Hello from South Africa!

It's great to be back out here preparing the gound for our roadtrippers who are due out in just under a week. I arrived late last night following a long flight and an interesting check in - if you are reading this a big thank you to the extremely helpful lady at the Emirates check in desk!

I am now happily settled in with Shaun and Lucinda in Kommetjie and have spent the day lining up a few surprises for the group and heading out around Cape Town meeting up with all the guys that we have involved in the trips. It seems that everytime we come to Cape Town, and indeed all the spots we stop at, we pick up more and more people who are keen to get involved. Arriving this time, it really is amazing to see all the faces that we now have involved. It's such a great feeling to arrive in a city and be greeted by some of the top faces in the Cape Town surfing scene. You immediately feel at home and part of the crowd, and it's only a matter of time before you find yourself in a car heading off to an empty and secluded surf spot...this time was no different as Shaun took me off exploring for the afternoon and we found some beatuiful waves in the stunning surrounds of the Cape Reserve.

It's prime surf season out here and i had a quick stop in at Lifestyles to catch up with the guys there. Lifestyles is the oldest surf shop in South Africa and sits right on Muizenburg beach where the group will be having their first few lessons. As you can expect for this time of year, the wind was light offshore with some great 3-4ft waves rolling through. The water was warm, not too crowded and the forecast looks set to provide more of the same. Clayton has also sent a shipment of brand new boards over for the riders and they are ready and waiting for their arrival. Gleaming and new in the racks!

It's been a busy day so i'm going to grab some food and retire. It's good to be back and we've got some exciting weeks ahead of us. Tomorrow it's off to see Karen and Thomas in the Masipumelele township and hopefully a few more waves!

For the riders, i'll see you all next week. For everyone else, keep checking back for updates and i'll see you all soon.

Thanks for reading,
Tim

Excuse the quick blog but i have just returned after a great day in the Masipumelele township with Thomas, the head coach of Cape Town Juventus football team, and i need to go and eat! We've supported Thomas and the boys for the last two years and have had some truely epic struggles with his team on Longbeach.

I headed over to his house today and met with a few of the squad to present them with their all new kits. They will now be one of the smartest township football teams out there! The boys were all stoked with the shirts and will be wearing them when the roadtrippers come out in just under a week. Thomas has also managed to arrange a few matches with local schools and we will be on hand to lend all our support as and when they happen. Keep checking back here for match reports, fingers crossed we can have a match arranged for the coming week!

I hope all's well back in the U.K.
Thanks for checking in,
Tim

We are go! The group are now all happily settled into Shaun and Lucinda’s and awaiting the traditional TTRide welcome that is the Braii. Shaun is outside stoking the coals as I type and Lorna, Dave, Sam and Michael have all just come back after a quick dip in the Atlantic to wash off the flight.

It’s been a wonderful day in Cape Town with crystal clear skies and clear air providing views all the way up and down the Cape. I was up early and off to the airport to fetch everyone before heading back over to Kommetjie so the guys could settle in and unpack. With the sun blazing down we sat on the balcony and chatted whilst we waited for Sam R-N and Ed to arrive from Ashanti and then set out for a quick walk on the beach and out for a quick snack.

We then headed back down to Longbeach to introduce the guys to the local surf scene. Being winter down here, though you wouldn’t guess it with the warm sunshine, it’s prime swell season and the waves were pumping. Top local grom Mickey February was out pulling all kinds of manoeuvres whilst a good half a mile out to sea, some of the local chargers were taking on the waves at Sunset. With an ever growing swell tomorrow promises to be a great day as we head over to Muizenberg for the first day of surf. Needless to say, the group are amping!

Sheldon is over at the airport picking up Bethany and Ellie and, once he has returned, we will be a complete group and ready to kick off the trip in traditional African Style: Around the fire by the beach with a couple of beers over sunset. Another great group, we look set for 4 more fantastic weeks down here on Africa’s southern tip. Keep checking in for regular updates. The first photos will follow tomorrow evening.

Shot shot!
Tim

The end of a good day here in Cape Town. We woke to sunny skies and a big swell from the south west making for some impressive waves out front. The good news was that the swell had wrapped around Cape Point and into False Bay providing another morning of perfect waves for the group to continue their development. All in all the level is good and some fast improvement is being shown with everyone now up and riding. Impressive when you consider that over half the group were complete new comers to the sport just a couple of days ago. That is the beauty of having consistent and quality waves to learn on!

We finished the surfing around midday and a small group headed over to sample the legendry chippie that is Kalkies, some of the freshest fish and chips around. We then headed back over to Kommetjie where we met Thomas for an afternoon of football on the beach.

Thomas bought his U9’s, U11’s, U13’s and U15’s so we split into two groups. The girls went down 1-0 to the under 9’s despite some valiant defence from Lorna, Claire and Ellie. Catriona and Jenny were dynamite in the midfield and Ali and Beth, despite showing some good touches, couldn’t quite squeeze the ball passed the 7 yr old goal keeper.The boys then stepped up and lost 3-2 with a good goal from Dave and an open goal miss from Ed, tales of what could have been... Playing into sunset it was a great afternoon, Thomas and the boys are playing a friendly tomorrow against Fish Hoek primary and we will be guests of honour. Check back here for the final match report on that.

Finishing the day with another classic home cooked meal from Lucinda, a few of the guys have gone for a beer at the local pub whilst the others are relaxing by the fire with a surf movie, preparing for the waves tomorrow.

We will be handing out new boards tomorrow and the swell is set to pump, again!

Thanks for reading,
Tim

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here a week. The time has flown by but then the days have been packed and time flies when you’re having fun. Cliché but true.

Since the last blog we have been busy as ever. Thomas has been fantastic and the guys now have a really good feel for Township life and for Township football following an afternoon supporting Cape Town Juventus, as they took on Fishoek Primary School, and a tour of Masipumelele Township. The tour was an eye opener as we stopped in at the local crèche and then at the Hokisa project that takes in orphans and children suffering from HIV. Thomas then took us on to the local library where we had a question and answers session about life in the township and a bit of the history behind Masi.

The following day we headed over to Muizenburg for a day of surf. As per usual it was offshore and perfect for the group with everyone up and riding. Beth, Elly and Sam R-N showed a big improvement in the peeling waves. As the tide filled in for the afternoon the waves became a little more inconsistent and a few of the group tried their hand at stand-up paddle surfing. This is the new craze sweeping the surfing world at the moment and involves an 11 foot board and a big paddle. Mike was the first followed closely by Ellie, both getting some good rides. Once the day was finished it was then time to kit the group out with their brand new boards shipped freshly in from Durban. They are now all the proud owners of some gleaming new planks and ready to hit the warmer waters of Plet.

Today was the final day of surf in Cape Town and the guys hit the water with Luke, Rizal and Sheldon for the last time. Luke gave the guys some feedback and set a few targets for their surfing in Plet to ensure that everyone continues to develop. Following the lesson we had a quick talk from Rasta. Rasta set up the shark spotters scheme at Muizenburg and took 20 minutes out from his day to talk to the riders about the project and how it runs. It was fascinating to hear that he started life as a car guard and now runs a project employing 34 staff with a grant of 4.5 million rand from the Cape Council. To finish off we headed over to Lion’s head and made the 1 hr trek to the top. With clear sunny skies the views were breathtaking and it was a great way to finish out time here.

So next up the warm waters of Plet. The surf forecast looks epic with good swell and offshore winds all week. Hopefully we’ll still find time to squeeze in a bungee jump, a few skydives and an ocean surfari. All go!

Thanks for reading, the nest blog will be on Tuesday or Wednesday when we are fully settled in.

Tim