Time is flying by and you haven’t had an update in a while but we have plenty backed up so expect a little flourish in the next week! Jeffreys Bay was epic, I don’t really know how else to put it! We got incredibly lucky with the waves, and when we were finally surfed out we went and had a bit of time off at the waterfall amongst other things.
Island Vibe, the place where we stay in Jeffreys Bay (J-Bay) has the most amazing setting. It is literally atop a sand dune overlooking two good surf spots with a gate from the backpackers to the beach. To top it off they serve great food and have a lively bar on the premises.
Whilst in Jeffreys Bay they get coaching from Etienne who has coached the National team and also many of SA’s top juniors. It is interesting for the group to see the various styles of coaching and also of course for us to see how one person can get through to someone where another couldn’t. Etienne has quite a technical style and it was good for a lot of the guys to iron out some of their faults.
More than anything though when we get to J-Bay are the waves. It is home to arguably the best right pointbreak in the world and luckily is scattered with several other great waves. The two spots in front of where we stay are absolutely perfect for us for two reasons. Firstly it is perfect for the level the group is at and secondly every wave breaks almost identically. What this translates to is a solution for one of surfing’s biggest problems when it comes to coaching: not having a consistent surface to practice on. For a tennis player they can practice that serve a million times over, but when it comes to surfing every wave is different and even catching that wave is hard. So the consistency of kitchens was a welcome gift.
To top it all off we arrived just as an epic four day swell hit J-Bay, followed by a second pulse and for eight days straight we had good clean waves with great weather!! Needless to say the level of surfing in the group really jumped in those first few days, and by that I mean everyone, from those catching their first good face wave to those mastering their cutbacks!
When it eventually went onshore we decided it was the right time to go to the waterfall and get some time away from the beach. It is a really beautiful spot on a farm with a little waterfall and a zip line running down from a five meter ledge into a deep pool. We baked in the sun, had a little picnic and just basically had loads of fun!
Oh yes, we also scored Supertubes, a couple of the guys in the group decided to take it on, it wasn’t all time but was big enough to be running down the point, check the photos for more!
Video coming soon,
Chris