Betty’s Bay ‘Crime’ Scene – 5 dead sharks

After being alerted by a local resident, Michelle, last night that there were 5 dead sharks on Main Beach, Betty’s Bay we walked the beach looking for their corpses to try to figure out what might be the cause of their deaths. Finding four of the five in the darkness – they all showed exactly, the same apparent cause of death. Namely that their throats seemed to have been ripped out. They were cow sharks, or sevengill sharks, the oldest sharks in the shark evolutionary ladder. They are rare sharks. Betty’s Bay, New Zealand and Tasmania being three of the main hotspots in the world for this species. These were all females. Our torch light examination revealed an almost surgical incision of the wound in each case. We had heard the stories of how the two male orcas who frequent our coast (named Port and Starboard) had killed several great white sharks. It was hard to believe however that the preciseness of these injuries was the work of an orca. Between Edward of Cape Nature and ourselves we phoned the best shark people we knew which included Meaghen McCord of the South African Shark Conservancy, as well as Pippa Ehrlich who has done much research on the shark-killing whales. They both came immediately from Hermanus and Simonstown and confirmed that the sharks had indeed all been killed by killer whales. It was a classic modus operandi where apparently, the orcas grab a pectoral fin each, flipping the shark over and tugging to split open the throat and chest cavity whereby they suck out the liver. Indeed, the wounds were consistent with that theory and once opening the carcasses the livers were gone. – Mystery solved!
Biometrics were taken as well as DNA samples for further study but it felt good to be part of some citizen science here in our own back yard.

Surfing is one of the amazing and extreme sports you can do on your trips. Apart from relaxing your mind and improving your moods, surfing also benefitsyour cardiovascular, heart, and mental fitness. In case you are new to the sport, you need to undertake guided surfing lessons to help you build confidence and the skills you need for extreme sporting.

You also need to locate the best spots that are ideal for your surfing experience. As a visitor, you need local sporting guides to show you around. In this post, we look at some of the trip destinations for guided surfing around Cape Town. You should consider these beaches if you are planning your trip to South Africa.

1. Longbeach

Long Beach is a sheltered beach located in Cape Peninsula. The surf in Long Beach is consistent, giving you a wonderful surfing experience whenever you want. Winter is the best time for surfing in Long Beach.

The beach is open to the public giving access to all people, and it is a wonderful spot for surfing regardless of your experience. The atmosphere is also friendly. You only need to take care of the crowds and, maybe if you are scared, the sharks.

2. Witsands

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Another wonderful spot for guided day surf trips is the Witsands, which is an exposed beach break. The beach also offers a consistent surf that makes it ideal for beginners as well as experienced surfers. The best time for surfing at Witsands is Winter.

At the Witsands beach, the crowding is low, and you will experience a better surfing environment as a beginner. But you need to be careful because sometimes the rips here make the surf quite dangerous. Maybe this is the reason why there are fewer people.

3. Scarborough

The beach is an exposed point break and has clean groundswells and its best swell prevail from the West. The surf here is inconsistent, and the ideal time for touring Scarborough for surfing is during Summer and Spring.

Remember to carry your rash vestduring Summer because Cape Town is hot during the season. You also need your water bottle to avoid dehydration by the hot sun. The beach is usually crowded when the surf is high. However, the beach has rocks that make it hazardous for surfing. You need to take care not to crash with your surfboard.

4. Cape Point

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The Cape Point os the Southernmost tip of the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town. Cape Point has various beachesthat are good for day surf trips you would enjoy. Some of these beaches include Maclear Beach, Diaz Beach, and Buffels Beach.

You can choose any of the points for your guided day surf trip. Ensure that you do not forget your wetsuitand surfing wax. You can also shoot free GoPro photosto keep your surfing trip memories.

5. Noordhoek

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With waves throughout, the Noordhoek is an exposed beach break which offers you favourable surfing for both right and left waves. Surfing at Noordhoek is ideal during Spring and summer. You will need to carry your sunblockto protect your skin if you come surfing at this point.

The best time to surf here is when the tide is low. The place is not crowded. You, however, need to be careful about sharks, rocks, and urchins that are present here. If you need to carry your surfing gear, you can place a roof rack trayat the top.

