Table of contents for October 2016 (40.7) in Zigzag

As far as beachfront properties go it was unremarkable, not dissimilar to the bland block we lived in two streets back. Brick squares on the dune-side. But it bore a magical name, Shangri La, and that’s the name that stuck for the break out front. From the 13th floor of our block, we could see the waves at Shangri La, and during the years that we lived there it was better somewhere else 99% of the time. But you should have seen this one morning: my brother and I thought we were still in dreamland, as we rubbed our eyes and stared out the window at a three wave set peeling flawlessly down a tapered sandbank. You’ve never witnessed two teenagers move faster – we gritted our teeth and pounded…

SHIPPING LANES AREN’T MEANT FOR SURFING The Pacific Hero serves as reminder of this as it sluices through the water a hundred metres away from the two surfers. The wake from the enormous container vessel creates a series of waves that run across the shallow sandbar and start breaking back out to sea, against the open ocean swell that is bending around the southern breakwall of the Durban harbour. The two figures scratch over a set wave as it doubles up and implodes on the tip of the wall, stained brown with sand and detritus from the water rushing out of Africa’s busiest port. The wave is completely unsurfable as the current drags the surfers deeper into the shipping lane. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Two…

CLAYTON SURFBOARDS GYPSY SHAPER: Clayton Nienaber DIMENSIONS: 5’8” x 201/2” x 21/2” - 33.0 L FIN SETUP: Thruster E-MAIL: cindy@claytonsurf.co.za doug@claytonsurf.co.za TEL: (+27) 31 368 4825 WEB: www.claytonsurfboards.co.za ADDR: 44 Milne street, Durban Central, 4001 CLAYTON SURFBOARDS Mini Mal SHAPER: Clayton Nienaber DIMENSIONS: 7’4” x 211/2” x 25/8” - 46.0 L FIN SETUP: Thruster The Mini Mal is a board for a wide range of surfers from beginner through to advanced. Whether you're starting out or returning from years of not surfing regularly, this board will be forgiving, stable and fun. From the smallest of surf for the beginners, to medium size surf for the intermediate and advanced. E-MAIL: cindy@claytonsurf.co.za doug@claytonsurf.co.za TEL: (+27) 31 368 4825 WEB: www.claytonsurfboards.co.za ADDR: 44 Milne street, Durban Central, 4001 SPIDER Missile SHAPER: Spider Murphy…

01 OUT OF SIGHT - WILL BENDIX It’s hard not to imagine what some of our favourite waves must have been like before they were discovered by surfers. Perfect waves that would peel off to an indifferent audience of beach walkers and farmers, just another seaside attraction to be briefly admired before moving on, like the seagulls and shells. The Hoek would have been one such wave, made more obscure by its location. Tucked away under the tumbling cliffs of Chapman’s Peak, it remained unsurfed for decades even as nearby breaks like the Kom and Long Beach became increasingly popular. Jonathan Paarman is widely attributed with being the first person to ride the powerful wedge, but JP isn’t so sure. “I wouldn’t know who pioneered what or where, we just…

THE LONG ROAD FROM HOUT BAY TO HOLL YWOOD If you had to pick one South African surfer destined to make the biggest impact on surf culture in 2016, nobody would have seen Frank James Solomon coming. No chance. But that is precisely what happened. Just like that, the big wave journeyman from Hout Bay has got the whole surfing world not just talking about him, but claiming his movie Let’s Be Frank as one of the best surfing films ever. How did this happen? Frank Solomon is sitting in a metal container on a construction site, looking at a spreadsheet trying to figure out where all the bricks went. Sweating under the battered plastic construction helmet, his worn blue overalls clammy on the thighs. Nauseous, listless, unfulfilled. Sad. This…

Surfing may seem simple enough, the straightforward act of riding a wave. But as anyone who has felt the push of the ocean knows, it can be broken down into an infinite variety of experiences; from the craft we ride, to what we do on a wave, to the very wave itself. Equally varied is the backdrop. We ride waves between concrete piers and underneath tumbling mountains, along parched deserts and on the tip of sticky jungles. Surfing is filled with rural and urban amphitheaters; manmade versus natural; and all the spaces they meet in-between. Sometimes the distance between these places may only be a couple of kilometres, but often they feel worlds apart. WHERE PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY “When my wave came I just put my head down. I almost…

“The race isn’t always won by the swiftest and the battle is not always won by the strongest. Food does not always go to the wise, nor recognition to the skilled. Instead, timing and circumstances meet them all.” – King Solomon “Those guys on the jet ski were screaming at me to get out of there,” the blonde stranger says, flashing a weak smile. “I felt the second wave roll over me before I made it to the surface. I was down for two waves. It was 30-foot out there and I got caught by a set. My lower body was numb when I got to the surface. I think my organs were starting to shut down…” He’s resting heavily on the bonnet of his bakkie and staring vacantly back…

THE BEN TROVATO COLUMN It was never going to be easy travelling with a dysfunctional family in a convoy consisting of a pre-war Land Rover and one of those lumbering mobile homes in which white trash like Eminem and Steve Hofmeyr grew up. Crossing the Umtamvuna River into the province of the doomed, I wanted to find the nearest break and go surfing. Brenda said surfing on this leg of the trip was not on the schedule. Our trip had legs? I didn’t even know we had a schedule. She waved a piece of paper at me. It looked suspiciously like a Mr Delivery menu. Fine, I said. In that case we’re going to gamble our life savings away at the Wild Coast casino. Brenda and Clive voted that we…