Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
#RideForALocal campaign aims to aid those displaced by the Knysna fires
Gysen: “He is so lucky. It’s such an incredibly long wave. It could have been at a totally unpopulated section.”
Olson yelled for help. His friend Josh Muniz and South African Matt Bromley, and others, rushed into the water. They got washed down the point by a bigger wave, but Olson had Dreyer in the C-Spine lock, supporting his neck through his shoulders.
They got him gently to shore, and carefully packed sand around his head to stabilise him. A British surfer came up. By chance, he was an ER doctor. He took over. Paramedics arrived. Dreyer was stretchered to Walvis Bay.
From hospital in Walvis, he told friends: “Dit was ‘n bom! Amper niks water gehad nie en my kop eerste, hard geboor.” (It was a bomb. There was just about no water and my head went first, and got drilled hard.)
On Thursday, he was airlifted to Panorama Hospital, where he is in stable condition, attended to by friends and family, including wife Corne and little daughters Karli and Jankewho.
Van Gysen warns that pictures of barrelling waves always give dangerous places a romantic aspect. It becomes a mythical attraction to visit places like G-Land and Skeleton Bay, but they’re intense waves that need to be respected, no matter your experience.
One should always have backup medical aid, friends watching you and emergency numbers at hand.
It could mean the difference between life and death. Tubewave at Melkbos produced huge storm surf for the first two days of the Jordy Smith Cape Town Surf Pro presented by O’Neill. However, it did not deter locals and internationals from ripping the inside reform wave. Sponsor Jordy Smith is also surfing. The QS1,000 women’s and JQS1,000 junior men’s and women’s events run today. You have some tough choices of things to do this July. There is the Ballito Pro Women ( 1- 2), Jordy Smith O’Neill Supergrom presented by Sea Harvest (Durban, 1-2), Ballito Pro (3-9), J Bay Winterfest Festival (10-23), Sea Harvest Surf Challenge (Port Alfred, 15th) and the big one the Corona JBay Open (12-23). Included in the Winterfest are the Cold Water Swim Classic, Kite Festival, Skins Fishing Comp, Funduro, JBay Windfarm MTB Classic, JBay Loggers Classic, Endurade JBay X-Trail Run, and the Oakley X-Over. More details at www.jbaywinterfest. com After the devastating Knysna fires, the Momentum Knysna Cycle Tour will go ahead with its 30th iteration offering new routes and a campaign called #RideForALocal to aid displaced Knysna locals. Those attending the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival (7-16 July) will be helping locals. The Cape Town Cycle Tour has encouraged cyclists and families to enter various road, MTB and kiddies’ rides at www.knysnacycle. co.za The swell still looks 4-6’ in moderate SSE winds. Muizenberg looks 2-3’ in moderate onshores. By tomorrow, a powerful SSW groundswell arrives.
A 3-4’ swell potentially fills up False Bay, but in fresh onshore SSE. To the west, it looks solid 4-6’ or more but the south swell suggests inconsistency. Follow me on Twitter @spike_ wavescape