the Archaeology, Paleontology and Meteorites (APM) Committees of Heritage Western Cape. They argued it should be approved on grounds that one of the proposed sites has industrial zoning, (albeit this was granted 60 years ago) and that the project has been downscaled in size and impact.
One would think that the declaration of the area as a Heritage Site would be enough to block any proposed development. However, the Belcom Committee approved the application on the basis of the developers’ argument. Yet, the Archaeology, Paleontology and Meteorites (APM) Committee refused the application. There is now a stalemate, as both committees have to give approval in order for the project to go to the next level.
Kannemeyer is confident this won’t happen and EBEDAG will be appealing the Belcom decision on 14 January 2010. “We have a good chance of success but EBEDAG and the residents of Eland’s Bay are going to have to constantly monitor the process so that the pristine nature of the area can be retained,†adds Jock. “We are planning to get the Heritage Site at Baboon Point upgraded as a South African and then an international heritage site. Then the site will be truly protected from development.â€
What do you think? Are EBEDAG members and like-minded souls who want to protect the unspoiled headland at Baboon Point farting against the proverbial? Shouldn’t we rather try to manage what developments do take place… or will that just open Pandora’s Box?
Drove about a hundred k’s tryna find a half decent wave yesterday only to end up on the beer, in the sun, chasing cars down hills on me new Sector 9 eish! it had been a while- Peculiar Craig and i hadnt skated this particular hill in years but we took it on! i did one run and that was enough- forgot how tiring it is carving yourself stupid tryna slow down…
ayeeee!
eggs n bacey
We each had a little fun but started sweating bullets in the heat so a surf was in order before the beer kicked in- typical Summertime on the South coast- hope all of you are having happy holidays- and those of you who are working- i bet you as soon as everyone gos back to work it’ll be your turn so enjoy-mahalo and hamba kahle…
The parcel weighed as much as a bag of cement. Must’ve been 40 kg’s. We found it floating just behind the lineup at Puesto del Sol, North Nicaragua. I got the gaff-hook into it, ripping one of the plastic bricks, and spilling about a kilo of white powder into the ocean. Andy had to help me heave it over the side, and onto the deck. Oh my god. What’s the value of 40kg’s of cocaine? Two or three million US? We just stood there, staring at the bale, speechless.
Captain Gideon and son Josh
A week ago we came across a strange village, about a day’s sail south of here, on Nicaragua’s central coast. We had a glut of long barrels at Playa Colorado, and we needed a few cold beers to celebrate some serious tube time. From our anchorage in front of Gigante Village we could see a cantina and a few big panga’s (speedboats) on mooring balls, just off the beach. Each panga had three 250hp Yamaha’s on the transom, and 5 or 6 fuel drums lashed down on the deck. On the side of one of the center consuls was what looked like a holster for a nine mil. Probably for shooting sharks. Either way, fishing must be lucrative around here, I thought. We put our dingy in the water, and putted to shore. Outside Gigante’s cantina was a brand new Dodge Ram and blinged-up late model Hilux double cab. Now you must understand how strange this was. For the past 6 months we had been working our way up the Pacific coast of central America, checking out Panama, Costa Rica, and now Nicaragua, on a hunt for surf. We’ve had to stock up in a variety of villages, and we were used to the poverty which characterized them all. But in Gigante there were signs of wealth everywhere. ‘Maybe someone here won the national lottery’ Chantal commented. Whatever. We got beers, some fresh veggies and returned to shimmi. The next morning we set sail for the Nicargua’s version of the Oahu’s north shore, Puesto del Sol.
Sick little peak, no one around for miles
I was the first to talk. And ‘Holy f%$*k’, was all I could say. We might as well have had a crate full of Black Mambas on the deck. What would you do, if 40kg’s of pure uncut cocaine fell in your lap? I would like to know. But on shimmi we did not have any time to debate the matter further. A small speck rounded the headland behind Andy. A fast moving speedboat, leaving a trail of white foam as it blitzed across the water. Andy and I looked at each other, we knew what to do, without saying anything. We each grabbed one side of the bale, and heaved it over the side. Bye-bye retirement plan, bye-bye…
Another lonely, perfect right-hander
I got back on the helms seat and gradually increased power with both throttles. In our wake the bale was slowly dropping from sight. The panga kept coming up the coast behind us, doing these lazy zigzags, the deep drone of the 3 Yammies carrying across the water. They were looking, looking.
