J-Bay going off it’s face for the Billabong Pro 2010

KBC Latest News

Hi All.

1.

SURF TRIP AWAY: After a YES, then a NO, then a JBAY trip on the cards instead, the WILD COAST trip is back as ON ! The JBAY trip is OFF.

Steve Palmer has managed to get accommodation at Hole in the Wall backpackers over the long weekend in August.( 6th to 8th August) See the website: http://www.holeinthewall.co.za/index.php

There are various surf spots in close proximity. He needs to know who has paid their deposits for the Mdumbi trip and needs an official list of the people now going to Hole in the Wall.The deadline to confirm with Steve is this Wednesday the 07^th July. If you do not confirm with him then he will presume that you are no longer going. Steve’s cell is 082 492 9959. His email is steven.palmer69@gmail.com If parents are taking their kids, please let Steve know.

The club is paying R100 per official club member per night. If you are not a club member, you are liable for your own costs.

2.

REMINDER: This weekend – meet Sat at 07h30 – King of the Kowie # 2 – Contest Director to determine to surf Sat or Sunday – the forecast looks good for Saturday at this stage ! –  please enter at CATCH A WAVE before Friday 4pm !!! The entry form will be in the shop from tomorrow first thing. NO LATE ENTRIES – SERIOUSLY !

Note with regard to age groups : can you please state your age that you were as at the 1^st January 2010. So if you turned 16 on 10 January, you were 15 on 1st January – get it ? ( this for the groms who seem confused…) A surfer may only enter 2 divisions. Like Open and your age group, for example.

Members who do not pay or enter officially on time will not be judged, thus scoring zero points.

3.

ANNUAL SUBS/ MEMBERSHIP FEES:

All annual membership fees are also due. The deadline payment is also this Saturday – pls avoid the hassle of cash and change and pay by EFT into the club bank account as per below: Membership fees are R 125 for adults, R 60 for school going kids, and R 150 for family membership This gets you a new RVCA / KBC T shirt also. (coming soon). Hoodies will be available to be bought at R 200 each also. You can secure your hoodie now, by paying the membership fee as above plus R 200 all at once if possible. We are trying hard to get these by this weekend !

The KBC account is:

Bank                            :           FNB

Branch                         :           210917

Account Name :           :         KOWIE BOARDRIDERS CLUB

Account No                 :           62056120985

Ref                              :            your   surname

SEE YOU IN THE SURF.

Thanks

Warwick

SEC: KBC

Kowie Boardriders get stuck in on International Surfing Day

Sunday 20 June: The Kowie Boardriders Club banded together with the local NSRI chapter to clean up the Kowie River and East Beach in Port Alfred on International Surfing Day. Within two hours, the KBC and NSRI collected a full bakkie load of rubbish.

“The idea was to create awareness amongst our members and the public that our wetlands, estuaries, and beaches are always under threat, and that surfing, our great passion, should not always be taken for granted” said KBC Chairman, Warwick Heny.

“We need to realise we are fortunate to be able to surf in relatively clean water, but sometimes the reason we have dirty water is not only from sewage issues, but also litter, and all kinds of trash from restaurant grease, to detergents from cars being washed in town, dumping, etcetera.”

NSRI Station Commander Juan Pretorius helped organize a quad bike on the beach and rubber duck for the river to assist in rounding up the rubbish. The KBC then rounded off the day in appropriate style: a long session in fun waves after the cleanup.

King of the Kowie – Saturday 07:30am

Hi Surfers

…a reminder again that the KBC will run the 1st event of the 2 event 2010 King of the Kowie series this Saturday at East Beach. Various age divisions available – please enter at Catch a Wave by Friday 5pm – No late entries will be accepted ! Please come down and support this fun event. The Kiosk will be open for refreshments – Jurie – stock up on the bacon and eggs please…

If surf conditions are no good on Saturday, the contest director may elect to hold off until Sunday.

Lizzard Wetsuits for Sale!

Brand new Lizzard wetsuits for Sale at the bargain price of R500 only in the following sizes:  S; MS; M; ML

The medium large fits Noel Maddocks who is 1.75m tall and weighs 71KG to give you an idea of size, so these suits would be ideal for Grommets.

