Junior Srpingbok coach

Some great news, I have just been informed by Surfing South Africa that I will be joining the the South African junior surfing team to the world games as assistant coach being held in Ecuador.

The Under 18 Boys team is made up of Nick Godfrey of Eastern Province, Shaun Joubert of Southern Cape, Matthew Bromley of Western Province and Dale Staples of Southern Cape. Brendan Gibbens of Western Province is the non traveling reserve.
Joubert and Bromley will both represent South Africa for the fourth time while Godfrey earns a third cap and Staples his second.

Bianca Buitendag of Southern Cape, Sarah Baum of KZN and Tanika Hofmann of Western Province earn their second caps while Kirsty Delport of KZN is the new cap in the Under 18 Girls group. Heidi Palmboom of KZN is the non traveling reserve.

The four surfers who will represent South Africa in the Under 16 Boys division are Michael February and David Brand of Western Province, Dane Staples of Southern Cape and Slade Prestwich of KZN. Steven Sawyer of Eastern Province is the non traveling reserve.

The team will be accompanied by SSA Deputy President Pax Nydoo in his capacity as Team Manager, and the coaching staff will be made up of legendary coach Graham Hynes who is Head Coach, Etienne Venter, the Deputy Coach and Llewellyn Whittaker, the Assistant Coach.

I have the had the privilege to be working closely with 6 of the 15 selected team members which is really exciting and am really looking forward to working with the rest of the team in the coming months in preparation for next year.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LUCK, LUCK IS WHERE PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY

Summer is here

Hi Everyone, just a heads up on whats going down on the surfing scene in Mossel Bay. As usual with summer comes small waves which can be a good thing around here as it opens up many other spots in the area.

We have been getting on and off great waves as well as having set up full time on the beach with the learn to surf school. We have a great spot on the grass at Diaz beach with the perfect view of overlooking the beach. The surf school will also be there as extra eyes to make it a safer place to swim and enjoy yourself. So please be sure to come and join us, our lessons are running from 9am-11am and 12pm-2pm, boards will also be available to hire.

The newest edition to the surf school is out stand up paddle board which will also be available for hire and anyone who wants to give it a go.

I also have whizz kid Jayce Robinson from the U.K with me this summer. I had the privilege to work with him as part of the British Junior squad and now he is out here using Mossel Bay as his training ground. Along with Reubin Ash the two of them are by far the hottest junior talent coming out of the U.K at the moment.

The biggest news though is my association with the Internet surf forecast giant www.magicseaweed.com, check out the link
http://magicseaweed.com/waves-school-of-surfing-Listing/2474/. I have got a listing with them which has a link to an info page so if anyone has any input please let me know. I will also be posting photos regularly so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks for listening and thank you for all your support this year, may it be a great Christmas and Holiday season for you all.

The shipment has arrived

With summer holidays just around the corner a lot of preparation is going into the learn to surf school which i will be running at Diaz Beach in Mossel Bay. Waves School of Surfing and Wave Surf Shop has purchased 12 boards from Dean Geraghty, which will be made available for beginner lessons, rentals, my after school club and a few will also be up for sale.

The Soft boards are perfect for learning to surf, buoyant, thick and still very light making them controllable and very safe to use in the water. What is great about the boards is the fact that there is far less chance of getting injured whilst using them, ideal for the whole family.

If you looking for us this summer we will be down on Diaz beach everyday from December 10 to January 10. If your up for a for a fun day on the beach be sure to come and join us, see staff at Waves surf shop or call to make a booking.

Last week I ventured out of the comfort zone of Mossel Bay and headed to Cape Town for an intensive, week long training camp. There was a really good turn out from the Kommetjie crew including the Brand Brothers, Matt Bromo, Brendon Gibbens and the only girl Tanika Hoffman. We got really lucky with the surf and enjoyed two days of 4ft, strong off shore surf. All these kids training and preparing for Springbok trials

The new star to join the Kommetjie group was young up and coming ripper Jordan Maree who is residing in Kalk Bay. The Kid is only 10 years old and already surfing like a champ, showing mountains of talent.

I also had the privilege to work with the Strand duo of Adin Mazencamp, 9 years old and Steff Burrows, 11 years old. Both these two youngsters also showing so much potential and a massive improvement since working with them in August. This is what is so rewarding in my line of work.

