In a months time I will be embarking on a mission that will prove to be the start of a hunger within me that I hope to feed, at least, once a year. On the 27th of November I will be boarding a flight that will be heading straight to the country where people eat paella for breakfast, where bulls get beaten up by children and where people fall asleep in the afternoon. Yes, I will be flying to Spain and start what hopes to be the start of a lifetime of traveling.

Although I hyped it up, the truth is that after 2 hours of being in Madrid's airport I shall board another flight,but, this one will be going to Portugal. The reason for my travels taking me to Portugal is because of the wave known as Supertubos. Some say this wave is the European version of Pipeline and that gets me drooling to think that I am going to be standing upon the shores of Peniche, the place in Portugal where said wave is found,  staring at a wave that resembles one of the most famous waves in the world. Not to mention that Supertubos itself carries some heavy street cred based on the fact that the ASP recently held a contest there.

I will have 5 days to get Supertubos amazing before I head back to Madrid to meet up with some of my Home Boys from South Africa, who are flying in from South America after the World Bodyboarding Games. We shall group and then scrammble to which ever terminal it is that will get us on the 1st flight to Las Palms de Gran Canaria for a whole month, and that is when the fun will start!

To accompany this post I have Sourced some photos of the almighty Supertubos. Enjoy

A slice of SA Champs

I have been quite due to one simple reason, Varsity! For the past couple of weeks, and a few weeks to come, I have and will be swimming in all the work that my tertiary education institution can throw at me before they deem me fit to receive an Honors Degree. Luckily I have found some spare time and I felt that I needed to post some content before the end of the world greets us so here goes.

As you may have heard it was the South African Bodyboarding Championships about 2 weeks ago. The contest was held just South of Durban in a jungle town of Margate. For most of the contest the waves were pretty epic and the level of riding could have been compared to that of the best in the world.

I think my SD card in my camera got a virus because the only images that I have found are of the Drop Knee final that was literally AMAZING to watch. All the other images of the contest have vanished and I am pretty bummed about that because I had some amazing footage of the Boy Wonder, Tristan Roberts, who took 1st place in the boys division and then in the same breath, ripped the Pro final to shreds, taking 1st in that division as well

It was a pretty mind blowing SA champs and here is some of the footage I Managed to salvage from my SD card.

The Boland boys just chillen before a hectic final day

Rider Tristan Roberts boosting a big flip before the start of the contest

Who knows? an unknown rider pulling off a decent roll

DK winner Dylan Van Tonder sliding off the section with a floater

The champ with a big carve

South African champs thus far

At this very point in time I am sitting on Lucien beach waiting for the Southern Kwa-Zulu Natal team to decide whether or not day of the contest will be running. You see, the waves have been very small during the contest window period and, to add insult to injury, the wind has been onshore. Never the less riders have been ripping and there have been a few good moments.

Standouts of the contest so far have been riders like Tristan Roberts Who has dominated his 1st boys heat and his 1st pro heat, Stuart bradford who showed some technical Dk riding along with other drop knee riders such as DVT, Aden Kleve and Derik Footit respectively. In the juniors division the standouts were Michael Maynard and Steven du Preez who really boosted some big tricks regardless of the conditions they surfed in.

The Theil Board co South African Bodyboarding champs will continue thoughout the week so keep checking Frozen Ocean for updates and footage.

The weekend that was...

As you most probably know by now, last weekend was host to a very special contest that the Capetonian bodyboarding community took strongly to. The contest was the Warrior Challenge and swarms of bodyboarders dawned upon Glen Beach to surf this contest which was in loving memory of our close friend David Lilienfeld.

Although the basis of the contest was of "morbid nature" the prizes at the end of the tunnel were not. The prize money stood at R2500 plus a whole lot of other stuff that would not have fitted in an average sized car. The waves were amazing! Big 6ft ramps separated the boys from the men and as the heats started to go by, the competition veterans were proving themselves. One by one the pack of bodyboarders thinned out as round after round culled the weak and unskilled. My time for judgement came in the semi finals where I got a 3rd place and joined the losers pool.

4 riders remained- Tristan Roberts, who throughout the contest fought bravely against foes who had long been in the realm of contest before him. The boy, only 15, left many a victim crying in shame after unleashing a vast array of massive flips, big inverts and highly technical reverses. Aden Kleve, a dangerous contender from a village called Kommetjie where riding a bodyboard is a way of life. Aden stormed through heats with his careful and calculated riding leaving a wake of destruction as he passed. Charles Pass, took fellow contenders to the cleaners with his venomous arm extended rolls and barrel riding skills and finally Andrew Raath who once ate cheese burgers but now eats bodyboarders!