Unfortunately they aren’t returnable so you need to be 100% sure what size would fit you.

you can mail Caroline: cazmcintosh@gmail.com if you’re interested

J-Bay lifting her skirt for the boys

Yesterday J-bay decided to give the boys a little somtin’ somtin’………Slut!! 😉

Never wave goodbye

Source: www.dailydispatch.co.za

by: Dave MacGregor

Two inspirational surfers give David Macgregor pause for thought on his salt-water addiction. I AM an addict. For more than 30 years I have blown most of my hard-earned cash on the next high. It has cost me jobs, friends and even material possessions as I burned thousands of rands on having a good time. It all started when I was a snotty-nosed six year old and, through the years, it has escalated to the extent that I am extremely irritable if I don’t get my daily fix.

I am not lying. Just ask my parents, school teachers, my wife and kids. Nothing can stop me from chasing my addiction to salt water.

It has seen me tripping across the planet with a uiver of surfboards, looking for the perfect wave. And, by the time you read this, I will be surfing myself numb in Bali with my dad, who is also a life-long addict.

The rush of surfing is a mystery most landlubbers cannot fathom. But once it has its hooks in you, it is hard to kick the habit. Just ask my Port Alfred surfing buddy Anton Wiersma. Not even cancer and the loss of a leg has kept him out of the water. Besides “cashing” in on his passion by shaping boards, “Antman” spends every spare moment surfing as if it was his last.

Wiersma and Patrick Sparg, another one-legged surfer I had the privilege of meeting 15 years ago at Yellow Sands outside East London, are two of the most inspirational surfers I have ever met.

When I first met Pat, who was from Gonubie, he was surfing Yellows Point ace out on a solid six-foot day. Watching him tear the waves apart, I could not help thinking this guy could be a world-tour contender – if only he could stand up straight. It was only when he hopped back up through the rocks to his funky camper van that I realised he only had one leg and had to crouch down low on the board so he could use his one arm as his front leg.

Already a legend, Pat kept on surfing despite cancer taking over his body. When he lost his leg, he tried chemotherapy as the disease spread to his chest and lungs. Physically whacked after each session, Pat opted for a natural medicine approach so he could still surf, and he even made it into the Eastern Province team in the Grand Masters’ section of the SA National Champs in 1990 at the age of 35.

At the competition at Victoria Bay, many were impressed that the one-legged surfer caught one of the biggest waves of the contest. He got there on pure merit, man.

Pat died about five months after the SA Champs. His friends scattered his ashes in the surf at Jeffrey’s Bay.

As a grommet, Antman used to surf in the Eastern Province team with Pat. “Back in the day, he was a huge inspiration. When I lost my leg to cancer, I thought about Pat and how hot he surfed. This helped me to get back in the water.” Wiersma, who has 21 years of surfing under his belt, said: “It is my therapy. When I paddle out, I leave all my problems on the beach.”

One of the healthiest addictions around, for me surfing is more than just chilling on the beach waiting for the next wave. It’s not just about staying fit and healthy with a tribe of people that share the same passion. It is also about the thrill of communing with nature – sharing waves with the brahs and dolphins.

Every time I paddle out, I forget about all my worries. Sueezing in a dawnie before work puts me in the right head space. Tomorrow the waves will still be there and so will I.

Western Cape rivers polluted with human waste

“It seems the kowie isn’t the only river suffering from the insufficient municipal sewage system problem”

John Yeld
October 25 2004 at 12:13PM

source: www.iol.co.za

Germs that can cause serious diseases – including diarrhoea, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, sepsis, eye infections and pneumonia – have been found by medical researchers in the Western Cape’s polluted rivers.

Much of the pollution comes from human waste in informal townships where the local authorities have not put in proper sewerage systems or do not do proper maintenance.

In some areas sewage leaks into storm water drains which in turn feed into the rivers.

The findings were made by Jo Barnes and a department of community health team from Stellenbosch University’s faculty of health sciences.

This issue has now also been taken up by environmentalists

Barnes’s work includes analysis of water samples for the past six years from the Plankenbrug River in Stellenbosch, which flows into the Eerste River. she has been in the forefront of efforts to force authorities to maintain safe water quality in the province’s rivers.
This issue has now also been taken up by environmentalists, including the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA.

On a single day in February 2002 a number of germs were identified from water sampled by Barnes at two points in the Plankenbrug River, below the Kayamandi settlement.

