Disclaimer: This article won’t apply to KZN as much, dear East Coast surfers.
Ask a non-surfer (scratch that, ask a surfer for that matter) what they picture in their mind when they hear the word “surfing”. Ignore the fact non-surfers generally won’t know the difference between a tube and a shoulder (Non-surfer: Duh, a tube is something you can inflate and surf on while a shoulder is a part of the body) and what they’ll imagine is a pristine white sand beach, with waves the hue of a Swedish model’s eyes and a faintly cloud streaked sky pretty much the same striking blue.
However, so often – especially in this country with our best swells being in winter – we’re surfing in conditions that aren’t quite postcard perfect. Indeed, some of the best waves we have in South Africa aligns with weather conditions harsh enough to actually have a glimpse of what surfing is like in the Arctic Circle.
While sports such as rugby will often be played in mud and rain until everyone but the flyhalf look like they’ve crawled through raw sewage, most athletes balk at the first sign of bad weather. This is no slight on the toughness of other athletes, just try playing cricket or golf in a typhoon. Surfing on the other the other hand can be practiced in just about any kind of weather, barring tornadoes, earthquakes and exploding volcanoes, and even then that’s up for debate.
As this paragraph is written * it’s blustery and raining outside. The kind of weather that would only really be comfortable if you were in some godforsaken part of Scotland or Ireland, sipping whisky (or whiskey) in a pub next to a fireplace. Such as it is, there is swell predicted – so we’re about to leave the cosiness of being indoors and find us some swell. Heaven knows, there are plenty of homeless folk out there in weather such as this, who only have a second pair of underpants as a roof.
(* Author’s note: turns out the waves predicted was phantom swell. Nothing. Niks. Nada. So not only was the weather atrocious, so too were the waves. Oh well, at least it was offshore, albeit a biting cold, strong offshore accompanied by blinding rain.)
So what, we hear you say. Our wetsuit technology has improved to the point well heeled celebrity surfers are taking to the frigid seas of the above mentioned Scotland or Ireland – or even Alaska and Antarctica where you’ll need to dodging icebergs and sunken elder gods to score some waves. Sure, sure, says Trident. But who with a perfectly adequate brain picks Alaska over Indonesia?
Yup, you’ll never need to squabble over waves the way one does in crowded, warmer climes, but even in SA, the harshest days of winter hardly diminish crowds. Just check Long Beach and J Bay during those groomed winter groundswells. Like elephant seal mating season with more grunting, smells and bloodshed.
This isn’t a Surf Science article so we won’t be discussing weather affects while one is actually surfing, but psychologically speaking at least, any sane surfer would prefer warm sun and blue sky. (Author’s note: Yes, Bonkers Billy, we see your raised hand and your twitching eyelid, but we did say “sane surfer”.) Yet in the same breath however – what sane surfer would dismiss 4 – 6 foot perfection, just because of a little thunderstorm, hail and hurricane wind. After all, we have superb wetsuit technology eh?