The finals was intense with massive moves being pulled by Tristan and Charles but with no luck on the landing. Aden snuck in some clean rolls and spins which gave him solid scores, while Andrew was fighting back with one or two flips on the inside. In the end Aden took 1st place, Tristan took 2nd, 3rd went to Charles and 4th was reserved for Andrew.

Although I would have loved to have shared some footage of the final with you, all I have is this invert that my mate, Christiaan Els, got of me in one of my heats while riding my brand new Thiel Board. Check it out...dont hate :)

The Bay

There is a place on the Garden Route that I have made more surf missions to than anywhere else on the South African map. This place is a small town and the inhabitants are all "boere" meaning they lack the skill to communicate in English which, make the people of this town rather hilarious. The town was discovered by Vasco Da Gama at the dawn of time and is famous for having gas. I have come to call this place "My home from homes" because, as korky as this town is, I LOVE MOSSEL BAY!!!!

Once you get used to the town it grows on you. The people are super friendly and have become some of my best friends, over the years that we have shared together. Partying in this town is a mash up of brandy and cola that causes one to lose all dignity in a matter of hours. I developed a gambling problem in the Bay because everyone else has one. For breakfast you eat steak, for lunch you eat steak and for dinner you eat steak! Everyone knows everyone and life is good. Oh and did I mention the waves are amazing?

The following images in this post were taken by an amateur photgrapher who was quite possibly inebriated while performing the art of taking photos, but instead of denouncing him lets just say that hes a VERY contemporary artist known as Peppi Venter (he has Facebook ;) )

In this rather blurry image is Johan Nortjie, a local in the bay, steering a clean forward air into completion at bottom section.

This Image is the result of a slow shutter speed- Johan Nortjie in a happy place

A wave that I find so much fun for Drop Knee is Inner pool located next to its bigger brother Outer pool.

Getting under the lip at Inner Pool- Matt Webster

An lonely wave passes by at Outer Pool

Vlooi Botha has some style, especially when he gets vertical!

Going for glory, Vlooi Botha enters a whole in a wave

Looking Zef so Fresh

It's one thing to stand out as an individual, but to stand out as a group is an experience that can only be compared to the time you laid eyes on your 1st brand new board!

With the South African Bodyboarding Champs only a slash away from now, the Boland team all assembled at our holy headquarters, aka the Gordon's Bay Yacht Club, to receive what is to be our gear that renders us separate and distinct from the 6 other teams that endure cut throat competition against each other to claim the all so coveted fisherman's trophy at the National contest.

Upon arriving at yacht club the atmosphere was chilled mixed with the true smell of anticipation. The 1st year groms were frothing to get their grubby paws on the new material that was to cover their naked bodies from head to toe, the material that would be placing honor upon their sun soaked shoulders, the material that proves them part of the Boland Bodyboarding Association and ultimately part of the Family.
The more experienced guys, who have been on the team for a few years, were looking cool and calm as they spoke about near death experiences and large ramps provides at one of the waves in the area days before, but they to were eager to receive their colors. To the veterans who had formed the provincial team decades ago- this procedure was part of a never ending cycle that they have come to love.

Names started being read out and one by one each soul that had surfed and prospered in the trial series of 2012 stood up with pride to collect their gear infront of an audience of elated parents, bitter rivals and stoked friends. This was the result... A group defined by their colors- yellow and black- A group Looking zef so freshly!

A Weekend Full of it

The weekend took a harsh toll on me. I am sitting in front of my laptop trying to be creative and, at the same time, trying not to face plant it out of shear exhaustion. You see, this past weekend was spent in a town, 4 hours from the Mother City, doing nothing more than bodyboarding. Now that I think about it, the long distance drive, the lack of sleep, the random sunburn and the festering red eyes was all worth the time at the Southern Cape Bodyboarding Champs in Mossel Bay. No regrets!

The contest was held at Mossel Bays most notable wave, Outerpool. Outerpool is a right hand reef break that produces some amazing waves when the winds are blowing in a South Westerly direction, the tide is low and the swell is a South Easterly swell in the range of 2.5m to 3m. These are roughly the conditions we got during the contest which made for a spectacle of big moves.

The riders that stood out in the contest consisted of a group of locals such as Adam Morley who made got one of the highest heat scores of the event, Bjorn Coetzee who clenched biggest move of the contest with an insane backflip he boosted and Johan Nortjie who won the mens division respectively.One kid that set the bar for the standard of riding was, super grom, Tristan Roberts who performed so well in the contest that he ended up taking titles in 2 divisions being the boys division, because he is young enough to compete in this event, and the Pro division because he is just that super! The junior division was won by Plett local, Niklas Martin, ladies was taken by Nikki Gerrike, who is also from Plett, and the dropknee division was won by Matt Webster.