They included:

Beta haemolytic streptococcus Group A, which can cause sepsis, scarlet fever, respiratory infections, endocarditis, rheumatic fever and kidney disease. Alpha haemolytic streptococci.Organisms in these two groups are among the most serious sources of infection in humans. Some of the diseases they cause carry a high fatality rate and others can result in serious impairment. Enterococcus faecalis, which is resistant to antibiotics. Some of this group of organisms also cause severe infections of the reproductive system or the heart tissue. Staphyloccocus species, which can cause septicaemia, pneumonia, skin and wound infections and food poisoning. Klebsiella species causes pneumonia and is one of the organisms causing outbreaks of disease in hospitals, especially in intensive-care situations and in wards with babies or young children. At least four variants of Escherichia coli, which can cause diarrhoea, urinary tract and haemolytic uremic syndrome. Acinetobacter species, usually resistant to most antibiotics, which infect people with impaired immune systems, like those with TB or HIV, or the malnourished. Pseudomonas species, which grow in detergents, are resistant to disinfectants and cause sepsis and wound and eye infections. Proteus mirabilis and P vulgaris, which cause diarrhoea, especially in children.The organisms were identified at Tygerberg Hospital’s department of medical microbiology. Only bacteria were screened – there was not enough money to test for viruses or fungal diseases.The analyses were repeated a month later from organisms identified in slime on stones in the Plankenbrug River, and similar results were found. Many of the organisms were resistant to chlorination and showed doubled resistance to antibiotics.

Shaun Joubert and Bianca Buitendag Claim Victory At The Oakley Pro Junior Port Alfred

Port Alfred – Shaun Joubert from Mossel Bay made it a hat trick by winning his third Oakley Pro Junior in a row today in excellent surf at Port Alfred. Despite coming up against a very determined and on-form Chad Du Toit from Durban, Joubert fought hard all the way till the end and took the win from Du Toit in a seesaw final that saw the lead switch after almost every exchange

It was another day of exceptional surf that greeted the surfers gathered for the Oakley Pro Junior in Port Alfred, South Africa. The waves were in the four to five-foot region with some bigger sets in the afternoon, with non-stop high performance peeling right-handers the order of the day. The surfers in the contest had the ideal canvas to show the judges their full repertoire as the contest was being judged on World Tour standards, and ‘variety’ is now a key element of the criteria.

Australian visitor Ryan Callinan placed third in the event, but was happy with the conditions. “We don’t get to surf many contests in waves like this,” said the stylish goofy-footer Callinan. “I’ve just being enjoying the waves so much. It’s so good to be able to ride real waves in an event like this.” Callinan, along with MIkey February from Cape Town, went home with a third place finish and US$1000 (R7,400)

The Red Bull Air Show was an exciting addition to the event, with a massive R10,000 prize for the biggest air pulled off in the session. The surfers were going for broke, with Dylan Lightfoot and Jacob Mellish pushing it as hard as they could and boosting at every opportunity. At the end of the 30 minutes Air Show it was young Jacob Mellish from Somerset West who took home the R10,000 prize from Red Bull for a massive forehand air reverse. The session belonged to Mellish, as he pulled off the two best moves of the Air Show, and sneaked into a solid little barrel that allowed him a clean exit in the closing minutes to prove that the R10,000 was deservedly his.

“I was so nervous out there at first,” said a very pleased Mellish at the prize giving. “Then I stuck a few airs and started feeling better. Thanks to Red Bull for this, I’m just so happy to have won.”

The Oakley Pro Junior Women’s Final was a battle of the goofy-footers, with Bianca Buitendag (George) and Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbos Strand) both with their backs to the waves, and going for broke on the rippable right-handers. It was neck-and-neck until Bianca picked up an insider at the halfway mark and executed a series of critical turns with good flow and power for a score of 8.25 to place her firmly in the lead. Despite Chantelle fighting hard all the way to the final seconds it was 16-year-old Bianca who retained the lead, picking up another 8-point ride along the way, to claim victory and US$1000 (R7,400) prize money.

Then it was time for the Men’s final, with Shaun Joubert and Chad Du Toit both determined for victory. Chad opened up with a great seven point-ride to get the ball rolling, and still the waves poured through. Chad was awarded a 5.5 for his second wave and he found himself with a clear lead. Needing an 8.25 at the half-way mark Shaun picked up an inside wave with a nice wall on it and went to town on it, pulling off a series of radical turns off the top all the way through to the inside and was awarded just that – an 8.25, and the lead was his. Chad picked up another good set wave to score a 7.5 and regain his lead before Shaun stamped his authority all over a solid set wave for an excellent score of 9.5, and he had his third Oakley Pro Junior victory.