Jaco Steyn and Bjorn Larsen were my only two West coast, Melkbos crew. Unfortunately Bjorn had injured his knee so could not attend the lessons although he did come down to show some support to friend and fellow competitor Jaco.

This meant Jaco and I were flexible as to where we could have the lesson. Jaco and I made a last minute decision to go to Elands bay and as luck would have it, we arrived Wednesday morning pleasantly surprised when greeted by fun 2-4 ft, no wind,perfect waves peeling down the point. We surfed Lambert's Bay for lunch and Elands Bay again for dinner then took the long drive home only getting back to the city at 8pm that night.

I got back to Mossel Bay Late on Sunday night and was so happy to see my two girls, Lynette and Kristin. Monday morning I woke up to perfect 3-4ft Outer pool, with not a breath of wind. The tide was pushing and by lunch time were surfing inner pool, still cooking breaking all the way from Fishermans rock with only 4 guys out. So happy to be back home. Go the Bokke!

Tow in Maddness

Howzit guys, almost a month since the last update. Sorry to keep you all waiting for the latest news and photos. Weekend before last the Yamaha gang with Jason Ribbink came down to Mossel Bay to do a demo day for the local surfers and dealership. Shaun Joubert and Michael Shepperd joined us on the beach for what was going to be a good laugh.

It was an awesome sunny day, only two foot at Diaz Beach but for anyone who has been towed behind a ski will know how much fun it is.

The highlight of the session was when Jason and I went out around behind the Point and towed in at a reef that has never been towed before. It was not very big, i would guesstimate in the 3-6 foot range, open ocean swell. Jason was very impressed with the set up so hopefully by next winter we will be all over this reef/slab getting the waves our lives. Will keep you posted on the developments there.

Training camp a success

Hi everyone, i am so proud to inform you that the first of many training camps was an absolute success. During the S.A champs i rounded up 10 of the best surfers in the country including Shaun Joubert, u/18 S.A champ Matt Bromley, U/16 S.A champ Davey Brand his brother Benji brand, u/16 girls S.A champ Bianca Buitendag just to name a few. Jacob Mellish and Tanika Hoffman also attended from Cape Town , Arthur and Vincent Withers as well as Daniel Buitendag also attended the camp.

On the first day we woke up to a beautiful sunrise but very disappointing surf, howling onshore and lumpy. We started the day with a nice run along the the beautiful Bosbokduin beach, we did a dynamic warm up session and played some touch rugby. On the run back we found a lekker big dune which we ran a few times to finish off the morning training session we did about 30 min stretching.

Everyone retired to their castles for breakfast, i had arranged 4 thatch roofed houses in the Bosbokduin nature reserve right on Dolphin point, the perfect setting for such a camp. After breakfast we headed to Still bay main beach where we played some more touch as if we were preparing for the Currie Cup final we topped the session off by playing the life saving game, flags. The idea was to add an element of fun into the rigorous fitness regime.

As the surf was not playing along it was impossible to do heat drills, at this point the kids just wanted to surf. The kids surfed and where filmed after which we went home for late lunch and video analysis. We finished the day just in time to go to the local pub to watch the Currie Cup finals on the big screen. That evening we got together and had a lovely braai fortunately we had an indoor braai as the wind was still very strong.

Day two the onshore was still blowing so we started the day with a very similar warm up and fitness session. After breakfast the sun came out and the wind dropped off to turn out into a perfect day. We were also pleasantly surprised to find a super fun right hander right on our door step, this would be the venue for the mini contest.

The contest went down really well and the on form Shaun Joubert took the win over a hard working absolutley ripping Matt Bromley, Davey Brand finished 3rd and Jacob Mellish 4th. Families hung out on the beach while the kids competed, all in all i believe everyone had a great time. It was a great way for the families to have a weekend away and the kids to learn, it was an awsome weekend which everyone enjoyed. I am really looking forward to holding more of these camps in the future.

O.M.G

The Oakley Global Challenge serves up perfect barrels and perfect all round waves at
the high performance wave of Keramas Bali, Indonesia. From the get go Shaun was clearly out on a mission to win the event with massive heat score all through the event.
The 19-year-old was all class in the barrelling right-handers, weaving through the eye of two reeling tubes to snare a pair of near-perfect 9’s (9.5 & 9.43). After the heat, Joubert said he was pleased to be in Bali.

