My times running out in Africa and still we haven’t had a clean big swell. It’s a real journey chasing swells and seasons. Sometimes you score, other times you really get skunked.
If you told me before I arrived that we weren’t going to get a single session at Dungeons I would have laughed in your face. I’m not laughing now! haha
What can you do right? Just keep hoping!
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Whilst the waves have been small we have been keeping busy with diving. Last Sunday my friend Bart and I took a course with Hanli Prinsloo, Hanli is regarded as one of the best female free divers in the world. Her one day course blew my mind. She taught us all about the mammalian dive response and how the human body reacts whilst holding your breath.
We spent half the morning doing yoga and the other half in the class room. After lunch we headed to the swimming pool where she mentored us through long breath holds, contractions and relaxation. Everyone in the class was blown away but their breath holds, they ranged between 3 to 5 minutes in a static position.
Later in the afternoon we headed out to Hout bay (Dungeons) to dive with the seal colony that lives there and witness the mammalian drive response if full flow. Hanli has complete change my perception of how long we can hold our breath, our bodies are amazing things, they are a far more adapted for a life in the water than we think. If you ever get the opportunity to do hanli’s course I would strongly recommend it, especially to all surfers wanting to push themselves in bigger waves.
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On Saturday morning my good friend Steve Benjamin took me diving with Cow sharks. Cow sharks range from 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) to over 5.5 metres and feed on relatively large fish of all kinds, including other sharks.
We only saw small sharks in the 3 meter range. The water clarity was amazing with 12 meter visibility, which allowed us to spot the sharks on the surface before diving down to roughly 10 meters. These animals are so curious and amazing to watch. Cow sharks are unique in that they have seven gills unlike most other sharks which have 5.
Steve has had an amazing life, spending a lot of time swimming with sharks as well as chasing the sardine run up the Indian Ocean. Steve worked with the BBC filming Nature’s Great Events. The episode is called the Great Tide, where billions of sardines along the east coast creates an incredible feeding frenzy of thousands of dolphins, sharks whales seals and gannets.
For more on Steve check out his website @: http://animalocean.co.za/
Here is a video of Steve with the Cow Sharks and Seals
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My good friend Pierre Liebenburg and James have got me hooked on Spear fishing and free diving. It’s the coolest thing I have done in a long time. It’s so peaceful at the bottom of the ocean, swimming with the fishes. Diving is amazing training for surfing. It trains you to become comfortable and relaxed whilst deep under water as well as improve your lung capacity and have a very clear understanding of what your body is capable of.
Pierre makes what many consider the best fin blades is the world and has kindly made James and I a pair. Here is a link to Pierre’s website if your interested in free diving or spearing you should check it out!
http://spierreblog.blogspot.com
Below is some images of Pierre in action
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I’ve been messing around with the go pro but can’t seem to get a clean perspective from the back of the board as my leash sprays the lens. I gotta start going leash less.
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I love trying to visualise a waves setting or a place before you go there, it’s never anything like what you imagine. Rocking up to the Dungeons over view I was expecting a dark bleak surrounding, but as usual with big Jurassic waves she is located in the most picturesque setting with lush mountains soaring around her.
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