6. Llandudno

The Llandudno beach is fairly exposed. Here, the groundswell is more prevalent than the wind swell. The most preferable swell angle is Southwest. One advantage here is that the beach break gives you both the lefts and rights.

However, this beach only works rarely. You can expect a long duration without the right surf for sporting. The Llandudno is usually crowded whenever it is active. Take care when surfing here because sharks are common.

7. Sandy Bay

This sheltered beach break offers a consistent surf that goes flat during Summer. Groundswells work the best here for your surf trip experience. You can rely on the Southeast swell direction, and the beach break is good for both the lefts and rights. Crowding is low here, but you need to be careful regarding sharks.

8. Glen Beach

If you prefer a place with consistent and uninterrupted surf, then Glen Beach is the place to go. Here, the beach is an exposed break with more groundswells than wind swells. Southwest is the most reliable angle for swelling, and right breaking is the best option you have. The place is sometimes busy when the surf is high. But take care because there are rocks and sharks in the area.

9. Blouberg

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When you want to go surfing without worrying about the time of the year, then Blouberg is the best place to visit for a guided day surf. The Bloubergstrand has a fairly consistent surf that works at any season you feel like. The place has no shelter at all, and the offshore winds come from Northeast.

Southwest is ideal for the swell direction, and you can expect more groundswells than wind swells. You will like the beach because it gives you both lefts and rights. Jet skis are also common here, be careful when surfing. The place also gets a bit crowded when the surf is good.

10. Strand (Pipe)

Strand is both a beach and a reef that is exposed. The surf is reliably consistent offering you a great experience all through the year. Here, groundswells are common, and Southwest is the best swell angle with offshore winds coming from the East.

The spot offers both beach brakes of rights and lefts as well as hand reef breaks, left and right. The place gets crowded at times when the tide is good. But be wary of the sharks.

Summing Up

Surfing at Cape Town gives you all the possibilities to enjoy your trip any season around the year. You should not forget to carry your towelto dry yourself after coming out of the water. Also, remember to come with snacksand good vibes. When talking about snacks, who can forget to have a glass of wine and dalmore while traveling around.

Author’s Bio:

Harold is a passionate writer. She enjoys writing about the latest trends all around the globe. Through her writing, she hopes to influence as many people as possible to help build a beautiful world.

Late last year I stopped off at Island Vibe in Jefferys Bay for the night, in the hopes to wake up to some perfect cooking right hand waves at Supertubes. That morning I woke up around 5.30am and made my way down to the beach where only 1 other guy was out, and the waves were firing! I was so stoked and surfed for about 2 hours before I had to leave and continue my journey down to Cape Town. The next day, Phil Craig, the photographer and legend who was taking photos that morning sent me some of the pics along with a line saying, dude, you’ll never believe it but the boys from JackAss are here and staying in the same suite you stayed in. WHAT! I couldn’t believe it, the FOMO was real, I never really get fomo but in that moment I could feel it more than ever, I missed my chance at meeting the dudes from JackAss by a couple of hours, I was bleak!

Then… about 3 days later… I received a call from a friend who runs a surf camp in Indonesia asking me if I would like to show the boys from JackAss around Cape Town for a day or two.. I mean what, are you kidding, this world works in very mysterious ways.

I was meant to be working on the date I was due to pick them up from the airport, so with a little re arranging of the scheduele I was able to free myself up for that day & without hesitation I said yes, I mean come on, who would pass up this epic opportunity to hang out with them for a day and show them all that our beautiful city has to offer, especially after missing them the first time round.

So I made my way to Cape Town International to pick them up. With them was Steve-O, his manager Scotty Randolph, Tommy Caudill, and photographer Paul Briskke, who are all absolute legends ill have you know!

We darted back to the Hotel in Town where they dropped off their luggage and then we hit the coastal road. Now prior to them arriving I was chatting to Scotty asking him what they would like to see and do, giving them a list of different options with epic adventure activities on, which they weren’t interested in. No, they wanted to see Baboons.