The duo of Nick Godfrey and Shaun Joubert were flying the flag high with both of them having sterling performances. Both making a name for themselves and South Africa by showing the rest of the world the level of talent we have here on our home soil.

Nick Godo was on fine form and made it all the way to the quarter finals finishing 5th overall. Quintin Jones was also there as Nick's mentor and coach and was able to bare witness to the amazing world class surfing that went down at Karama's.

Shaun Jobert went on another round to the semi finals where he met his match in the talented Marc Lacomare from France and unfortunately bowed out and finished 3rd overall.

The boys are still in Indonesia enjoying a solid ground swell, the event finished a few days earlier which has allowed them to sit back and enjoy some good surf with friends after a there hard work and big effort. Look forward to hearing all about it when you get home Kido.

Other news hot off the press is that Mossel bay charger and all round ripper and nice guy Indy Rookin-Smith has been selected to surf the Springbok trials after an excellent performance at the S.A surfing Championships. The trials will be held in Port Alfred on Saturday 29th of November. Well done and good luck

Reef Wetsuits S.A junior Champs

WOW! What an event. Last week i drove up to Durban 16 hours to go coach the Southern Cape Junior team. The team overall did really well and placed 5th out of 8 which means there is room for improvement. All the kids really did well and for those who did not make the semi or finals they gave it their all and went down fighting.

Stand outs in the Southern Cape Team were Indi Rookin-Smith & Adel Nortjie both from Mossel Bay and both placed equal 5th in the U/18 division. Bianca Buitendag from Victoria Bay won the U/16 division, she not only won but smoked her fellow competitors scoring 17.65 out of a possible 20 the closest was second place Heidi Palmboom with a heat total of 9.00.

Roxy Giles competed in her first ever S.A champs and with pure grit and determination qualified for the finals where she finished 3rd overall.

Other stand outs in the Southern Cape Team were Daniel Buitendag 5th in the U/14, Dylan Reddering from Plet who surfed the bigger conditions with courage and Vincent Withers.

The surf was fantastic the whole event except the first day which was onshore, for the the rest of the event the surf was cooking. It was almost called the Reef Wetsuits big waves S.A junior champs.

Other students that i am currently working with that were also very impressive at the event was of coarse overall S.A u/18 208 junior Champion Matt Bromley. Matt was surfing smooth and polished the entire event to take the win over my main man Brendon Gibbens. Brendon was looking to take the title with some really hard committed surfing, he was a standout at the event and has finally broken his 5th place rut that he has been stuck in. The hard work these kids are putting in finally paying off.

In the U/16 Davey Brand walked away with the win over fellow competitor Jacob Mellish who finished 3rd. Davey was looking hot from the first day and was the man to beat surfing to the criteria, hard fast and tight in the pocket. Jacob has been putting allot of effort into his surfing and his results are proof, he has come along way in the last couple months and can be very proud of his improvement.

Little power house Benji Brand walked away with a win in the u/12 division putting the rest of his competitors to shame by scoring 17.00 out of 20 his nearest threat was the ripper from Cape Town Max Armstrong who placed second with a heat total of 8.75.

Well done to all the competitors i am very impressed with the standard of surfing and am looking forward to seeing these kids grow into mature rippers one day.

After school club

Last week Thursday 25th September we had an amzing day for the after school club, the sun was shinning not much wind and the tide neaps just perfect not to high and not to low. The white waters the kids were catching reformed into small little waves breaking left and right.

Simone, Nickolas and Chad all had some great waves every one was so stoked. It was an ideal situation, my assistant coach Andries was pushing the kids into the waves while i stood waist deep and got some great pictures with my new water proof digital camera.

The after school club runs every Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 5pm at Diaz beach depending on the surf conditions. With summer just around the corner we can look forward some epic conditions and just lots and lots of fun.

S.J in Indo

After winning the Oakley pro junior in Durban at the beginning of the year Shaun Joubert was given a wild card in the international Oakley pro Junior in Indo. Here are a couple of shot showing Shaun Blowing up and warming up for the event. Shaun has been on fine form of late after winning the Mr price pro Junior in Durban and finishing 3rd at the Billabong in J-bay a couple weeks ago that result qualifying him for the World Junior championships which will be held at Narabeen Australia.

