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The
swell is BIG. It's mid-winter and
there is a nip in the air. Louis has
got us out of bed early and we are
standing looking at the Wild Side.
The wind is a north- wester - straight
offshore here.
The swell is 10-12ft coming out of
the southwest in 5 wave sets.
"We gonna battle to find manageable
waves in this swell guys!" chirps
Jules. "What about G Reef?" says Glenn.
"I could really handle 10ft plus lefts
peeling for 300m!"
The crew's minds are working now,
mentally ticking off the possibilities.
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"We
gonna surf Wild Point, guys", announces
Louis. "It's spring low tide", I
mumble to no one in particular.
"Then we'll get it cooking on the
push," says Louis.
"OK, your car, your call" is the
consensus.
Louis skilfully points the Hyundai
northeast, and we're on the road.
A good highway carries us towards
the Wild Coast, but this smooth
passage is going to get rougher.
Oh yes, much rougher. Louis is on
his cellphone. "Hello Dave. Listen,
we are going to Wild Point. Remain
on standby please". "Who was that,
Louis?" we ask. "My mechanic", he
says.
Thirty minutes later we are on a
dirt road, and Louis is practising
all his driving skills to find the
smoothest section of a dusty road
in the middle of nowhere.
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Fifty
km later we are negotiating a little
bridge over a stream that runs onto
a remote beach. A hairpin bend takes
us to a lookout spot in a bay.
"Holy mackerel" is the cry as a 6
ft set peels across the inside and
runs for a time before bombing out
on a shallow sandbar. The boys are
out of the car. "That was a bit quick",
I exclaim. "That was a tube ride of
note", we agree.
"Let's check out the point", says
Louis. "It's gonna be firing". This
is a bad road, but we negotiate it
in record time and move steadily along
the trail before bumping to a halt
at the tip of the point.
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A
perfect offshore is warm already and
fans a set which rolls in slow motion
down the point. Wild Point at last!
"When it's slow motion it's bigger
than it looks", say I, the wise one.
"Let's check out the next set", says
Glenn. "It's only a little overhead".
The next set looks mellow. Probably
get bigger as the tide pushes.
We wax up. The next set is way overhead
and it's a scramble to suit up. We
gingerly pick our way along the waters
edge where fresh spring water bubbles
onto the shingle.
As we stand on the point waiting to
jump off, a 6-8ft set roars through.
It's getting bigger! The boys are
whooping and screaming. I leap off
the rock after these beasts have peeled
past and get out without getting my
hair wet.
The others follow but I'm first up
on the first wave of the next set.
The air rushes past my ears as I paddle
like hell, and drop into a beauty.
A bottom turn draws me onto a big
wall which stands up in front of me.
I must use all my skill to pick a
high line along a thick wall. It feels
like my board is just touching the
water surface. My eventual exit far
down the line is spectacular as I
fly high like a kite surfer! Slow
motion waves, my butt.
Whooping and yelling, we fly along
fast powerful waves for 3 hours. Exciting
drops. Power bottom turns. Carving
high-speed top turns. Round tube sections.
Jules gets the tube ride of the day.
Not a soul in sight. Good call Louis!
This is our wild coast.
Louis
and Roger run Dawnpatrol, a surf
tour operator based in East London
on South Africa's south east coast.
They and their support team move
up and down the coast, surfing the
best waves on offer between Jeffrey's
Bay and the Natal South Coast. Check
out their site on www.dawnpatrol.co.za.
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