So after driving over Chapmans peak and stopping off in Noordhoek for some lunch, we made our way to Gary’s Surf School in Muizenberg where they were going to go surfing. Steve was telling me that every new destination they visit, they like to “get a stamp in their passports” along with photos of each new place they surf. Unfortunately the waves were messy and the wind was up (welcome to Cape Town right), so we decided to jump in the car and carry on our journey to Kommetjie and from there around the mountain towards Cape Point where we would hopefully have sightings of baboons. Now those of you who live here know that you can’t just see baboons on demand so I was bit nervous that I couldn’t deliver, especially after not getting in the water for a surf.

On route to Cape Point we saw the baboon rangers, I stopped the car immediately and we all jumped out. After 10 minutes of looking for them, in the bush, we found them, a whole troop of them! The boys faces lit up and they were stoked, baboons everywhere, from babies to adults, they were doing their thing. I was so relieved! We spend about 30min with them and they were getting some photos and videos to prove their find.

I can’t really say much more of why they were here and what they main objective of being here was but I thought it was a pretty cool story and wanted to share. I find it amazing how the world works. One thing I can tell you is that they may be back here later this year and if they do come back, our new Mobile surf school – Gary’s Mobile Surf School which is run by Matthew, Gary’s son, will definitely get the boys into the water and get that stamp in the passport!

Written by Matthew Kleynhans, 04/19

A deceased juvenile whale shark (Rhincodon typus) has washed ashore in Kommetjie, a truly sad sight to behold this Monday morning.

All Images Alan Van Gysen

Reports coming in from the water are that a couple of surfers witnessed the big fish slugging through the lineup, looking distressed. Moving with the currents more than anything before it eventually washed up on the rocks where it remains. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed. Local authorities, SANPARKS  and NSRI are all on the scene where they will carry out the necessary procedures to ensure the safety of everyone in the water, which may see them pull the shark out to sea and let nature take its course.

The NSRI are also considering launching a boat to sit out the back and keep an eye out for sharks that could potentially have picked up the scent of the fresh carcass. No matter the cause of death, a whale shark washing ashore is highly unordinary. It’s unusual even on a worldwide scale.

All pics by Alan Van Gysen.

New bill passed to accomodate SUP’s, Foils and Paddle Ski’s at Surfer’s Corner, Muizenberg.

With increasing numbers in the water, rising hostility and a series of near fatal collisions between various surf craft, the City of Cape Town will be implementing separate, demarcated surf zones that will effectively segregate surfers, SUPs, foils, and paddle skis at South Africa’s busiest surfing beach, Muizenberg.

The state-of-the art plan was conceptualized by Surfers Corner local and City Of Cape Town town planner Howie Da Silva.

The plan is set to be implemented by 20 April, will include rows of floating buoys to segregate the wave riders by craft, “a bit like swimming pool lanes,” explained Da Silva. “We’re importing the technology from Australia.”

“Obviously due to its popularity surfers will get the biggest, most central area, in front of the change rooms. We want the foils and SUPS in front of the Pavillion, in two neat lines, and the paddle-skis will be quarantined to a small area between the Corner and Bailey’s Cottage.”

“Anyone caught out of their area, is liable for a spot fine. Please obey the beach marshall’s instructions.” Implored Da Silva.

“Depending on how the plan rolls out, we’ll look to separating shortboards and longboards in the next few months.” Said Da Silva. “But it does raise the question where to put mid-length retro single fins, mini-mals and the small committed crew of high-performance longboarders. But we’ll work it out.”

The plan is set to create new challenges for the Shark Spotters as they now have a much wider area to survey.

This is no quota system. Nor token selections. Nor an “ag shame, give them a chance”  development team, no way.

These boys from disadvantaged backgroundsmade the highly successful Western Province Longboard team on merit. The Western Province Longboarders have won the Presidents trophy a record 10 times in the last 12 years, arguably one of the most successful sports teams in the province. Winning is big for them and they cant afford passengers. The three newcomers in the team, Kwezi Qika 14, Hilton Klopas 9, and Dorian Newman 16, are are protégés of Muizenberg based surfing teacher Gary Kleynhans from Gary’s Surf School, who took them under his wing about two years ago.

They were part of a group of about 20 kids from mainly poor backgrounds who used to hang around Gary’s Surf School on Muizenberg beachfront. He decided to give them free lessons and watch them progress. The boys showed huge determination and enthusiasm – surfing in the cold water without wetsuits and on borrowed boards. Kleynhans used to motivate them by promising to lend them wetsuits at their next session.

