Table of contents for July 2017 (41.5) in Zigzag

A baptism of calmness. ©JORDAAN I ’ll never forget that session. The waves were overhead, clean and barrelling, but there were only a few guys out because the swell period was massive, which meant incredibly long lulls – as long as 20-30 minutes between meaningful sets. I decided to paddle out anyway, and predictably waited (and waited) for my first ride. I sat there so long that everyone else went in and it was just myself left at backline. An epic wave eventually came and it turned out to be worth the patience, so I wanted more. I figured I could handle another twenty minute lull for one more and go in stoked. Then I saw another surfer paddling out, and he assumed his position fifteen or so metres down…

Things are changing in the surfing world. When explaining surfing’s seemingly slower progression than other boardsports, the reason oft-repeated is that “no two waves or sections are the same.” Well, that might not be valid for much longer. While we’d like to argue that progression is by no means slow, especially if you consider the stuff being stomped around the world the past few years, it was always hard to dispute the actual phrase. With our sessions taking place in beach breaks, reef breaks, points and wedges, and our swells coming in varying frequencies and angles, to repeatedly work on a new trick has been difficult. But with the announcement that numerous major cities around the globe will be getting their own Wave Gardens built, and many more lining up…

The salty-to-corporate evolution is an ugly process. Witnessing the entire spectrum of this transformation from beginning to end in one sitting is rare. It is only rare due to the fact that it is not always recognized because of the time it takes for the process to be completed. This transformation exists only because, in this world, money is king. It’s a stark reminder of that. Everybody faces the money music every single day. It is this forwardthinking of ‘getting ahead of the game’, which leads each pure ocean-salted generation into decisions aimed at keeping their bank balances topped-up in order to allow for more time chasing waves, while living the dreamy lifestyle of surf adventures. This transformation process is rife in cities that don’t belong to an ocean. Or…

T he offshore is pumping, the sets are still cooking and the light begins to fade into a tangerine haze. Along with this epic aesthetic, feelings of pure stoke can be seen on the salty mug of everyone lucky enough to be sharing this liquid realm with you. However, deep down, right in the back of our consciousness, the thought of what lurks below tends to turn the smallest dark patch in the water into a scene out of Jaws. As surfers we tend to have a more holistic view on this alien world than most, and have a healthy respect for these, for the most part, misunderstood creatures of the deep. This then raises the question, why do sharks ‘attack’ surfers? Perhaps the most common theory is that of…

RSA INDO TYDE GATCKE THE INDO ADDICT Tyde Gatcke’s first taste of the open road came when he was 10 years old, crammed into a VW Kombi with a mound of boards, a couple of his best mates and his stepdad Barry at the wheel. Their destination: the winding walls of J-Bay. “I’ll never forget Andrew Carter helping me out the bottom keyhole at Supertubes,” recalls Tyde. “Once we made it out he sped off into the lineup and I was on my own from there. I had one wave and went straight back in through the keyhole, but that one wave and the paddle out with AC blew my mind. Ever since that trip it’s always been about where to next, where’s the next adventure.” Groomed as one of…

South Africa is one country, but it is in fact two severely different worlds. The East Coast is a lush and tropical utopia, consisting of seemingly endless coastal dune forests, bordered by a turquoise Indian Ocean. It hosts pristine reefs, myriads of colourful oceanic creatures and, most importantly, waves. The East Coast of South Africa is kilometres upon kilometres of waves. Many of them secret, some of them unsurfed, a lot of them passionately locally defended. It is an accumulative heaven of point breaks, beachies, and reefs. If you have seen an image of a bikini-clad, coconut-sipping, floral lathe-wearing lady, knee deep in a translucent blue ocean, with a perfectly peeling South African right hand point break running in the background, then you were looking at a picture of the…

“What an honour to shape a board for ballie Rudy, and even better that he got so pitted on it!” Says Ricky Basnett when asked about this sled he crafted for Rudy Palmboom. “Rudy got in touch with me a little while ago looking for something to update an old sled that he loved. The Stinger design is based off the classic Ben Aipa shapes of the 70’s. The dimensions are 6’2” x 20” x 23/4”, and it has clean lines with that lekker winger. It’s also got the meat to catch waves and the fin setup (single box with sides) gives amazing speed and hold.” Having got the gist from the shaper, we ventured down to Cave Rock knowing that we’d bump into the 57-year-old charger. Rudy has been…

One of the things I like about this magazine – apart from the fact that it helps keep a roof over my head, even if it is only the roof of my car – is the regular travel feature. Stories and pictures of waves in remote, exotic places make me want to pack a bag, grab my board and head for the airport. I’ve actually done that before, only to get to the airport and find that I’ve left my passport at home, a cat is asleep in my bag, I don’t have a plane ticket and it’s 3:00am. Let that be a warning, kids. Don’t read this magazine and try to operate heavy machinery. The world’s airlines cart more than three billion people a year from one place to…

Keala Kennelly is lying on an operating table. The sharp smell of disinfectant hangs in the air, trying to wash out the odour seeping from the buckets of dark fluid she saw in the hallway when the nurses rushed her into theatre. A blur of bodies pass by, but most of all Kennelly can hear the screams – loud, piercing screams – that echo through the dilapidated hospital. Somewhere inside her, the worm-shaped organ known as the appendix has ruptured and is leaking toxic bile onto her vital organs, causing her to vomit out black liquid. A doctor explains to her in broken English they need to operate immediately, before it’s too late, and she starts sobbing. isn’t Keala Kennelly who conquered Teahupo’o and Pipeline; the surfer who refused to…