Tabla de contenidos para Winter 2022 en Zigzag

14.7167° N | 17.4677° W For most South African surfers, the Atlantic Ocean conjures visions of the freezing waters to the west, along with ice-cream headaches and kelp-drenched reefs. But beyond our peripheral vision lies a literal ocean that stretches from Namibia to the North Pole, where much of Africa’s surf potential lies. Dakar, for example, has long shaken off its novelty value as the place that kick-stared The Endless Summer and may well be Africa’s next surfing powerhouse (see page 72). Whether here or closer to home, there is no shortage of emerging talent coming out of these local communities, which are as varied as the waves that have nurtured them (see page 34). Further north, the Atlantic spills over into Europe, where it continues to exert its pull…

31.6067° S | 28.7781° E THE ROARING 40s Unlike many other sea-facing countries around the world, South Africa’s 2800 kilometre-long coastline is rarely ever completely flat, thanks to its exposure to multiple swell sources. Any East Coast surfer will tell you that summer is usually the go for easterly swells generated by tropical depressions that spin down from Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel. These swells can travel as far as the Southern Cape and light up those rare east-facing point breaks, which shall not be named. Most of our swell, however, is generated deep in the South Atlantic, along the storm belt known as the Roaring Forties. The Roaring Forties are extremely powerful westerly winds that constantly blow in the Southern Hemisphere between latitudes 40° and 50°. These gale-force, west-to-east…

I've been working with surfboards for over 30 years, ever since I was a kid growing up in Fish Hoek. I was obsessed with surfing and got my first board as a birthday present when I was 12 or 13. The board got dinged and my dad, who had been a yachtsman, knew how to work with resin. He showed me how to do a repair and that was me from there on. A few years later, I had a thriving ding repair business and started to dabble in shaping. I guess some people think of me as a big wave shaper nowadays but that part of it really happened by chance. I was still doing repairs and shaping out of my garage back in the early 2000s when I…

“It will be small, 10 to 15-foot ”, the message said. I looked at my phone again to make sure I wasn’t still asleep and dreaming, but there it was: a message from Twiggy inviting me to come surf Nazaré with him that Wednesday. Every part of me wanted to say no. I’d just arrived in Portugal after a summer of working as a surf instructor in the Mediterranean. I hadn’t surfed a wave over two foot in months. I had no equipment, never mind any real big wave surfing experience. But I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Before I knew it my bus ticket was booked, and after a few poor attempts at holding my breath in the hotel pool I decided that I’d just…

No one can remember exactly when, and at whose house, but Wynberg Surf Club – the first of its kind – was established in the turbulent, unrest driven 1980s that rocked the Cape. The club was called Wynberg because most of its founding members (such as Mogamat Davids, the late Tahir Davids, Adil du Bruyn and others) originally came from Wynberg. Another key figure was Ehsan “Schani” Nagia, who hailed from Walmer Estate on the fringe of District Six. A larger-than-life figure, with a colourful vocabulary that could peel paint off walls, Schani was elected its first chairperson. Part of my brief was to pen a piece about Wynberg and the unheralded, but central role, that Schani had played in South African surfing. On the day we were scheduled to…

16.5388°N | 23.0418° W OFFSHORE AFRICA Africa is made up of 54 countries, six of which are island nations – Cape Verde, Sao Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles and Mauritius. There are a number of other islands dotted around the continent, but identity is not necessarily defined by geographical proximity. The Canary Islands, for example, lie a mere 100 kilometres off the northwestern coast of Africa – barely the distance covered during your average Cape Town surf check – yet the islands are part of the EU and very much a Spanish enclave. Run your finger further south and west on a map, out into the deep ocean, and you'll come across Cape Verde, a volcanic island chain located 570km offshore. Although Cape Verde retains ties to Portugal, it’s…

An ambitious project to build a series of rock groynes along the beach at St Francis Bay is one step closer to becoming a reality after the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) granted authorisation for the Long-Term Coastal Protection Scheme. For decades, sand flow along St Francis Bay has been halted by development along the famous point that became immortalised as Bruce’s Beauties. As a result, there are currently no beaches at St Francis Bay, and the spit separating the ocean from the canals has started breaching on large south swells, threatening beach-front properties. The proposed scheme entails dredging sand onto the beach to create a 40-metre wide beach, and constructing a series of groynes to hold the sand in place. If you surf, the first…

For decades, tour operators have sold Cape Point as the scenic destination where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. But despite the Cape’s best efforts to claim bragging rights to the famous ocean boundary, the honour officially rests with the sleepy coastal hamlet of Cape Agulhas, 170km to the southeast. The International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) are the guys who make the rules about ocean boundaries, and they describe the western boundary of the Indian Ocean as follows: From the coast of the Antarctic continent northwards, along the meridian of 20°E to Cape Agulhas (34°50’S – 20°00’E), the southern extremity of the Republic of South Africa, in Africa (the common limit with the South Atlantic Ocean). Laying claim to the meeting point of two oceans is a useful marketing tool, and…

