Zigzag November - December 2019

This being the Reader Issue, and me being an avid Zigzag reader since the ’80s, I have a confession to make. The first time I read a Zag was for selfish reasons. It was all about me and my ego. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t even pay for it. I went straight to the Water Sports section of the CNA in Rondebosch Cape Town, and wedged between a spearfishing mag and some offshore power boating title I picked the Zag off the shelf and thumbed straight to the ‘Contest Results’ page. And there was my name, lit up like a carnival, a festival, a parade. Displayed in 5-point font at the bottom right hand corner of the page. Bay Surf Club Contest, held at Muizenberg Pavilion, March 1986.…

THE SEA AND ME My happy place. A place I go when I’m troubled. The sea is so unpredictable; but maybe that is what draws me to it. One day it is calm and peaceful, but the next day it is rough and wild. Nothing feels better than duck-diving under a wave. A wave with so much power, so much energy, so much beauty. Paddling out to the backline is an arm numbing journey. But it is worth it when you choose a wave that gives you the ride of your lifetime. Surfing inside the tube of the wave makes me feel unstoppable. The feeling that I get when I run my fingers along the inside of the wave, is a feeling that I cannot explain. Its like it’s just me, my board and…

Jordy Smith, big air, mid rotation in Western Australia. Much to the delight of readers across the Republic and abroad, Smith has been boosting for years and it seems after 11 years in the WCT big leagues, he’s showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to above the lip acrobatics. Jordy cleared for yet another landing. Kai Hall, substantial barrel, small frame and full commitment in Indonesia. Unfamiliar to readers and unlike Jordy Smith, Kai isn’t a professional surfer. Not yet anyway. But when you get a DM from Shane Dorian after a tube like this, it’s only a matter of time until the world takes notice.…

When I first read about the idea to try and build a boat made entirely from recycled plastic collected from beaches in Kenya, I thought the guys involved were crazy. We had recently moved to Nairobi after my wife got a job there and I stumbled upon their story in a local magazine. Ben Morison, Ali Skanda and Dipesh Pabari had founded an organisation called Flipflopi to raise awareness about plastic pollution – especially the thousands of discarded flip-flops and tons of single-use plastic that wash ashore along Kenya’s coastline every year. Now they wanted to show that this waste could be put to good use and were working with traditional boatbuilders on Lamu Island to build a 20-metre dhow, the beautiful sailing boats made in East Africa, which they planned…

Surfing is the metaphor for leading a good life. Be persistent if you really want something, but also patient. Always respect the ocean and other people. Be grateful, we as surfers are some of the richest people alive.- Stephen Hutchison To just enjoy myself and not give a shit what others may think.- Erik Botes Being in the water means you have to be aware of your surroundings. Surfing teaches you patience, stamina and how to judge the perfect time to make your move. The one thing that stands out is that when you are going for that wave, you’ve gotta be committed! All of these learnings can apply to everything in life.- Armand Avenant I’d rather be surfing any day of the week than attempting to study for my exam that I’m…

Surfing Boiler on a big and messy day, the next one peaked wide and I pulled towards it and was pretty sure I was about to get flogged. The wave held up for a second longer than I thought and on the bigger board I had enough momentum to make it. All of a sudden, directly in between myself and the wave a whale surfaces and blows! Not two feet from the nose of my board. The next three seconds were an absolute rollercoaster of emotion - WTF is that?! Aaaahhhh! Oh phew it’s a whale! Shit shit shit! I’m going to hit it and spook it and take an 8ft wave and three tons of whale on the head. Repent, repent, REPENT! Thankfully the bow wave it made as…