After all this time, they still surf with borrowed gear and without sponsership they won’t be able to reach their next goal – the national championships in Durban. Dlorian, who lives in Muizenberg, used to be a keen soccer player until he had first first free surfing lesson. Now he says “Ek is addicted to surfing.” This is the first time he got Western Province, and for him, going to surfing paradise Durban for the championships is a dream come true. Kwezi on the other hand went to Durban about two years ago. He had a close shave when he got washed up between the piers at North Beach, but that hasn’t fazed him and he went to Durban, hoping to win the boys title.

Hilton, who lives with his mother and brother in a tiny flat at Muizenberg Corner, has also made the Western Province Shortboard development side.

Gary’s group of aspiring young surfers from disadvantaged areas has grown to about 40 since he took in the three young boys.

Written in 2001, author unknown.

Seven years ago a young kid from a poor family sat on a Muzenberg corner in Cape Town with two of his childhood friends. It was early even before school and on his way to the beach that morning he had already passed a group of teenagers smoking drugs on his street corner.

The boys name Kwezi Qika, he was a poor black child from an urban ghetto and he desperately wanted to learn to surf. But this poor black child from an even poorer area of South Africa had a problem. In fact, he had an even bigger problem. Firstly, he had no surfboard, and no one he knew had a surfboard. His single mother, a domestic worker for a white family in Cape Town, couldn’t have dreamed of buying her son a surfboard and wetsuit for him to take his first steps. She had a hard enough time trying to feed and educate him and his two older brothers on her meager salary. On top of the significant financial obstacles was the fact that young Kwezi, despite his lofty dreams, didn’t have any idea how to swim.

Today, Kwezi Qika is South Africa’s first and only black South African surfing champion. Kwezi’s story, like so m any stories from his part of the world, has its roots in the dark swell of the apartheid era, and its gnarled, thorny branches reach into segregation, deprivation, poverty, drugs, and crime.

“Surfing saved me” admits Kwezi, “I cant say id be behind bars, but when I look at the way my friends turned out, its just crazy. The guy I started surfing with saw me win SA Champs on TV when he was in jail! I just wonder where I would be if it wasn’t for surfing”.

At just 18 years of age Kwezi owes so much of his success to his coach and mentor, Gary Kleynhans, who owns and operates Gary’s Surf School in Muizenberg. “ I met Gary on the beach when he was coaching a bunch of kids” says Kwezi. “I went up to him with no money and I told him that I wanted to get involved”.

Gary took Kwezi in, taught him to swim, and said that as far as surfing is concerned, what you put in is what you get out. His words inspired the young upstart to go the extra mile. “In the beginning I made sure I was out there every single morning before Gary even got to the beach” Kwezi brags. “Before the end of the week Gary had given me y own wetsuit and surfboard. Despite his subsequent success Kwezi is still willing to put in the hard yards, spending almost an hour everyday traveling by bus, train and taxi to get to the beach where he now works as a surf instructor at Gary’s Surf School.

Under Gary’s guidance and tuition Kwezi won the Junior Division of the 2005 SA Longboard Championships, and by doing so became the first black champion to win a South African national title in a discipline that has for the longest time has been reserved almost exclusively for white people. But that is all changing now as the cultural demographic of South Africa’s line ups begins its long slow curve toward a more realistic representation of the countries population.

Kwezi believes that development programs such as the one Gary runs will certainly help to speed up this process. “Gary has done so much for me and my friends” says Kwezi. “He has pushed us and given us drive, he is a very cool man, now there are little kids getting out of the water after surfing for four hours in freezing water their eyes are small and blood red from surfing but they are stoked, all they do is talk about surfing.”

Today, Kwezi is not only an instructor and mentor to the under privileged kids interested in this sport – he is also an inspiration to all of the surfers he meets. His rags to riches story has coaxed dozens of under privileged children from the townships around Cape Town into the freezing Cape waters and a better life and although Kwezi doesn’t like to admit it this modest teenager from an equally modest background is a hero to them all.

By Brendon Thomas.

Written in 2000