The contest that Southern Cape Bodyboarding Association hosted was a truly good comeback since they left the South African Bodyboarding scene in 2007. Many thanks go out to the organizers and the sponsors and especially to all the buddies that made the long drive to Mossel Bay for the epic time we had!

The next provincial championship will be the weekend of the 1st and 2nd September where Boland will have its chance at hosting an insane comp. For more information go to the Boland  website

Now for some eye candy from SCBA Champs...Feast!

The face of the Boy that took Pros, Tristan Roberts

Deep in the pocket- Douw Steyn chooses to seek the tube

Tristan Roberts demonstrates his mechanical flips

Doing something behind a mighty bush- Mafoos Lombard

Outerpool local, Joe Boogie, going crazy on a section in the Drop knee semi-finals

A free surf at Innerpool caused Mafoos Lombard to get vertical.

Juniors winner, Niklas Martin, boosting a clean roll in his semi-finals

The reason why he won pros is because of massive moves like this flip- Tristan Roberts

Boost of the contest winner, Bjorn Coetzee with this massive Back Flip

Womans Day aka "I can go surf in the middle of the week day"

With Winters icy fingers completely wrapped around our fair country, it is that part of the year when the weather is to bad to even think about leaving the confides of our warm beds to brave the harshness of the cold Atlantic. This is not made easier by the vast amounts of swells that have been tormenting our coastlines for the past couple days combined with the strong NW winds that just are not friendly.

So when mother nature throws you you a bone, by which I mean a warm sunny Thursday, you try to make the best of it by getting a few friends together and head out on the road with one thing on your mind...A boogie!

This is what our plan was last week when our Government had declared last Thursday, August 9, to be Womans Day- an excuse to not work- Thanks Ladies!!!

Although the waves were not perfect it was just good to be out in the ocean doing what we love. Here are some of the images captured during that outing.

Releasing some built up tension, Matt Webster throws some tail.

Still angry, Matt throws buckets on the knee.

Soaking up the sun with the table in the background, Dino Barito takes it all in.

After surf delights- Matt Webster & Janneke De Kock

 

Growing in the Local Garden

What really does it for me is when I look at my home town and I see that the amount talent that just stagnates there. Hermanus is a bodyboarding town. Long have the ways of the booger dictated the lifestyles that groms shall end up leeding. Rarely has a kid gazed upon the local headquarters of Onrus Beach and said to himself "I want to start surfing."

No! the kids in Onrus start bodyboarding and develop so much talent because there are no surfers to burn the groms on every wave and stop them from boosting out.

and then years go by, these kids get older, and better at the sport which usually results in them becoming a strong part of the Boland Bodyboarding Association which is our provincial team.

Sometimes there is a soul on the shore that feels it a good idea to film these "kids", edit the footage and create a short clip that gets everyone in the sleepy town fired up with stoke.

His name is Kevin and he made a clip of the grown up kids while doing what they love in Onrus River.

Check it out...

The Drought is Coming to an End

Geeeeez! I have been out of the water in so long that i do not even remember the feeling of the frigid Cape Town water breaking through the armor that defends my body from the oceans icy touch. Putting on a wetsuite has become a distant memory and the smell of wax and seaweed is as foreign to me as the moon was to Buzz Oldren.

The truth is I was caught uop in the nine to five lifestyle that plagues each and every person on this planet. I was working in a land locked part of the republic and, as much as I wanted to leave this place and escape to the ocean, I was anchored in this shit town with one goal in mind- To make money for my journey to the Canary Islands at the end of the year!

We have all heard about El Fronton, a wave that was conjured by our father with the soul purpose of providing endless fun, adrenaline and, sometimes, pain to every wave rider that is willing to make the expensive journey to the shores of these North African islands.I am one of the dedicated that saw that the only way i was going to be busting out at El Fronton was by sacrificing a month of my life to the man.

Hard work and dedication was the name of the game and as I was about 700km from the ocean I was unable to bring you any Boogie related news. But i am back and as of this post will be updating Frozen Ocean weekly. The drought is over people and in order to celebrate this I am going to share some of the Photos that inspired me to keep at the graft and deprivation of the ocean. Enjoy!

This is one of the Photos that blew my mind when I saw it. El Fronton maxing at 15ft, grinding along the Spanish colonialist coastline. 