Between school work, contest and the odd sick J-bay swell Shaun has been putting in alot of time in the water and on the beach. He has been training really hard and has been very focus for the event in Indo, with all the effort he has been putting in i am sure a substantial result or even a win will be very achievable. Good luck over there Shauno, fly that flag bru we will be shouting out for you this side in the Baai.

Billabong JNR a success

What a success the 2008 Billabong Junior in Jefferies bay was. It was a well run event with great waves and a fantastic atmosphere. Thursday day was pretty small an inconsistent so the kids had to work hard to advance to the next day.

The swell forecast was looking really positive for Friday first thing was cold and wet and still no sign of any swell, by the time the first heat started swell had started pulling in, perfectly groomed 4 foot sets. The perfect place where some of the best junior surfing went down in both the u/16 and u/20 divisions.Dale Staples lit up the excellent surf at The Point in Jeffreys Bay on Day 2 of the fifth and final event in the 2008 Billabong Junior Series on Friday, posting a near perfect score of 9.25 out of 10 for a deep tube ride. Shaun Joubert was hot on his heels with an outstanding performance both technically and tactically throwing huge fans of spray on every turn. Other stand outs in the U/20 must go to Kacey Grant who has been impressive since i came back on the scene 6 month ago.

The swell held through the day and Saturday morning brought perfect lines into Jefferies bay once again. A slight decrease in swell size, light rain and light variable winds are forecast for Saturday. The provisional schedule shows a full day of action with the Pro Junior Round of 16 followed by the quarterfinals of the U16’s and U14’s before the eight Pro Junior girls take to the water in one-on-one heats competing for an invitation to the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships and the FNB sponsored R12 000 that goes towards the airfare to Australia.

The perfect day was ended off by a big get together and a lekker braai but on by the boys and girls from Billabong. The surf had been great the fires going and cold beer was available for everyone of age what an end to a superb day.

Sunday morning we woke up to clean 2-3 foot surf a slight decrease after the light afternoon onshore from the day before totally contestable. Just as the first heat started so did the onshore and conditions deteriorated through the day making the high scoring rides difficult to find although there were still plenty of waves and sets, to win the event you were going to have to be totally 100% FOCUSED.

Congratulations to all the kids that participated it was an honour to watch all these talented kids surf to their best ability there are just way to many to mention them all by name.

Stand out results came from Jacob Mellish from the Strand winning the U/16, Jacob was on fine form throughout the event and was the man to beat. Davey Brand was surfing amazingly during the entire contest and wave selection let him down to end up 2nd over all, a well deserved result. Both these boys clearly benefiting from all the hard work they have been putting into their sport of choice. J.C de Souza was also looking great with big fans of spray on every turn showing everyone that he will be a force to reckon with in the future.

Shaun Joubert was ripping as usual and was well on his way to winning the event when a choice in his semi final let him down. With 8min to go Shaun went on a wave that was not to improve a score and gave priority to competitor and good friend Dale Stapples who had been a stand out the whole week.

Dale went on to win the Semi final and the event, Congratulation bro you are surfing really well and looking good keep it up.

A big Shout out must go to Klee Strachen and family for the overall Billabong series title. A true example of focus, dedication and hard work.

Bianca Buitendag finished second to Sarah Braum from Durban who also made the finals of the u/16 boys she was looking really good on her back hand out at the point of Jeffiries Bay all week and was definitely the lady to beat. Bianca had had exceptional semi final, woman on woman heat with WQS campaigner Nikita Robb. She took her down with her strong new and improved vertical back had re-entries turning average scoring waves into excellent scoring waves, to qualify for the final.

Fellow Brother Daniel Buitendag in the U/14 with his improved confidence and surfing breezed through his competition to make the final where he came unstuck and finished 3rd over all. He was a stand out in his division with big off the tops done with total commitment earning himself big scores.

In the U/12 Benji Brand finished a consist ant 3rd overall and was definitely once again the man to beat. This kid has been surfing so well for a few years now and it seems he has had a life time in the U/12. This result secured him the overall Billabong series champion, compensations for his disappointing result in the final. Benji was looking confident and polished which showed when he was scoring 8's in his quarter and semi final. Well done Kido.

Other stand outs in this division were Max Armstrong, Jordan Maree and little legends Ethan Fletcher and Aiden Maizemcamp and of coarse the the Wichmans. Its amazing to see the standard of surfing at such a young age, South Africa has a bright future.

All in all a great event for everyone involved parents, judges, coaches. organisers and sponsors.