32.7607° N | 16.9595° W Misheeeeeeee! boomed Cecilia, almost crushing Michi’s large frame with a huge hug as we both walked in the door. It was the 28th time Michi Mohr had come to Madeira Island. Even though he was based in Munich, he knew the waves of Madeira as well as anyone, and could more than hold his own in 15-foot surf. Cecilia looked over to me and her face lit up. “Ehhhh tuuuuu!” she roared, and rushed into a back room. She came out with a surfing magazine from 16 years before, with a photo of myself standing next to a group of legendary big-wave riders. I couldn’t believe she remembered me. Cecilia Sumares was to be our landlady for the next few days. She runs a guesthouse…

34.0948° S | 18.3950° E 34.0209° S | 18.3683° E 34.0100° S | 18.3430° E 29.9787° S | 19.3783° E 34.0507° S | 24.9102° E 34.0507° S | 24.9102° E 34.0507° S | 24.9102° E A2 The A2 was inspired by Andy Irons and now tweaked and designed for Aiden Maisencamp. A squarish rail around the fin area and a hard rail a little higher up for quick manoeuvers. It has a smooth rocker with a little flick up in the nose. To be ridden from small to as big as you can paddle into. Shaper Spider Murphy Dimensions 4’6” – 6’6” Fin Setup Thruster Tel (+27) 31 337 4230 Addr 6 Milne Street, Durban, South Africa Web www.safarisurf.com Email boards@safarisurf.com IG @safarisurfboards FB Safari Surfboard – Spider Surfboards SPIN…

17.8471° S | 149.2677° W TATIANA WESTON-WEBB, WATERWORLD When surfers think of a map of the world, we typically think in terms of waves breaking along foreign shores, divided up by the different oceans – the silky warm Indian Ocean that dominates Indonesia, the mighty Pacific that explodes onto Polynesian reefs, the briny Atlantic that sprawls across from the Americas, and so on. But according to a recent study, Earth may have been covered by a single global ocean over three billion years ago. The study, which appeared in Nature Geoscience, found distinct chemical signatures in an ancient chunk of ocean crust that indicate Earth may initially have had no continents. According to the scientists who penned the paper, an early Earth without emergent continents may have resembled a "water…

Growing up surfing Llands, I never surfed The Gat until years later. That was always the scary, gnarly peak that all the pros and locals would ride. But as I got older and my surfing got better, I moved closer and closer towards the rocks. It’s like a rite of passage, working your way up the beach until finally, you’re taking off right next to the rocks. When it’s really on you see some crazy wedges there, but the sand needs to be just right and packed into the northern corner of the bay. You know it’s a good one when you see the backwash from the previous swell coming off the side of the rocks. Those are the crazy ones that hit the oncoming swell and double-up, but the…

32.0978° S | 18.3267° E 68.4711° N | 13.8636° E 32.0978° S | 18.3267° E32.0978° E“Toemis. That’s what my dad and his friends call this,” Eli says over his shoulder. “It kinda means ‘closed mist’, but it doesn’t sound nearly as good in English. Some things are just better in Afrikaans.” We’re enveloped in a dull grey fog that’s blocking out the weak morning sun. Heavy drops of moisture cling to the rusted barbed-wire fence we have just gingerly squeezed through. There’s supposed to be a good reef break in front of us, but I can’t see it. I can scarcely make out Eli a few steps ahead of me, but I can hear the crackle of dry kelp underfoot with every step he takes. Thick piles of it lie…

14.7167° N | 17.4677° W On Surprise Surf Trips with Italo Ferreira The plan was to go to Senegal and meet up with Cherif Fall, the Senegalese surfing champion. We arrived at the house we were staying at in Dakar, and I saw Italo sitting there with Billabong team manager Chris Heffner. I was like “WHAAAAT?” Billabong kept the fact that Italo was going to be there a secret. It was supposed to be a surprise for Cherif, so the team pretty much told no-one. The crew from South Africa was me, Tanika Hoffman and Emma Smith. It was an awesome crew and so sick to hang with Italo and Cherif. On the Streets of Senegal There’s no crime in Senegal. Nothing. We left all our stuff at the house,…

17.8471° S | 149.2677° W KAI HALL, BUBBLE-WRAPPED @TEAHUPOO A week before this session I had to get four stitches in my head, but it was’t from surfing Teahupoo. I was doing an air on this little wave when my fin hit me in the head. There was blood everywhere. Luckily it wasn’t too bad and I was back in the water the next day, but I had to put a swimming cap on and bubble-wrap my head under my helmet. I looked like a bit of a kook but I was just stoked to be able to surf. This session was pretty intimidating because there were supposed to be some tow sets coming through in the morning when we paddled out. I kept thinking one of these sets could…