Andre Feel good, one of the masters at heavy wave riding pulling into an absolutely perfect wave at El Fronton. Are you hungry yet? 

The true view of El Fronton. Both the left and right doing things that we have drawn in our school books or exam pads since the day we decovered the "tube". My time in Johannesburg will be worth every second!

Fresh Produce

When your on holiday in a ghostly town such as Hermanus, in the middle of winter, waves go off and there is but a handful of souls who capitalize on the awesome produce that can be picked from the tree that is our coastline.

The images in this post are a few shots I got before I formed part of the souls that got very wet this morning and believe me they only got better as the tide rose.

If you turn your eyes to the left you will see a fine specimen of Henk Esterhuysen getting some barrel time somewhere around the corner.

Same guy, different angle. Henk getting deeper.

And now something for you to mind surf for as long as you like. This shot I dedicate to the souls stuck in a 9 to 5 or the guys that haunt this town but dont bother waking up before the rooster makes that noise that symbolizes the morning. Enjoy!

Tomorrow is the Day

Finally I have bought a new SD card for my camera so now i can shoot some stuff again. I am really one of the best people in the world when it comes to procrastination and as much as I try i cant get around changing my ways.

The shot in this post is a small glimpse of the waves that have been plaguing my home town for the past few days and as for the stories that the boys have been sharing amongst each other over a pint of golden delicious at the local watering hole would make grown men cry in envy.

The festivities are not over by no means, in fact, with the conditions looking the way they do at the moment(amazing!) then this week is still full of long hours in the water doing what we love and live for- but  only if you are like the majority of Hermanus, unemployed, out of school or on a permanent holiday in other words IRIE!!!

PS: That kid getting a sneaky barrel in one of the spots around the corner of my house is none other than the other Andre Botha aka Vlooi

By Invitation Only

 ( Above: Marc Webster flying like a Boss in the Finals)

Like most Sundays the sun rose this morning. Like most Sundays the echo of the waves can be heard from the warm confines of my bed but, unlike most Sundays something was brewing. what was it? well let me tell you. You see for the past 3 weeks their has been a window period that was opened and today was the day that the window period closed and something big had to go down. That "something big" was the Reef Kokarot Invitational, a bodyboarding contest hosted by some of the kids from the LSD (Local Strand Dogs) which turned out to be one huge success.

Rocking up at a remote location at the crack of dawn during winter is no small task. As competitive bodyboarders we have evolved over the years to deal with this brutal task and this morning was no different as all the riders that were invited to surf the contest graced the rocky coastline that gave birth to the reef break known as Kokarot, it was made clear that guys meant business.

The conditions were good. at the start of the event the tide was high and the contestants were getting 3-4ft waves that were throwing some decent sections and also opening up allowing riders to score some much welcomed barrel time. The wind was a gentle breeze the whole contest and as the ocean started to drain off the reef the waves started to turn on and the quality of riding went BOOOM.

Standout riders of the contest were Marc Webster who not only took 1st place, but also wave of the contest with a 10 point barrel in his QF heat. Tristan Roberts was, once again, showing off his talent by boosting a clean 2 flips on a wave in his QF heat. Mafoos Lombard took home the "Move of the comp" when he hit a clean mutant of a section and executed a massive flip in the early rounds of the comp.

Overall the contest was a huge success as there was some strong support from contestants and there friends who came to view the comp unfold. a Big thanks goes out to Reef wetsuits, Red Bull, WolfAlley, Boost surf shop and Ocean and Earth for the massive contributions made towards the Invitational

and on that bombshell... its time for dinner!!!

Boland Team 2012

The South African Bodyboarding Champs is the final contest of on the boyboarding calendar in our fine country and this year the Boland Boadyboarding Association is stopping at nothing to claim the ever so illusive Fishermans Trophy and be crowned SA Champs!

Last year Boland managed to obtain a 3rd place at SA champs that was hosted in Cape Town but this year the team will be traveling to Margate, on the south coast of KZN, to compete.

This year the Team is looking very strong with the return of Marc Webster who has already bagged one SA Champs in 2009 and will be representing the Pro division along with Tristan Roberts, Myself (Matt Webster), Vlooi Botha and Matthew Lombard.

The junior division will consist of Luke Staniforth, Rob Cook, Jock de Klerk, Francois Conradie and the Kid that leart to bodyboard from YouTube and get this, he rips!

Boys division will consist of a mixture of some of the best boys in the country with Tristan Roberts (last years SA champ), Dylan Le Roux and newcomer Tubby filling up this division.