We came across some wild landscape
Ahead of us is the beachbreak known as ‘The Boom’. Its a series of hollow A-frame peaks, and all you do here, is get slotted. A Floridian built a small surf-hotel on the hill overlooking the beach, and even though he refuses to advertise, he is full, with around 8 surfers, most of the time. At the end of the beach is a headland with a cobble bottom point which turns on when the beachie gets too big. This leads to a concealed rivermouth, navigable at high tide with shimmi’s shallow draft. We dropped the pick in a superb anchorage, deep between the mangroves of this pristine estuary. For some reason we felt like we needed to hide.
The two boys, Josh and Indi, welcome me back on board.
We were always stoked when the seas were calm - Gideon and Chantal Malherbe
Got schooled by a Zulu in a heat yesterday…kid had an 8 and a 7 before I even got started! shows to go how useless I am in a heat but also that anyone can win- you just need the right waves… what I have learnt after nearly 10 years of competitive surfing and making pretty much every mistake in the book is I do actually have some knowledge on the pursuit of competitive surfing after all!
Zulu styling!
It was the first event of the Umzumbe bowl-raiders- a Zulu grom-camp where we aim on getting the guys in the water with a proper heat situation, we discussed tactics, combination turns, making the wave and style- speaking of which there are 3 or 4 riders in the mix with a serious future and styles to boot- there was an u14, u16 and u18 division(where I got schooled) We sent the guys out, judged, I made notes and they would come in and we sit down and discuss tactics, with the help of their coach Dennis translating I was able to get a lot across and the boys left armed not only with some lekker prizes to keep them surfing but hopefully some knowledge and more desire for a future in professional surfing-
Bruce, Tas n me off bowl-raiding
On to the stars of the day- one would be Bruce Gold who came and hung out I gave him the camera and he took most of the shots so Shalom chom your presence was most welcome- The smoothest style of the event went to Sifiso- my lordy this kids like a cross between Gerry Lopez and Margo- super- rubbery he easily dominated the u14 division- In the u12’s Simo Mkize was unstoppable on his new 4’9 epoxy wedge I think his scores were also an 8 and a 7- Simo got the most improved award at the SA development champs this year in P.E and I would go almost as far as to say that he will be an SA champ by 2011- watch this space- In the premiere u 18 division there was an extra place in the heat so I jumped in and was promptly schooled by’ Lolo’ im not even gona try write his full name either way- he ripped! Opening the heat with an 8 on his frontside the head-high left bowls that have made these guys styles were on-fire, his second wave halfway through the heat I screamed as he came off the bottom in front of me “go big!†and my lordy- the kid comes with a frontside hack into slide that would’ve made Corey lopez proud! I just sat up and watched from the back to see if he actually made it- easily the biggest turn I’ve ever seen done by a Zulu! And the rest of the heat was history- im so stoked we got to pull something off for the groms of Umzumbe I’ve known all of them forever and whenever I come back they just surfing better and better- now is the time to step up and take these guys to the next level- and it’ll be on like Donkey kong take note!
Umzumbe beach styling
Thanks to Dennis, all the brahs, Ivor and my sponsors for empowering me to be able to empower them with some Mrs.palmers grips, leashes and wax, and of course a bunch of stickers! In the future we plan to keep doing these events old-school-club-surfing-style with a skottel and egg rolls on the beach and more heats- these kids know they’ve got a shot so the more they put themselves in a calculated competitive mind-set the more they gona cane it when the contests are on…
Anyone who wants to get involved- maybe sponsor the Bowl-raiders please get in touch!
This kid is the future!
The Non-violent-fisherman are making noise later at the Rock Bottom- Peculiar Craig my main-line member is slaving on trucks somewhere on the N2 so it’s a Non-violent-fisherman alone today-Bring it!!
cars crashing while dogs bark- for your ears only!
