In a world where everything is planned and catalogued, where cars, planes and satellites buzz around us like insects around their burrows, it is almost impossible to discover new things, to find untouched and authentic spots and to windsurf at spots where no one has ever surfed before. Nevertheless, there are safe ways to ensure the virginity of your windsurfing destinations: 1. to take a higher risk of searching in vain and 2. to be more tolerant of danger.
Danger. It's not what we're looking for, not number one on our hit list. Nevertheless, it became a silent companion on our last visit to Cape Town, more so than we would have anticipated. Cape Town - I had been there twice before, for a total of ten weeks, and of course we had also bridged the lulls during this time with a lot of driving. So I was expecting new moves rather than new spots on my third visit. How wrong I was.
Inland sea ramps for backloops
Balz Müller: It was my first time in Cape Town, I was excited to discover new things, to windsurf and to improve my level on flat water and in the waves. I had spent the previous winter in Western Australia with Karin Jaggi and Patrik Diethelm, so I knew what it was like to drive eight hours to the "local spot" around the corner. The distances there are completely different. So South Africa was pure relaxation for me, you could really surf on your doorstep here. The fact that we still went on tour was simply due to the unreliable wind. On a calm day, Adam told me for the first time about Brandvlei, a lake two hours away in the surrounding countryside, where the wind was blowing at 40 knots and the sun was shining, even though the Cape was stuck in rain and calm. The fact that it was supposedly possible to windsurf in shorts and that there were ramps big enough for backloops finally set my daydreams in motion.
I was looking forward to showing Balz the inland lake. I knew from videos that he would like it, after all the conditions there are similar to those of his home, Lake Uri in Switzerland: lots of wind and a respectable chop over which you could do crazy things.
As we set off, however, I began to have doubts as to whether this was really a good idea: With zero wind and constant rain, we packed up our 4.0 and 4.4 sails and headed east, past Table Mountain and the posh neighbourhood of Rondebosch on its flanks, over to the plain around Mitchel's Plain and its infamous township of Khayelitsha. It is said that 400,000 people live there in the third largest slum in South Africa. No one knows the exact number, but since the township was founded in 1950 as a result of the Group Areas Act - which forbade blacks from living in the cities - it has grown largely uncontrolled and unorganised.
Forecasts are more difficult in the mountains
The rain continued to pour down as we drove along the motorway. We stared into the thick sea mist wafting in from the Indian Ocean side, making the surroundings seem even more mysterious and bizarre. People from the slums kept crossing the road and you had to watch out like hell. This was no time or place for a broken-down car and we were glad to leave Cape Town behind us and continue into the rugged Hottentots-Holland mountains. As we came out of a tunnel at the end, the glare of the sun blinded us and I almost lost the steering wheel due to the sudden crosswind.
We had a great session on the lake, with all sorts of crazy stuff, crashes and this alone with a few friends, even if the waves were a bit smaller than we had hoped. Surfing on a mountain lake is something completely new. You never know what to expect. At home in England you look at the forecast, go to the sea and basically everything happens as you expect. In the mountains, everything is more exciting. Balz already knew from his home spots in Switzerland what it was like to constantly have to keep an eye on data about air pressure, cloud cover, minute differences in temperature and wind directions accurate to the degree in order to be in the right place at the right time. So a few days later, he set off again with his flatmate, freestyle world champion Steven van Broeckhoven: "Steven and I are going inland again to do some thermal windsurfing. Are you coming with us?" This time I was sure it would be a crazy idea. That evening, I was clenching my fist when the boys came back completely exhausted and bright-eyed, while I had been bobbing around all day on Sunset Beach with my 5.2. Fuck!!!
The next day, of course, I was there again. We initially travelled in a convoy of three cars, but split up on the way because we wanted to try another route. As we crossed a bridge over a reservoir, the wind whistled in our ears and we slowed down. On the shore, you could still see the dead tree stumps that had formed when the lake was flooded a few years ago. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of tree stumps! It looked risky, but a film was already playing in my head. We ended up surfing at another spot, but the idea of trying the bridge stayed with us. It would take a few weeks to get there, as Cape Town returned to its usual "South Easter" routine: Lake Rietvlei in the morning, Big Bay in the afternoon...
Spot check in Cape Town from the aeroplane
On a cloudless day with no wind but plenty of heat, we had the choice of a trip to Table Mountain or Lions Head. We decided against the tourist crowds and climbed the latter, from where you have an incredible view of Cape Town. Up there, we met two guys whose job it is to train and educate other pilots. We chatted, enjoyed the almost kitschy scenery and in exchange for a few of our cold beers, not much time passed before we had talked the guys into a sightseeing flight over Cape Town and the surrounding area. Of course, we also wanted to keep an eye out for new spots from the air and see where there were potential locations for our next trip into the country's interior - Google Earth 2.0!
The flight was incredible, in many ways. We got the view we had hoped for, including an overview of the spot with the big bridge and the dead trees. But we also got adrenaline rushes that we weren't really prepared for, as our two pilots had fun flying wingtip to wingtip side by side and doing a few manoeuvres that made you fear your stomach turning inside out. We fell silent and comforted ourselves with the thought that the boys - as instructors for pilots all over the world - must know what they're doing.
