Men at work

Just days after posting about all my surf issues, I found myself back at the scene of trouble, on a surf trip up the West Coast. A good friend of mine has decided to champion some mission work in Australia. A better send off for a passionate surfer than three days of surfing with six of his mates, I would not know.

We chose the weekend based on a break in our diaries. It just happened to coincide with a big swell and all of the right weather factors to make one of the premier left breaks in the country come alive. Sometimes you get lucky!

So this scaredy pants and a regular surf posse arrived in Elands Bay early in the morning to find big waves and only three other surfers in the water. Having borrowed a new state of the art wetsuit, I hoped my luck would continue to hold, and my body would adjust to the cold water without its usual protests.

Paddling like mad to stay in the zone, as a river of water streamed down the point, I was warm, frisky, and alive. The waves were big and inconsistent. My surfing was just as bad as it had been over the last couple of months, but the rest of the posse surfed like men possessed. Hours later, exhausted and smiling, we lunched and swapped stories of ridiculous rides.

And so it went, incredible waves, more than a thousand photographs of our every move, and laughs shared, session after session. My surfing improved in leaps and bounds with the good humoured attention of my friends, quality time in the water, and a wetsuit that worked. The best waves of my life, no question about it!

Sunday afternoon saw us depart with limp noodles for arms and enough shared memories to last lifetimes!

Sure the surf had made the trip but it was epic for another reason, men on an adventure. As men, we rarely go in search of the unknown, pushing our bodies past their limits, and discovering a place inside ourselves where we rise to the challenge. For me this trip included the most incredible rides, a continuous battle with my lack of ability, and the worst wave beatings I have ever received. It was exciting, scary, challenging, and far more fun than shopping in the mall. More importantly, we did it together, rejuvenated friendships, and bonded on a level far deeper than our Facebook updates.

I am amazed at how this sport I so nearly abandoned has provided such an amazing boost to my life. I cannot wait to take my boys on a similar adventure!

Mik rearranging the sea

Mik in another barrel

Henrique on the birthday ride of his life



Me looking for the green room

Andy going vertical

Shane, the master of soul

Mik still in a barrel

Better than Heaven and Hell

Talk to me about going on an adventure and I will sign up on the spot. There is nothing quite like exploring the unexplored and the associated excitement. Mix an adventure with lots of surfboards, wax, and cold water mountains and you will see me frothing at the mouth!

I slept little on Saturday night in anticipation of the early morning surfing safari. 5am in the middle of winter is dark and cold, but minor issues like that are solved with carrots and a beanie. 4 mates climbed into a double cab, unlimited free diesel, 9 surfboards, 8 bottles of water, 5 bananas, 4 strange looking Taiwanese energy drinks, 3 cameras, 2 litres of Coke, a bad Roxette CD, and more than sufficient adrenaline climbed in with us.

Two and a half hours of driving saw us laughing ourselves silly, mainly due to the complexities of the male bonding routine. In other words, get together, have fun! Just past Shelly Point, we found Heaven, a gigantic heaving mass of cold Atlantic water. It looked like an incredible wave but required massive amounts of hard work to get even close to the action. We watched carefully as a local paddled out. 15 minutes later he was still valiantly fighting the invisible forces of the ocean with a long way to go. Heaven would just have to wait!

As luck would have it, Hell was just around the corner. It was just as big as heaven but required up to date insurance policies and a close relative specialised in orthopaedics. We watched in rapture as they huge waves thundered onto a reef just below the surface. There could be no mercy for anyone getting this wave wrong. Perhaps not even for those getting it right!! Hell would have to wait too.

Some locals lead us to a spot near Hell called Pastures. A great wave that provided us with hours of joy! Eventually, I stumbled out of the surf with most of my body parts numb and unfeeling, including a smile, physically frozen in place. Could the life of a surfer get any better?

Next stop was to be the legendary Elands Bay, reputably the most perfect left hand break in South Africa, the jewel of our adventure. An hour further up the West coast revealed a tumultuous, wind blown, maelstrom of chaos. EBay was closed for business! The dictionary of local surf was hastily consulted to solve this adventure dilemma.

(Picture by Stevo, our photog)

With fresh tears glistening in the sand, we retreated back to Pastures, where we passed a couple more hours of enjoyable wave sculpture. With weary limbs and a complete reliance on power steering, we were homeward bound.

It was a great adventure made truly memorable by the amazing waves that we had the privilege of taming. The success of the day had nothing to do with waves though. Instead it was all about the shared adventure. But deeper than that it was about four men shedding their defences and really bonding on a level that was meaningful.

It was a remarkably powerful experience for me and something that I think all men should regularly do. Not necessarily putting yourself at the mercy of the sea but spending time on an adventure, no matter how silly it may be. I feel absolutely revitalised, ready to kick my life up a gear!