“Whenever we get to surf a contest in good waves I’m sure not too many guys complain,” said Shaun, “I’m just happy to be back and get a good result. It was pretty obvious that Chad was the man to beat and he put me under pressure with his first seven,” added Joubert. “I blew my first wave, as well as my second wave, so I was lucky more waves came to me.”

Chad wins US$1,500 (R11,000) for his runner-up spot, and a very happy Shaun Joubert takes home his third Oakley Pro Junior trophy and US$, 2,500 (R18,500).

…more info regarding Shark Attack

Prof Pete Brits, a KBC member based at the ichthyology department in Grahamstown has some interesting comments with regards to the recent shark attack in kowie. Here’s the e-mail he sent out to all the KBC members.

Hi Guys,

Firstly, thanks to the committee for the efforts and apologies for not being on PA on Sunday.

I write a word of caution on linking the shark and sewage issue. There really is NO logical or scientific basis for doing so.

Firstly the shark issue in which I provide some detail on what we COULD dealing with. A shark attack can happen anywhere, anytime, and we have been very lucky in PA over the years in never having had a very bad one with permanent consequences. Ironically, I believe the typical “dirty water” off Kowie may be our best protection against visual predators like great whites. Note their large eye and their surprise ambush technique. They spot a big prey from below, line it up, and hit the middle of the target (body, leg) at speed with a view to killing or immobilising. Sometimes they “breach” right out the water in the process. Our water is probably too turbid most the time for whites to hunt visually.

I have also observed we see very few dolphins of PA and those we do see seem to be passing through – more evidence PA is perhaps not great hunting grounds for big predators?

The only other shark which poses a high risk of fatal attack is a Zambezi – which  is known to frequent river mouths and shallow waters. Fortunately for us, it prefers warmer water, mainly the Kei northwards but they are quite common in the ECape, particularly the warmer waters of PE Bay where anglers frequently hook them up along Coega – Sundays Surf way. Interestingly, although we are experiencing global warming, data show the average sea temperature off PA has actually got about 1 degree colder over the last decade. This is because there is an upwelling cell off PA and the  greater incidence of east wind has caused more frequent upwelling of cold water. I’m sure all the surfers would agree with this data from personal experience. I doubt Acids bite was a Zambezi as like great whites they go for the kill with massive power and catastrophic bites. A Zambezi wouldn’t aim for a foot but the big target – leg or body.  I havn’t seen Acid or his wound – but given the evidence circulated, a raggie is would the prime suspect: we know they are thick of PA, move in with the cold, dirty, water and snap at any object flashing in front of their nose. The observation of the shark hanging on to his feet is also raggie-like with its needle-like teeth for holding prey then swallowing it whole. Serious sharks (whites, Zambezis) with blade-like cutting teeth thrash their head from side to side to cut through the prey and swallow chunks. A very similar thing to Acid’s bite happened to Wayne Monk at Supers when a raggie grabbed his foot and held him under for quite a while until he punched it and it let go. Greenspan’s foot “bite” at West was a similar. Wayne’s wounds were more superficial than Acid’s, and an expert would be required to pass judgement on whether a raggie could have inflicted such serious damage on Acid’s foot.

If we thin of other suspects, a possibility is a bronzy – a big shark, common in inshore surface waters, but no reputation for biting people. Some of the local  fishermen said they have been picking up unusual catches with warm water in the last while – like a 70kg blacktip shark caught of fish point a week or two ago.

To get back to the main issue: the shark incident frequency and ID thing is VERY speculative so without hard evidence we can’t draw conclusions. Sewage would not directly attract sharks, they would be attracted to a higher concentration of fish prey which might be benefitting from a food chain effect from the nutrient enrichment from the sewage off Port Alfred. There are massive long-shore water movements off PA with the prevailing East and West winds and so the sewage would be dispersed over a wide area and not be localised in the mouth. So I doubt we would get a higher concentarion of fish directly around the piers. Have fishermen’s catches improved lately?

My advice is that we take up the sewage problem as a community health and economic issue, and not confound it with the shark story, as it may actually weaken our credibility as a seriously concerned stakeholder.

Happy to answer questions!

Best wishes

Pete