The Drop Knee division will consist of myself and Boland legend Morne Laubscher who is looking very comfortable riding the drop knee division this year.

The mens division will be represented by Thinus Scott, Bernard with a very long surname and  Morne laubscher

We have to beautiful woman that will be representing Boland at SAs this year and they are Rose Lombard and Susanne Joubert.

The final division will be Masters and this will consist of Melvin Victor, Len Bradford and Marcel Habbits.

Sumo Wedge

Wedges. There is not a bodyboarder on this planet that can honestly say that they do not like surfing them. They as much fun as strapping firecrackers to your old toys and watching them explode into millions of pieces. I'm talking to much fun and when a NEW wedge shows up on your front door, you go mental. What? Did I say a new wedge? Hellz yeah I did!

The past weekend saw a drunken Japanese skipper ,strategically, park his 50m long fishing trawler on the part of Clifton beach that has a bit of a shore break. This calculation resulted in waves breaking against the hull of the boat and being redirected away from the vessel in a pleasing display that can only be described as "wedging".

When I walked onto Clifton beach on Saturday to bear witness to the fishing trawler that had beached itself, the 1st thought I had was "potential wedge" and after sitting there for a good hour, I saw 3 waves do exactly what world class wedges do, Go nuts! My prediction, based on the idea that that boat is not going anywhere, is that the wave will start showing its true ability in a few weeks, as the sandbar needs to even out and such. But based on what I saw this past weekend, the future looks very good. Oh and I think it should be called Sumo Wedge because, whats more Japanese than a Sumo Wrestler?

P.S the minute Sumo Wedge starts producing, I will be sure to obtain footage and share it with my followers....

The Winds of Change

This past weekend I got to the 4th and final Boland Bodyboarding Association trial of the year and there was an awkward presence that surrounded me at the beach. Something was bugging me and i had no clue to what it was that had started making my body itch (figuratively). So I checked around me, the ocean was there, the sand was there, a gaggle of groupies were there even Paul Morkel was there after being AWOL throughout the whole trial series. I really couldn't understand what it was, until it hit me square in the face.

After the contest came the prize giving which is the precise time that the news hit me hard and true. I could not believe my ears when I heard Len Bradford, Bolands main sponsor, utter the words "We have canceled our contract with Science Bodyboards". I was amazed at his statemen! I only ever knew him as "Len from Science" and for the majority of my bodyboarding career I have known no other board company. But the shock did not end there, no no no, Len then went onto say "Reef will now be bringing in Stealth Bodyboards". at this point I blacked out and woke up in ICU (jokes)

And thus the winds of change swept through the sport of bodyboarding in South Africa like a tsunami in Japan, taking with it the old and bringing in the new. You see it is good that we are seeing change. Although its hard to get used to,or, understand it, it must happen. South Africa will now be seeing new types of bodyboards entering our country to start something new and honest. After looking at some of the boards on Stealth Bodyboards website I get to excited and forget completely about umm aahhh, that board company that used to be in the country.

For more info check out this link for the facebook group check out this link and if you bored and want to watch something that made me shed a tear click here

The 3 Ninja Kids

The past week has been crazy. 30 hours of driving is way to long inside a car and it is exactly what we had to endure in order to get to, and from, Margate where we competed in the annual Kokos South Coast Classic. Apart from the torturous drive, the rest of the time in Margate was amazing. The contest started on 27th of April and all the contestants were greeted by 3ft waves that were perfect for competeing in. The contest saw some amazing riding from riders such as Ian Camble, Sasha Specker, Mark Mac, Stephen du Preez and Tristan Roberts. The following are images from the contest

(Above) Jason Fowler aka Bruno finds himself driving down a smooth line.

(Above) Mark Mac boosting an Air revo in the dying seconds of his Pro heat

(Above) Stephen du Preez performing in the finals of the Pro Division, which he won with this ARS

 

(Above) The guru of South African Bodyboarding Sasha Specker killing it on the knee

The Journey Ahead

We remember the past, embrace the present and wander about the future- and with everything that has gone on in the past week- the future looks bleak.
but I for one am a little optimistic as the bodyboarding community of South Africa are all going to be heading to the South Coast of this country to compete in the 3rd stop on the SABA tour, Margate.
Yes, it is once again time for the the Kokos South Coast Bodyboarding Classic that is to be taking place at Lucien beach in Margate.
The event boasts a 4A rating which means that there are going to be some happy people in the finals, who will be taking home some hard cash!
The contest will be running on the 27th and 28th of this month and guys are frothing to get there. So if you are in the area at that time, come and support the best sport in the world and all the guys killing it.