With the sun rising over the distant hills of the winelands, my mate and I dashed off down the highway to surf the morning glass. The wind had been pumping for days and reports were calling for a light Easterly-so the western side of the Peninsula seemed like a good call…however, I got so excited about the wind report that I overlooked the swell report. 25 mins later we were greeted with sheet glass but only a mere ripple of swell! Venturing farther up the coast in the hope we’d find a surfable wave we discovered (or maybe imagined?) a 1-2ft right-hand peak. I paddled out on one of the surf school 9ft boards and managed to sneak onto a few long rides. As we waited for the ‘sets’ we chatted and laughed as the morning sun warmed our skin-a welcomed heat when submerged in the frigid Atlantic. So the waves were not all that. But the time shared with friends, heading up the coast with good tunes blazing-that’s what counts at the end of the day. After the surf we dashed back into town so I could collect my students for the morning surf trip.

Back up the coast for a fun lesson in crystal clear waters and small, fun waves for the first time surfers. All four students grasped surfing so quickly that for the first time ever in a beginners class, I was able to grab my board and join them. The lesson was extended to 3 hours as coach was able to share the waves with her students. What a treat! As it turns out, one of the students, Viviene, from Germany, was on her way to visit a good family friend-who happened to be one of my father’s good friends. Small world. Love those kind of moments. Dropped the morning students off at 3pm and collected the girls for the afternoon class at 3:30pm.

By this time, the city was a sweltering 37 degrees-so back up the coast to find reprieve from the heat in the icy Atlantic. Leen, Taylor, Naomi and Aurelia were all on their 4th lesson of the ‘Uber-Stoked’ package, so once again, I could take out my board and surf with my students. By this stage the swell had picked up a little so the girls were treated to some 2-3ft Big Bay closeouts. I showed them how to paddle through the surf and do the surfer’s swivvle and then hooted them onto some of the bigger waves. Now and then they would miraculously make the perilous drop on their 9ft soft tops, but mostly all four of them would go over the falls and explode into a yellow firework of flying boards- leaving me quietly chuckling under my breath. And just when I thought they had had enough, they would paddle out for more. That’s my girls-going for it!

We were greeted by 5 energetic 8 year olds at Big Bay on Saturday. My assistant coach, Sarah-Jayne with the help of another friend tried very hard to calm the little guys down for a brief moment to put on their wetsuits. They only way we could convince them to concentrate was by telling them they would look like a super hero once the wetsuit was on. Moments later we were on the sand going over the basics of how to lie on the board. Most of the boys were rolling around or  drawing in the sand during this time but amazingly when we ventured into the water, everything we had told them on land they put into practice! The little guys were awesome in the water and so only minutes later we had progressed to the standing up phase of the lesson.

A combination of athletic ability and their lower centre of gravity resulted in all 5 boys popping up on the first wave and riding it all the way to the beach. They shreiked as they rode their wave. What an awesome experience to witness groms experiencing the stoke for the first time! 

After an hour, all 5 of them suddenly melted down. After sugaring up on some birthday treats they were all back in the water ready to get some more of the good stuff. After 2 hours we literally had to drag these groms out of the water they were having such a blast! One or two of the parents also gave it a whirl. 

Jenny, Frances and Ed met me at Big Bay yesterday 12pm with smiles of anticipation. All in their 50’s and 60’s they were keen to give this ‘surfing thing’ a go.

With children as old as I and grandchildren who were already surfers, they thought it was time to show the family who really was ‘boss’! The waves were 3ft-nice big walls foam for the three of them to catch with ease. I pushed them into wave after wave, expecting them to tire a lot quicker than they did. In fact, I was left exhausted after the lesson as they kept coming back to get yet another wave.

They invited me to lunch afterwards where we chatted about the endless adventures all three of them had been on: from climbing Kilimanjaro, to diving in scary inland lakes with no visibility, to running marathons in their 50’s, to early morning yoga classes and canoeing around the South Pole.