Hello from Jeffrey’s Bay. We’ve been here for 3 days now and, with a let up in the swell, there is now a bit of time to fill you all in on our progress so far.

We left Plet under grey skies, a good sign as it meant a cold front was swinging through and bringing with it a bit of swell. Rounding Cape St Francis on the N2 we could see indicator reef breaking in the distance and all signs pointed to some good waves. We pulled into Island Vibe, unpacked, grabbed a quick bite to eat and hit the waves out front to wash off the drive. It was a new experience for most as we are now surfing over reef; a long finger of rock points out to sea right in front of the hostel here meaning the waves break consistently in the same place, every time, making for long long rides and lots of big smiles – once you’ve got the hang of reading where the waves are coming in!

Yesterday was a real surprise, the forecasted wind didn’t come until late in the afternoon so Bevan and I spent the day shuttling small groups to and from the point as some of the longest waves on the trip were ridden. Anny and Sam went first, swiftly followed by Daisy and Adam with Allyn and Jules not far behind. The waves were perfect, in the shoulder to head high range, peeling from in front the thatched hut at point all the way through to the bottom car park, for those that have no idea of the J-Bay set-up, that’s a ride of around 200-300 metres, sometimes more if you got the right wave.

Elsewhere there have been some great sessions out front at Kitchen Windows. With the waves on our doorstep the group have been making use of the early sessions before anyone else is out: hitting the waves before breakfast, relaxing on the decking for a short while, heading out before lunch, an afternoon nap then an evening one to round off the day. When there’s swell in J-Bay this is how we spend our time.

Today the wind has switched to east – onshore - meaning there is no surf. Bevan has taken the group inland to Addo Elephant park in search of the big five. With his background in overland tours through Africa, the guys are in good hands and will hopefully come back knowing a lot more about South Africa’s indigenous flora and fauna.

Tomorrow sees the lessons start with Etienne. He has just returned from coaching at SA Champs so will be ready to pass on all his knowledge to our riders. With the wind forecast to swing back offshore and with some good swell on the way, everything looks good for some more long days in the water.

The next blog will be later in the week by which time we will have started some charity work in the Makakanye School and, depending on the waves, with the guys at Supertubes Foundation. Check back soon to see how that goes.

Happy days in J-Bay!

Tim and Bevan.

Hello again from Jeffrey’s Bay. Life here is still going along smoothly as the guys continue to make good progress in their surfing. I’ve just come in from a quick session at Kitchen Windows and, from the beach, watched Merryl get a great wave from the inside peak all the way through to the beach. She came up very happy – stoked!

Today began well as Sam, Adam, Nora, Tom and Annie came with me to the local crèche where we cooked breakfast for the 50 children. We arrived early and started preparing the morning meal of milli-pap with milk and sugar. This is a maize based porridge, a little reminiscent of semolina which brought back memories of pre-school canteens for most of us. As the porridge cooked we spent an hour or so with the two mistresses and the 50 kids living an average morning in the life of a township toddler. It was a fun experience and we’ll be heading back there on Friday for another session.

It was then down to the beach for some fitness training. We are in the middle of our first big tropical storm at the moment making things a little more dramatic. The guys took to a run on the beach and some pop-up training then it was out into the surf as the rain poured down. With the weather chasing away some of the locals it was just us in the water, the atmosphere was relaxed and there were some great rides. Daisy got a cooker, Lou had a good one and, as mentioned, Merryl finished on a great wave too.

Etienne’s coaching has gone down well. There were some tired arms this morning as he marched everyone up and down the point at Phantoms yesterday. With the swell a little to the east, the point break that lies right in front of the hostel was firing with, once again, just ourselves in the water. The ride is long, the paddle back even longer! We surfed late into the evening and then headed out into town for pizza. Most of us lasted the whole meal but there were some tired looking faces by the time the bill came. We all slept very well!

Attached are also some pics from the trip to Addo Elephant Park. By all accounts it was a great day out with lots of animals spotted and lots of interesting insights from Bevan.

Tomorrow sees us back in the Township and helping out the Supertubes Foundation with some local veggie gardens. Another swell looks set to arrive Friday afternoon so keep your eyes out for some more surfing pics after the weekend.

Thanks for reading


Tim and Bevan.

Hello again from J-Bay. I am writing to you from our new favourite post-surf hang out, the wax café. It sits on the main road of Da Gama, just in front of the main beach and is joined to the Quicksilver store; perhaps the main reason for its status as preferred hang out spot....

I am here with Pip, Lou and Nora. Pip and Lou have just been to surf the Point at a perfect 3 foot, both had some long rides along South Africa’s most famous stretch of reef and can now put a cross next to J-Bay on their world surfing list. Merryl also came with us for the early dawny and a few more will no doubt come this evening when the wind drops and the waves become perfect again. Etienne has the rest of the guys with him at Kitchens where Bevan is videoing, so a real surf day today after a few days on community projects and day trips.

A couple of days ago Jules, Lou, Pip, Daisy and Allyn came to the local crèche to cook porridge for the local kids. Allyn bought along his Frisbee, Diablo and football and the guys played with the children whilst the porridge simmered on the makeshift stove inside. We then dished up and joined them for breakfast. Meal time must be the only time the crèche staff enjoy any peace and quiet as the kids wolf down the food in front of them without whispering a single word.

