Table of contents for June 2019 in Zigzag

“We’re moving to Cape Town.” My father’s words were blunt and final. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, arms hanging glibly by my side, still caked in mud from my last ride. I was happy in Pretoria. The parched, open veld was the perfect place for me and my BMX gang to build tracks with our bare hands, to see just how far we could push our limits on those steel and rubber machines. That bike was my escape, a craft to take me away from the hum and drum of school. The gang were my brothers who understood just how much every ride meant. All lost in a move to the coast. My 11 year old heart was crushed. I wasn’t coming back from this. It took one…

A Short, high performance board allows A for a tight arc which will burn off any unnecessary speed. In turn, this gives you space to pack in more manoeuvres in a smaller area. For the surfer driven by technical proficiency, the modern thruster is an F1 car, and the wave in front of them, a track. Acceleration, better handling and the power to overtake any section. Sophie Bell in the driving seat as she enters the final straight, heading toward the checkered flag. The longboard gives you room to move and time to decide where you want to be on a wave. A more traditional line means there’s no cutting corners or race to the finish line. If the short board is the F1 car, think of the longboard as…

It was a 5’10” epoxy square tail thruster, shaped on Reunion Island, designed for the Cape Peninsula’s fickle waves. Hand planed by ‘Cape Energy’ founder Mike Cameron in 1989, it was purpose built for Long Beach and Muizenberg. Mike was my first sponsor, and I trusted him without question. He made boards that changed my surfing trajectory. I was the grinning test pilot grom, surfing every board into the ground, week in, week out. That this corresponded with my rapidly declining grades, was no coincidence White as the driven snow, lighter than a feather with a beautifully pinched rail, when cradled under arm (the real measure that determines a dud or a magic board), it felt as if it had its arms around you, not the other way around. That…

While thumbing through the board rack at my local core surf shop, a rather weathered looking man pulled out a soft top for closer inspection. He turned to his girlfriend and said, “We call these landfills babe, these boards only last you a couple surfs, but they’re good for learning.” His seemingly blasé attitude towards the longevity of the craft in question got us thinking about surfing’s double standard. Here’s an activity that relies on a clean and healthy ocean and inspires millions around the world towards environmental activism, but the main tool for enjoying this lifestyle is made from toxic materials that at best, after a few years of usefulness, end up in a landfill slowly contaminating the environment for a thousand years. Increasingly, more sustainable materials and methods…

Mozambique, our neighbour to the North East, has been on the surfer’s radar since the early 70s, but the region missed out on the first wave of surf exploration due to a vicious civil war that raged from 1977 to 1992. A few hardy Saffa surfers snuck in before the war kicked off and came back with stories of perfect sand-bottom points and translucent waters alive with sea creatures - grilled prawns and palm trees in paradise. Ever since the war ended, surfers and other badly behaved pleasure seekers with 4x4s, have been trickling up the coast in growing numbers. However, a surf trip to Mozam has never been just about the surfing. It’s too fickle, too tropical, too many fish and too inaccessible to build your entire excursion around…

When the reclusive demigod who runs this fine magazine told me that this was to be the Craft Issue, my first thought turned to craft beer. To be honest, whenever anyone tells me anything, my first thought is beer of any kind. It’s my go-to thought. Try it. The next time someone asks you a question, nod slowly and put on your thinking face. But instead of thinking about your reply, think about beer. Don’t rush it. Good thoughts, like good beer, take time to ferment. With any luck, the other person will lose interest and go away. Apparently, however, there has to be a link between the craft and the sport. Fair enough. This is, after all, a surfing magazine and I shouldn’t be allowed to write just any…

If you count success in world titles, then Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker is probably the greatest competitive surfer South Africa has ever produced. Sit with that. Swirl the words around your mouth like an unwooded Chardonnay. Tracking Twig’s progress from skinny-legged, wide-eyed grom, with little heavy water experience, at the inaugural Red Bull Big Wave Africa in 1999, to multiple Big Wave World Champion, global surf icon, test pilot and pioneer of numerous perfect waves and threader of impossible needles. At 46 years young, Grant Baker has become something of a living legend. “I’m starting to think it’s not so difficult.” Laughs Twig. “I mean, if someone like me can do it three times.” And just like that he cuts through all that butter like a hard squeeze of lemon. 3RD…

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS My sister and I were created for a purpose. I’ll admit that we had no idea what that purpose was, sitting in the Honda warehouse in the USA in 2006. It was an unsettling time, but the moment our mono-hulls touched the Tahitian-Pacific for our first taste of the ocean we knew our calling. We were created for service. To move across water at high speeds with surfers in-tow; offering protection, safety, opportunity, and ultimately… to facilitate the chase of those mystical mountains of moving water we know as waves, big waves. For most of our existence we’ve been known as ‘The Billabong Skis’, two Honda F-12’s, the result of a global alliance between Honda, Monster Energy and Billabong for the World Championship Surf Tour events at that…