Also big thanks to De Agrellas from Indi back backers for having me.

Out of touch in action

It’s been some time since you last heard from me and waves s’cool’ of surfing. The reason being is that my digital camera went on the blink so I was unable to document the cooking surf and the amazing achievements of the junior rippers in South Africa.


Since then we celebrated my big 30 which was a blast, with it came a sweet little water proof digital camera, what a thoughtful gift. Now we are back on track.

In that time I spent two weeks in Cape Town. I mustered up half the WP team and with that another half dozen of the best surfers from in and around Cape Town ranging in ages from 9 to 18.
It was an intense couple of weeks it was so rewarding to see the marked improvement in each and every individual by the end. It was a pleasure to work with the kids and get to know then on a personal level and all of them were intent on learning.
Whilst in Cape Town I competed in the Cold water classic and made the quarter finals the last day being held at Crayfish Factory. Stand outs of the kids I assisted were Davey Brand and Matt Bromley.

Davey was looking confident and solid throughout the event and achieved a well deserved 2nd in the juniors whilst Matt still a Junior surfed Crayfish Factory like a right hand point break with beautiful arks and turns in the pocket. He was on fire from his first heat and placed 4th overall in the open men. Big shout out must go to Dan Redman for his brilliant win.

Bianca in the meantime was on fine form in Europe competing in some Junior and open WQS events, she competed in three events improving her results in each contest she took part in. Portugal she finished 9th, France she finished 7th and Spain 5th. Congratulation young lady, Big future ahead of you.

The weekend after I got back to Mossel Bay was the Rip Curl Junior. It was an awesome event with some great waves both days were in the 2-4 foot range although Sunday was a little inconsistent. The man on man heats near the end of day 2 suited the surf perfectly. Stand outs at the point where, Davey Brand 1st and Jacob Mellish 2nd in the u/16, Benji Brand the man to beat placed 2nd in the u/14 with Daniel Buitendag with a solid performance 3rd. Sabrina Scott placed 3rd and the most improved Tanika Hoffman finished 1st to win the premier u/16 division.

In between all of that I was fortunate to score J-bay and get some perfect spring Mossel bay perfection. I was also stoked to get a section in a U.K surf film produced by Mr B the leading producer. The film is called “substance” it gives a true reflection of U.K its waves and its surfers check out http://www.substancesurffilm.com/ for more info.



Peace love and happiness.

S.A Champs

Eastern Province Surfing Team made history on the final day of the 2008 Reef Wetsuits SA Championships at Victoria Bay Sunday July 27 when they won the Presidents Cup for the first time.Thanks to brilliant performances in their respective finals by their newly crowned SA Men's Champion Shaun Payne and Under 20 Boys champion Nick Godfrey, plus some fine supporting efforts by Men's runner up Simon Fish and Under 20 Girls runner up Faye Zoetmulder.

The final day of competition in the 43rd SA Championships was held in typical 4 - 6 foot Victoria Bay surf that peeled across the bay right up until the last siren. A few rain squalls did nothing to spoil the great vibe created by hosts Southern Cape who made sure that the 200 or so visitors from as far afield as Durban were well looked after.

Southern Cape created a bit of history themselves when the brilliant fourteen year old Bianca Buitendag took the Under 20 Girls title in style to become the youngest surfer ever to win a title in any division at the South African Championships.

Competing in the Under 18 Division, Buitendag came seventh in the recent ISA World Junior Championships in France then won the Mr Price Pro Junior in Durban before coming second in a major Pro Junior event in France just 10 days ago.

During the SA Championships none of her heat scores were under 16 out of a possible 20 points and during the event she scored a 9.50 ride, the highest single wave score in any division. Buitendag’s points in the final were 16.5 giving her an average heat score of 17 and understandably she was awarded the trophy as the Junior Surfer of the Contest.

Nick Godfrey waited until the Final of the Under 20 Boys Division to show what he is capable of and despite the best efforts of local star Shaun Joubert, Godfrey had the edge over the favourite beating him into second spot by 16.5 points to 14.5.

In a thrilling Men's Final the lead changed hands at least four times but in the end it was Shaun Payne who posted 17.40 points in the heat and his EP teammate Simon Fish managed 15.25 to grab the runner-up berth.Southern Cape talisman Llewellyn Whittaker needed one more good wave after his 9.0 point ride to make a charge for the lead but his 13 points were only good enough for third place. Nevertheless his fine performance throughout the event and his huge backhand attack on every wave he rode made him a popular choice as Surfer of the Contest.Matthew Kruger of KZN on 12.75 was fourth.

