Jeffreys Bay (JBay) is always a very eagerly anticipated stop amongst the riders. As coaches we speak very highly of it as well. This is for a few reasons, first and foremost; right on the doorstep of our accommodation are two incredible waves, namely ‘Phantoms’ and ‘Kitchen Windows’. On any given session out there is potentially the best wave of any of our lives, its that good! Plus just a few kilometres down the road lies the best right hand point break in the world so it’s needless to say we were quite spoilt for choice. Another reason that our stay in Jeffreys Bay is so memorable is because at our accommodation at Island Vibe Backpackers we’re hosted with such incredible hospitality, the friendliness of the staff and backpackers alike makes for a fun and vibrant stay.
Jbay for Ticket to Ride is notorious for being a bit of a ‘party’ stop as the bar facilities and layout at Island Vibe are really one of a kind and many locals and tourists frequent the bar to enjoy the occasional live music, pool table, banter and beer pong matches. The perfect way to end a long day of surfing with your friends, by sharing stories from the water over a beer or three.
It isn’t all partying in Jbay though, the party is well earned mostly after a day of surfing in sometimes tricky conditions under the guidance of Jbay local and legend Etienne, who is our surf coach whilst we’re there. Etienne is also the South African mens senior coach and a real source of information and help in the water. On this particular trip we were fortunate enough to surf a few new spots along with the regular ones so the guys really got to get a real taste of whats on offer in Jbay as well as test themselves in different waves and conditions, learning plenty about navigating themselves over rocks, reading a rip and surfing a point break.
At every stop we at Ticket to Ride try to give back to the community that hosts us, in Jbay we once again got involved with the Supertubes Foundation in a nearby disadvantaged community. They encourage the kids in the community to collect recycling and to once a week bring it down to their premises where it is weighed and exchanged for credit which the kids can then use to buy things from the Supertubes Surfing Foundation shop which includes items like clothing, toys, sporting equipment, stationery, staple food products, school books and more. We helped them sort through recycling and manage the crowds that came through to partake in this great initiative.