Surfing with Sartre by Aaron James Did you know that one of the first casualties of climate change might be surfing as we know it? Desert Point could be the first to go. Even at current sea levels it only works on a low tide. Many other breaks could follow as rising oceans swamp reefs. What greater cataclysm could befall…
Tag: surf
It’s Time – Corona Open J-Bay Women’s
Are you ready? Because it’s time. Nearly twenty years ago, in 2000, the women’s event last ran at J-Bay. (You know. The year Tom Hanks talked to a volley ball in Cast Away and Steve Tyler Didn’t Want to Miss a Thing?) Well, down here in South Africa, we can’t wait. And today, we FINALLY got done with…
The pay disparity thing at Ballito
I hadn’t written anything about this because I actually didn’t know where to begin. I’m busy working on a piece on the greater issue, which is not, in my opinion, just equal pay in WSL contests, but the long history of sexism in surfing that has informed opinion of what is okay and what is not. But in the meantime…
How to Lose your Nerve in Five K’s – the wahine guide to downwinding.
Once upon a time I read a terrifying book about a a man who walked alone from Canada to the North Pole and fell through a crack in the ice into the Arctic Ocean. He didn’t die, but the thought of all that water (plus the entire globe) below him haunted me. I realize that I have read or heard…
Surf Trip, Staycation Style
Costa Rica is our dream surf trip destination. But we would take Maldives, Bali, Hawaii, Long Island or even Mauritius if you threw it at us. But you didn’t, so we gathered our battered Rands and set off for Melkbosstrand instead. We left after work on a Friday, so we missed the traffic. The journey from our home in the South to…
Surfer’s Ode
I went to the seaside on one misty day And there, on a perch at a dip in the bay Was a cross surfer man with a camera phone He was tight lipped and grumpy and stood there alone. He filmed with that phone and he spoke with those lips He reported on wave sizes, wind, tide and rips. But sometimes he laughed…
The essential guide to travelling with a surfer
So you’re going away with a man in black? (Albeit a slightly musty black, with pads on the knees, and a zip with long strings? Me too.) Whether you’re a rookie or a keeper, here are NINE things you need to know : Earplugs. No, no. Not for the surf. For the packing experience. You might not want to hear what he has…
Spike’s Winter Swell Course-my review
If you let go the fear, the fear let’s go of you So said the surfer I passed on my first grim and terrified march down to the waterline at Muizenberg. Easier said than done, you Crusty Old Salt. But since knowledge is power, (And I already got a handle on the shark side of things HERE ) I decided to enroll in Spike’s Winter…
The Kook Diaries Part 3: Paddle Outs and Pop Ups.
I choose to Stand Up Paddle because of the paddle, really. I prefer going into battle upright, with a weapon. So when they (they = Tarryn + Tyran @ XOTB) decreed that we were going out on surfboards (it was too windy to SUP), my heart sank a little. I have never surfed a surfboard before because of the paddle out. (At…
Finding her balance – the journey of a SUP mama
One of the first things you learn when you get on a stand up paddle board is to bring your big girl panties. It’s not for the fainthearted. The second is to learn to balance. You start with a wide board, a wide stance, some flat water and a fully engaged core. With a little ocean knowledge, courage grows and with…
Melissa A Volker 