In winning the Presidents Cup, Eastern Province scored 41560 points to Border's 37954 points while Western Province were third with 34370.Southern KZN scored 33684 to finish fourth, KZN were fifth on 32746, Boland came sixth with 25270 and Southern Cape were seventh on 21794.

Southern Cape with their sterling performance once again would have finished in the top three but it is due to the lack of "Colour" in our team that led to the last place finish as point were deducted because of this. I now want to make a huge call to everyone and anyone out there that is interested in surfing to please contact me. It is a great sport with a fantastic life style and plenty of opportunities which can to be enjoyed my every color and race.

FULL RESULTSOPEN MEN1. SHAUN PAYNE (EP)2. SIMON FISH (EP)3. LLWELLYN WHITTAKER (S/CAPE)4. MATT KRUGER (KZN)OPEN WOMEN1. HEATHER CLARK (S/KZN)2. STACEY GUY (WP)3. KIRSTY DELPORT (KZN)4. ROXY TOWILL (WP)UNDER 20 BOYS1. NICK GODFREY (EP)2. SHAUN JOUBERT (S/CAPE)3. MICHAEL FEBRUARY (WP)4. CLINTON GRAVETT (BOR)UNDER 20 GIRLS1. BIANCA BUITENDAG (S/CAPE)2. FAYE ZOETMULDER (EP)3. ALICE MC GREGOR (BOR)4. CHANTELLE RAUTENBACH (BOL)JUNIOR SURFER OF THE CONTEST BIANCA BUITENDAG (S/CAPE)SURFER OF THE CONTESTLLWELLYN WHITTAKER (S/CAPE)TEAMS1. EASTERN PROVINCE 415602. BORDER 379543. WP 343704. SOUTHERN KZN 326845. KZN 327466. BOLAND 252707. SOUTHERN CAPE 21794

Southern Cape Dominates

Hello everyone, its update time and this is definitely worth a read. After a very successful weekend Bianca Buitendag and Shaun Joubert win the Mr Price Pro Junior in Durban. In tricky, small and shifty conditions both Bianca and Shaun to win the woman's and men's U/20 respectively.

Binaca was very fortunate to advance through her semi final when she had an interference call within the first five minutes. It was through pure guts and determination that she came back to score a magnificent 8.7 ride to still win the heat.

In her final she again cause an interference but stayed focused on what she needed to do and that was to win the final. On her last wave she went to town and score an 8 point ride again proving to her older counter parts that she was and will be a force to reckon with. She took the final amongst stiff competition.

Shaun Joubert was on fine form throughout the competion. In the final he went to town on one wave and scored the only perfect 10 of the contest to become the Mr price pro Champion. Shaun was looking good all through the event and took the win in style with big committed turns. Congratulation kids i am so proud of you. Keep up the good work. Both have been working really hard over the last two months and clearly the win today is their reward.

News Flash

News flash, news flash, Bianca Butiendag has won the Rip Curl Junior pro Durban. After starting the contest with solid heat scores she went on to win the Rip Curl pro in style. Bianca and myself have been working together for about two months now and since then she has finished 9th at the World Games in France after a stellar performance.

It has been a privilege to work with such a committed, dedicated and enthusiastic, talented young individual. The girl has mountains of talent and is showing maturity beyound her age group, her back hand surfing is also second to non. She has been working really hard over the last two months and already the results are starting to show, Well done Bianca i am so proud of you.

Congratulations and a big shout out must also go to my little champion Benji Brand for winning the u/12 and u/14 division and to his Big brother Davey for placing second in U/16 after winning at the King of the Groms in Mossel Bay the previous weekend.

This week i am off to Durban to coach, Shaun Joubert, Daniele and Bianca Buitendag and the Brand brothers while they are competing at the Mr Price Pro Junior. We will be look at doing well in the event but also mixing the trip up with some hard core training and marketing.

Stay tuned for results and updates

King of the Groms

Hi Guys, sorry for not being in touch just been really busy and don't for one second think we have not been scoring waves cause we have. In fact thank goodness the onshore is here today so we can rest.