We have also been helping out the guys at the Supertubes Foundation. They are responsible for keeping Jeffrey’s Bay environmentally sound and we always offer them a few extra pairs of hands when we are in town. We will be heading off inland in a couple of days to rescue some Aloe Plants but in the meantime Sam, Pip, Lou, Hannah, Daisey, Merryl and Anny all accompanied me to the park where we painted a couple of the bins that will now grace the famous boardwalk at Supertubes. They will be there when the world tour rolls through again next July so keep your eyes out for them when the footage for that hits screens and magazines worldwide.

Saturday also saw some beautiful weather with clear skies; unfortunately the surf was flat so we headed off to the waterfall for a picnic and some rock jumping. The only two to brave the big one were Ads and Jules but there were plenty of takers for the zip-line and smaller jump. After lots of surfing, run-swim-runs, pop-ups training on the beach, it was good to give the bodies a complete rest. Everyone seems better for it with some serious water time being put in today.

Friday sees us move onto East London and also sees us say a sad goodbye to Anny, despite our desperate attempts to make her stay!

A new blog will follow towards the end of the week. Stay tuned for more news from J-Bay.

Thanks for reading,
Tim and Bevan.

Hello again from the wax café. We’re all here after a morning of extra-surfing activities; the wind has switched onshore today meaning there’s a chance to catch up on diaries, look over some of the video footage from the last few days and head into the factory stores before we head off to East London and the Transkei on Friday. The wilderness awaits!

This morning, 8 of the group went with Bevan over to the Gamtoos Estuary for some horse riding, whilst Adam, Jules, Lou, Allyn, Annie and Nora came with me over to Supertubes park to dig and plant a new Aloe bed. The Aloes were taken from a proposed development site inland and are now part of a new flowerbed just in front of some bushland by the point. The aloes will flower next winter so I’ll be sure to post some new pics of that when we come through again next year.

We’ve had lots of time in the water the last couple of days as a little swell came through. Monday in particular saw some good waves, slightly larger in the morning with Allyn bagging wipe out of the trip so far, free falling from the lip to land face first on his board. But he picked himself up and went straight back out. Lou and Jules also claimed some of the longest waves of the trip so far, riding from the peak at Kitchens through to the beach, a ride of around 100 – 150 metres.

Again, there have been a couple of trips down to the point with Lou, Pip, Merryl and Daisy all getting some good waves. The perfect shape of the peak at Kitchens has also allowed time for Sam and Tom – the goofy footers – to work on their lefts. Both are doing really well and will be in good shape for the beachbreaks of East London.

Tomorrow is an early start as we head up to Cape St. Francis to surf the waves made famous in the seminal 60’s surf movie “The Endless Summer”. The forecast looks good so there should be some good waves at the points, reefs and beaches that we will hopefully get to surf. Tomorrow is also going to be a sad occasion as it’s Annies last day before heading back to start a new job, we’ll be sure to send her off in style!

We move to East London on Friday and a new blog will follow shortly after. Waves, Quad safaris and Lion Cubs await so check back in a few days for an update on that.

Thanks for reading
Tim and Bevan

A warm welcome from East London. We have now been here for 4 days and tomorrow, after an early surf on the rising swell, we’ll pack up and head into the bush and to Coffee Bay. We are now on the edge of the Transkei and internet access is not as easy to come by, hence the delays between blogs!

We arrived in East London last Friday after a fantastic 2 week stay in J-Bay. We pulled in late but just in time for a quick surf right out front. Adam, Tom and Jules all paddled out with myself and Bevan with Jules grabbing a great wave just before dark.

The following morning we woke early and headed over to Nahoon Corner. The forecast was for the wind to switch by early morning, and following the long drive the day before everyone was itching to hit the water. We were a good dawny crowd! The waves were small and fun and it was good to see how far a lot of the group have now come with their surfing. Slowly but surely the small bad habits are being ironed out, wave counts are coming up and consistently good rides are becoming the norm. By midday the wind had come up so we headed back to the Sugar Shack, grabbed a quick lunch and headed out to the Lion Park.

The last litter of cubs was a little too old to be petted but there had just been a new litter of cheetah cubs so the guys had a chance to get up close and personal with them. There was also a 2 week old baby white lion cub that we got to see, touch but unfortunately not hold as she hadn’t had her inoculations yet. But all the same, she was very beautiful just to see.

The other day trip here in East London is the quad bike safari. The guys went in two groups, taking off into the bush at top speed. Bar a couple of crashes that dented pride more than anything else (Sam, Tom and Daisy...) the group came back having seen Bok, Girrafe, Wilderbeast and Zebra among others. With the two groups going on the quads at different times we based ourselves at the beautiful and remote beach of Glen Eden, shuttling the guys back and forth as needed. It was a good chance to enjoy a beach day in the boiling heat and the first taste of the remoteness of the Transkei. Bar a few empty houses there was little else around, nobody in the water, crystal clear water and some good, challenging waves.

The last two days have seen a new swell push in so we have been hitting the water hard. Yesterday groups 2 and 3 came in with Bevan and I, whilst this morning Group 1 went with Bevan while I stayed on land videoing the guys where possible. Hannah and Merryl have shown some great improvement and Hills is becoming more and more fearless by the day as she paddles into the larger set waves with wreckless abandon, very good to see!

We have also been using our time here to hit the pool and prepare for the lifeguard courses that start in just under 3 weeks now. As expected the swim times have come down significantly since Cape Town with the active lifestyle improving fitness across the board. There will be more swimming to come once we hit Coffee Bay, only in the ocean this time as we will be in the remote bush!

So that’s it for now. We head into the country tomorrow and an update will follow soon. East London has treated us well and we’re now hoping for some Transkei magic.

Thanks for reading,

Tim and Bevan.