Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
NSRI Kommetjie to the rescue!
secretly assessed to evaluate progress on training and development before moving to the next level”.
Then it was past Sunset Reef and along the backline at Noordhoek Beach, passing waving surfers, and Klopper surfing passing waves. The water was an almost tropical azure (only with frigid temperatures in the fresh southeaster).
We skirted surf spot the Hoek, slowing down to greet surfers, before crossing Hout Bay towards Duiker Island – large granite boulders at the bottom of the reefs that denote big wave spot Dungeons.
It was one of those bright summer days. Clear skies. Blue ocean. Small swell. The ocean was alive. Diving terns and gulls marked shoals of bait fish. Common dolphin ducked and dived around us.
We bumped into seal snorkelling outfit Animal Ocean, with clients in the water. Metaphorically bumped of course. Klopper is way too good a coxswain for that, unless bumping is part of a drill. Duiker Island (Duiker being Dutch for cormorant) used to host a huge colony of the birds. Now they occupy just one rock. The rest are slathered in thousands of seals.
We briefly hooked up with Rescue 8A out of Hout Bay, skippered by Sven Gussenhoven, who followed us for a visit in the Kom area. On the way, Klopper spotted crayfishing vessel Newlands out of Hout Bay so decided to do some Pacing (a manoeuvre alongside a moving vessel), with crewman Wells moving to and from the Newlands at speed.
Klopper says they were also practising stuff like “proced- ures and handling of dead bodies recovered from sea”, “beaching and returning to sea through waves”, “high speed bail-off (rapid deployment from moving vessel)”, “arm hook recovery (rapid extraction from water)”, “tying knots in (freezing) cold water” and more. All in a day’s work for a dedicated group of passionate seafarers who could one day save your life.
What a great start for our young South African surfers. Adin Masencamp (Strand) took second at the QS1,000 Flight Centre Burleigh Pro in Australia, and the stunning win by Matt McGillivray (J-Bay) at the QS3,000 SEAT Pro Netanya in Israel puts him atop the WSL QS leaderboard, with Masencamp 17th. As first replacement on the elite tour, Michael February could replace Julian Wilson in the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast from March 11 – if the Australian’s ruptured shoulder AC joint hasn’t healed after going over the handlebars of his mountain bike.
Dutch kiter Kevin Langeree won the Red Bull King of the Air on Wednesday when he outclassed Spanish young gun Liam Whaley and Briton Lewis Crathern to win his second title at Blouberg. A solid 4-5’ swell provided perfect ramps for a pumping near-gale southeaster.
The FNB Wines2Whales has made three changes. For the first time, there will be a dedicated women-only start batch (in what was the Adventure). Secondly, the Adventure, Ride and Race are now the Chardonnay, Pinotage and Shiraz. Not sure how this decision was arrived at, but it looks like I am now a Chardonnay drinker, despite my Shiraz devotion. Time to start training. Thirdly for those crazy enough, you can do all three – the “Jeroboam”.
Big southeasters blow this weekend in freezing seas. A fading 2-3’ swell today is smashed by the wind. Tomorrow, new swell arrives, but very SSW in direction. Expect intermittent 4-5’ sets on beach breaks and lots of messy swell in False Bay blown out by pumping sea breezes.