WOW, what a weekend for the Quiksilver king of the Groms, Inner Pool, Mossel Bay. The weather was amazing both days with light and variable wind making for ideal contest conditions. Saturday was a little inconsistent but there were still some bomb sets it just meant that you had to be a bit more patient and tactics also came into play.

It was sad to see my young guns Reubin, Arthure, Danile and Vincent fall at the way side not because of ability but simply down to wave selection. I was very proud though to see each and everyone of them try their hardest and give the other competitors a run for their money.

Sunday we woke up to a glorious sunrise,offshore breez, low tide and pushing, with a rising swell how could the kids not be amped to demolish the ever increasing perfect inner pool waves.

Stand out at the event in my eyes were, Klee, Steven Sawyer, Davey and Benji Brand. Big shout out must got to my main man and overall winner of the u/20 King of the Groms, Shaun Joubert. Congratulations my friend on a fine performance.

World Champs

What and exciting end to last month with the Junior world champs help in France. Two of my students Bianca Bruitendag and Shaun Joubert were right there in the thick of things mixing it up with the best Juniors from around the world. Both finished 9th overall with some excellent performances in some heats.

Shaun started the event with a massive heat score of 18 out of twenty in his first heat. Bianca on the other hand had a slow start but was consistently making it through heats and then came the big heat scores. Both Bianca and Shaun surfed impressively throughout the event and certainly turned some heads and gave themselves a solid reputation.

South Africa finished 9th over and 4th overall in the tag team

I am really and truly so proud of my two kids I strongly believe they both have the talent and the focus to win a world title it was just not the 2007 world title. They will both however in the future be winning world titles.

Keep up the good work kids and good luck with the rest of your exams. Enjoy the weekend rest up and study hard,training starts on Monday.

Other pleasures

What a beautiful weekend! It does not matter where or when you are in the Cape or South Africa, one just can not ignore the fact that we live in such an amazingly gorgeous country despite the more controversial problems we experience. My good friend Jason Louw and his wife invited us last minute and boy am i glad i did.

This weekend we spent camping on the Breede rivier at a place called River Zicht. No reason for the get away other than to get away and experience life away from the coast. Where we were was very close to Route 62 where all the wine farms are.

This time of the year is a little chili but thank goodness for electric blankets, although we are going into winter, it did mean that it would quite and peaceful. Our bush camp was right on the waters edge which was so amazing waking up to first thing. Sunday morning there was a light mist which added to the already peaceful serenity. Fishing was the highlight of our day although we weren't catching a thing not getting even a bite but we all know it was not about catching the biggest fish. All in all a great weekend with friends family and close ones made for a great weekend that everybody enjoyed.

I love this part of the world so much to see and do.

The Garden Route

Hope all of you had a very good weekend. We were blessed with perfect surf and sunshine here on the Garden Route once again. Woke up Sunday morning to another glorious day the the Bay. Took a drive around the point and from looking at conditions there one can tell if there are going to be waves elsewhere. Conditions were epic, not a breath of wind a small 2m swell running these kind of conditions open the door to many many other unsurfed uncrowded spots.

No one but no one wanted to go on a surf mission so instead i call my girlfriend and in a flash she was ready to go spend the day on the beach. Dog, child, girlfriend, braai, boards and suits packed and off we go. We pulled up to this bank that i found beginning of last week and as expected it was going off the only downer was i would have to surf it by myself. The wave we have been surfing is this sick right hander 3-4 foot shollow sand bar with barrels and long long walls, some people in other parts of the world pay thousands of dollars to surf. Anyway i got the fire going and paddled out just a short surf after a while i came in and the coals were perfect to put the boerawors on the braai.

We all had a nice feed and then the boys started showing up after being relieved of all their Sunday duties. We paddled out for another session and it was great, to share them with some buddies, the conditions stayed epic all day and into early evening. A perfect day which was ended with vetkoek and mince for supper.