One day later, we were standing at the bridge with the tree stumps. It was storming and the heavily laden lorries on their way to Cape Town thundered past next to us. I had only just blinked when Balz was already running towards the water, completely energised. I tried to follow him when two things popped into my head: The first was an unexpectedly alert feeling, all my senses seemed heightened, I seemed to be soaking up every nuance of the apocalyptic atmosphere - the dark clouds pushing over the mountains of Cape Town and the musty smell of the water.
A single adrenaline rush
The second feeling was fear. All around us, the black stumps were sticking out of the brown water like death stingers, which seemed even darker and more threatening because of the bad weather. We couldn't see if there were any tree debris under the water that would impale us at the first crash. Nevertheless, it was too fascinating not to at least give it a try. The wind was strong and there were official ramps running across the lake, which suggested that it should be deep enough in the centre and therefore reasonably safe. It was just Balz and me, the scenery, the danger - the session was one big adrenaline rush. After a while, I travelled a little higher, to a place that looked a little safer. As I looked downwind, I saw Balz take off into a head-high air shaka in the middle of some tree stumps. "Holy shit."
That was the real starting signal. Balz waved and called out to me that he had swum around and that there were no stumps under the surface of the water. I couldn't quite share his optimism, but from then on there was no stopping him. Backloops were even possible over the steep ramps, Oli Stauffacher and my friend Hanna stood on the shore, capturing every moment with their cameras, and right in the middle of it all was me and, of course, Balz, who was once again whirling through some wild stuff at a height of three metres. After an hour, the wind died down. Off. We've never been windsurfing at this spot since. I don't know if I need to do that again...
Balz Müller: It was the most intense windsurfing experience of my life. On the one hand, the conditions and the scenery were unbelievable, on the other hand it was total bollocks and afterwards I couldn't explain to anyone what we were thinking. Would I do it again? Hell, I probably would, but I'd be a bit more careful... maybe.
Hardly a day without surfing in Cape Town
The action at the bridge had set off a small "avalanche of crazies", and almost every day we travelled somewhere away from Cape Town to surf at a different special place. We drove up towards Langebaan, the famous lagoon in the north, where most people only know the town and the neighbouring bays. Steven took us to an incredible spot on the edge of the nature reserve. We had to cross a few more longs from the starting point, but what awaited us there was like something from another world: the lush grass, the water colours, the windsurfing conditions - it was so kitschy that it almost hurt. A few friends - Marco Lufen, Oli Stauffacher, Hanna and others - joined us. You could see that they all had the same drive as us. To windsurf as much as possible and soak up the new places and impressions. And preferably every day!
The fact that, in addition to all the great impressions we had gathered from our trips to the surrounding area, we were also on the water much more often while the surfing crowds were battling for a few gusts at the well-known spots in and around Cape Town rounded things off and showed us that if you can have fun on flat water and are ready for something new, you will hardly have to spend a day without windsurfing in South Africa. But if you just sit on Sunset Beach and wait for waves, you will. There were so many days when the wind didn't come, the swell was too small and, in hindsight, those were the most exciting days, simply because we were content with whatever we were offered. It was the desperation that drove us to find these places and it's the danger that keeps us from visiting some of them again. At least until next year....
Alternative spots in Cape Town with shallow water
1) Rietvlei:
No, the lake located directly between Sunset Beach and Milnerton is not an insider tip, but a great shallow water alternative when the ocean sends no or too big waves. Works in typical South Easter conditions. Entry for a small fee at the Milnerton Aquanautic Club
2) Sandvlei:
Shallow water alternative south-east of Cape Town. The 4.2 often works here when Cape Town is still waiting for South Easter to arrive. But often not. The lottery is bearable, it's only 25 kilometres from Cape Town via the M3 towards Muizenberg. Surfing takes place on the west side of the lake, which is shallow in many places (lake-side), and shorts or shorties are usually sufficient in summer. On the way back, it is worth making a detour to what is perhaps the most beautiful botanical garden in the world - the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
3) Brandvlei:
Shallow water spot on a reservoir with an awesome backdrop. The forecast is usually difficult, but as soon as sunshine and warm temperatures are forecast east of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains, the thermals coming from the south-east get going. Then it can be a blast here, while in Cape Town not a leaf moves. Surfing takes place at the north-west end of the lake. You can either take the N2 towards Sommerset West and continue towards Worcester. Turn left before the reservoir. Alternatively, take the N1/R101 route further north to Rawsonville and then turn right down to the dam. In both cases, the journey takes around two hours.
4) Langebaan Lagoon:
The Langebaan lagoon is about an hour and a half's drive north of Cape Town. The main spot has been promoted as a surf test base for years and is therefore very well known. The South Easter wind often blows stronger here than in Cape Town and the unusable south-westerly winds there are also intensified by the topography in Langebaan. There is a Cape Sports Centre on site. The corners further inside the lagoon, however, are often undiscovered. About two kilometres further upwind is Shark Bay, which is also very popular with kiters (don't worry, only small, harmless specimens give it its name). The wind here is a little lighter than in Langebaan, but the water is warm and shallow - perfect for practising tricks. If you take the small road further south, you will come to a small car park with a BBQ, where you can often surf alone in kitschy turquoise water colours. Dreamlike!
This article first appeared in surf 11-12/2014
