Table of contents for March 2017 (41.2) in Zigzag

I know it sounds selfish with a wife and baby at home, but I think the key to a successful 2017 for me is to surf more. For the first time, I made some resolutions for the year ahead. Until now I didn’t feel like I possessed the required commitment to see any grand ones through, so I didn’t see the point. This year is different though. My first resolution is to get fit again. 2016 wasn’t kind to my hobbit-shaped body, and it needs to be whipped back into shape. Your surfing takes a deep dive when you’re stiff, scrawny and flabby all at the same time. Your turns generate less torque and your chances of catching a rail or nosediving are greatly increased. This one is a nobrainer,…

I find Spider in his shaping bay blaring some new-age funk from his Bluetooth speaker. He’s putting the finishing touches on a Missile before emerging from a powdery cloud. He’s barefoot and in his boardies. Obviously. “You have to check this one,” he tells me, swinging down the factory stairs as if he were in a treehouse. Like books from his personal library, he pulls out the sixth board since my five-minute arrival. It’s a bright pink and purple Slash he’s just finished shaping for Tanika Hoffman. “Isn’t it lekker?” he says, his eyes wide and beaming like a proud Dad. It’s difficult to believe that Spider is about to hit the 70-year mark without botox, gout or black magic It’s difficult to believe that Spider is about to hit…

THE BOY STOOD ON THE CAVES BEACH CLUTCHING HIS THROAT, HIS FROZEN POSTURE INDICATING INJURY AND SHOCK. “My board hit me bro. I did this air… drifted away from my board… face planted on my fin!” He removes his hand slowly, blood seeping through his fingers. “Is it bad?” He asks. A gaping wound says hello. A five centimetre dark hole punctured through the front, like a knife hole. Anatomy of muscles, nerves and arteries flash through my mind. It’s a serious situation that needs immediate ER, but panic could lead to more blood loss, swelling and even suffocation. His eyes look scared as he scans for a response. “Nah bro, it’s not too bad. But we will need to take you to the hospital to get stitches.” I lie…

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beams Jordy Smith, announcing the dinner plan. It has been a long day surfing perfect late-season Supertubes and we’re famished. We’re sitting in Jordy’s extended braai area in his J-Bay home; the first house he ever bought with his accumulated Junior winnings. He loves the joint. “Tom Curren played here for my dad and I. Sat right there,” says Jordy, pointing to a well-worn single leather couch like a proud grom. “My dad built this area as an addon to the house; best thing we ever did.” He stares deep into the low flames that are turning the logs into coals, then starts slapping the meat on the grill. There’s a satisfying hiss as we settle in, a cold beer in hand, and get talking. “Boerewors on the braai; with…

His directions had been simple enough: drive past the manicured thatched condos that run along the canals, over the bridge and past the road you usually turn down to get to Bruce’s Beauties. Instead I turn left at the big Yamaha sign, into a small network of dirt roads. You can still see the ocean and breathe in the sticky smell of fynbos, but instead of canals and golf courses there are boatyards and workshops, smattered with rusty informal shacks. NAME JONATHAN PAARMAN.JP. NICKNAME THE ICEMAN OFTEN OVERLOOKED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST POWER SURFERS IN THE WORLD DURING THE 1970S AND 80’S The warehouse looks non-descript from the outside, a towering shell of grey cement and corrugated iron roofing, like an airplane hanger dropped down amongst the scrub. Outside…

How did you start surfing? When I was two-years-old my dad popped me on his board and I rode the foamie up the beach. Favourite shape? My G-Star rounded pin. Biggest mistake you’ve made? Needed the toilet as an important heat started, so I had to run and do a poop during the heat. How embarrassing. Big barrel or giant carve? Big barrel and then hopefully a giant carve when I come out after the spit. Worst wave you’ve ever surfed? PE, because it is mostly flat. Sickest thing you did this year? Non-stop surfing over three swells in four weeks in Jeffreys Bay. What would you do if you found a secret spot? Surf it obviously and try keep my mouth shut. Favourite SA Surf Slang? Bru or cuz.…

“TAKING PICTURES IS SAVOURING LIFE INTENSELY, EVERY HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND” - MARC RIBOUD Anthony Fox savours life intensely, and for the past six years he has used a camera to bring others the magic of the world as seen through his eyes. Simple, real storytelling, uniquely conceived by his beautifully creative mind. He has the ability to blend in with his environment, quickly earns trust from those he works with, and gets the job done with no complaints, a friendly smile and an encouraging word. There are those in life who need assistance and direction, and then there are those who assist and direct. Anthony Fox is one of the latter, a photographer and man of excellence. – Alan van Gysen IN THE BEGINNING Growing up I was always…

If you have to buy a new wetsuit in midsummer, you’re probably living in the wrong place. I had to buy a new wetsuit a week after New Year. No, I’m not living in Cornwall. I’m in Cape Town. And while it is the wrong place, it’s also the right place. The day I bought a new wetsuit, it was 32 degrees with summer’s offshore winds caressing a four-foot swell on the Atlantic side. The water was 9 degrees. See what I mean about right place, wrong place? The right place for water temperature is obviously Durban, but it’s also the wrong place because the wind is permanently onshore in summer, causing surfers to eventually go mad and do reckless things like move to Joburg or, worse, get married. I…