New board

Hello to all my readers, how can I not share with you the excitement of getting a new board. When I was in the U.K I was riding for a Welsh shaper named John Purtin, a brilliant shaper and a fantastic guy. JP was shaping me some of the best boards i had ever ridden only due to a good personal relationship with lots of feed back which enabled us to get the boards just perfect. One of my biggest concerns when moving back to South Africa was who was going to shape me my boards. I had been seeing some fantastic boards come out of Graham Smiths factory and thought would give them a try. I guess I am bit more old school where I like to use one shaper and work really closely with him. All my boards I use grip so this morning i put on a sick Ocean & Earth pad, the board is now ready to go, I am just itching to find some surf. If I score some waves later I will let you all know.

seek and thee shall find

Hi guys, got a call today from Anton Joubert, saying my board was ready to be picked up at George airport. So naturally I dropped everything to go grab the board, a brand new Graham Smith,G-force, on the way I picked Jason Van Vuuren up with the intention to surf on the way home. As usual when you least it expect that's when you score. The wind was strong NW, the tide low and pushing the forcast for the swell to pick up. We stoped to check some beach breaks out and this is what we found, three sick waves within a space of a couple hundred meters. There were two right handers and one left, the sand banks just made for epic surf. With only two of us it was a bit nerve recking but the waves were that good that we had to paddle out. We had a couple on the left in front of the car park as it was breaking closest in. Boy i wish i had a crew with me to enjoy these empty perfect waves. Happy day in Mossel bay.

Woke up this morning to another glorious day the Bay. Sun rise was at 7.20am this morning and the sky behind the mountain in the East looked like it was on fire. The wind was a light westerly and the tide was dropping a sweet 2.5m swell running, perfect conditions for the point. Paddled out with two good friends and half an hour later another good friend paddled to join in on the the fun. Imagine perfect 4 foot surf slight offshore barreling on the inside with only four of your best friends in the water hooting each other into waves and watching them get spat out of barrels on the inside section. Its what dream are made of.

Grom Session

I made a trip down to Cape Town for my very good friends wedding, the surf was huge and out of control but the weather absolutely fine, typical Cape Autumn weather. Whilst down in Cape Town I met up with Ethan Fletcher and his good friend and next door neighbour Jordan.I met them at their home in Kommetjie, the two boys bravely though they were going to surf 4-6 foot long beach so it was the coaches decision to move the lesson to Fishhoek where we found a perfect 2/3 foot wave to work with. These two kids are the future of South African surfing and both have the potential to be the best surfers in the world with the right guidance and support. I have worked with Ethan before and at the young age of 8 is showing mountains of potential, it is great meeting with him and watching him grow and mature within his surfing. I met and worked with Jordan for the very first time and am really looking forward to working with him in the future. This kid is also showing heaps of potential and was really focused and attentive in the lesson, its really rewarding seeing these kids with open minds just wanting to learn.

Family Fun Day

Waves S’cool’ of surfing family fun day was an absolute success. The weather was glorious with beautiful sunshine and a light cool breeze perfect Mossel Bay Autumn weather. Families from around the Southern Cape with their excited Kids started arriving early. We had about 100 people show up during the course of the day to enjoy the fantastic weather and waves.

The atmosphere was one of excitement, friendliness and happiness the beach was electric with all that was happening. Some of the kids we had to drag out of the water at the end of the day.
Diaz beach provided perfect waves for the day with a gentle wind and relatively small waves ideal for learning.
Everyone that took part were very grateful for the once in a life time opportunity to stand up and ride a wave. The exuberating feeling that one gets from riding a wave is unique and was enjoyed by people that put a wetsuit on and paddled out to take on the surf.

Everyone that did come to the Family fun day went home very happy and like me very tired and exhausted. After a day in the sun and having that much fun anyone would feel good. Surfing is the ideal way to get together as a family on the beach, to be active, and enjoy a healthy life style.

Due to the success of the Waves S’cool’ Family Fun Day Llewellyn Whittaker in conjunction with Waves surf shop intend to grow and improve the family fun day and will be running many more this year.

To those who did come and enjoy the fun we want to say thank you for the support and those who could not make it, we look forward to sharing the experience with you next time.

Waves S'cool' of surfing

Waves S'cool' of surfing has arrived! In conjunction with Michael Sheppard from Waves surf shop, Llewellyn Whittaker has joined forces to bring the first of its kind to the Southern Cape and to the country. A surf school/academy that can cater for every surfer from beginner to elite both young and old, boys and girls. The main focus of the surf school will be to give all aspiring professional surfers the opportunity to get the right training in order to become the best of the best. Any surfer that wants to improve his/her skills will want to be a part of this academy as it will and can only be beneficial to their career. The school is based in Mossel bay which is centrally located on the Garden route. The wide variety of surf will make for excellent training.