Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Came very close to nominating myself for the Darwin Awards ( for the un-literate these are awards for people who voluntarily remove themselves from the gene pool). Its a Tuesday night and I am in the old world-Afrikaner/African enclave of Empangeni and decide an evening jog down the beach at Richards Bay is sufficient reward for surviving the day in the the Empangeni Protea Hotel with 30 government employees. So after wending through the industrial emblems of South Africa's biggest 2 aluminium smelters I get to Alkantstrand (huh) The sun sets early in KZN- an outcome of global warming in the province and Alkantstand is a tad shady and abandoning my hired car, I head with some concern to the beach. Its a befokked side shore and a huge dirty brown water swell. Needless, there is one muscled KZN surfer ripping, but no beach-the tide is FULL on 2-days off full moon. So I step out with tired legs down the tar. Its sort of tropical and the lactic acid in my calves is dissolving, so I step out a bit. But now I am on a bust road, heading north, lots of buses etc, so I decide this is not very PC and lets head back toward the beach. Having cut a swathe through the tropical entangle there is still very little beach- but being a stubborn gemini- I am going south.
There still is no beach-patches of itinerant sand. To the left a tumultuous, crashing ocean. To the right dunes and cliffs. After brief sprints down the beach- I encounter rocky outcrops which I need to circumvent by heading up the cliffs-which turn out to be clay (and sand) As I head up. the sand dunes crumble into the ocean swirl. I grasp on `rocks' which are slippery clay. A few times I contempate those embarassing ends to life- ` lost cape town runner/surfer found buried in quick sand on abandoned beach.'
I survived, some what sandy and wet, and ate curried prawns for supper.
On the radio, while driving to Durban airport the next day, national news carried a story about a builder In RICHARDS BAY who had got killed by a 3m wall collapsing on him. I really had a few moments on the crumbling, clay, sand dune... but well I am at Durban airport heading home...
There still is no beach-patches of itinerant sand. To the left a tumultuous, crashing ocean. To the right dunes and cliffs. After brief sprints down the beach- I encounter rocky outcrops which I need to circumvent by heading up the cliffs-which turn out to be clay (and sand) As I head up. the sand dunes crumble into the ocean swirl. I grasp on `rocks' which are slippery clay. A few times I contempate those embarassing ends to life- ` lost cape town runner/surfer found buried in quick sand on abandoned beach.'
I survived, some what sandy and wet, and ate curried prawns for supper.
On the radio, while driving to Durban airport the next day, national news carried a story about a builder In RICHARDS BAY who had got killed by a 3m wall collapsing on him. I really had a few moments on the crumbling, clay, sand dune... but well I am at Durban airport heading home...
# posted by Ian Mackenzie @ 7:44 AM 
Comments:
<< Home
I wish to make a comment on this blog:
I believe this is the blog of the founder and sole member of the 6 ft under surf club.
I have reviewed the the club's web page and wish to post the following warning to all considering joining.
I was once a member with the founder in a surf capital venture known as VanMacCannan Surfboards LLC. The follows are excerpts of my experience and travels in that organization.
1. Never leave the country for a while when you return any surfboards you thought were yours will land up solely in the possession of Ian. Exhibit 1 is the picture of Ian with a beautiful 6ft Fauth twin fin overlooking the surf at PLett. That was (and is) my surfbnoard.
2. Never bring your girlfriend or wife to any 6 ft under meeting. Exhibit 2 is the first picture on the right in the photogallery. The woman he is kissing I believe is someone I thought I was going out with at the time!!
3. Never agree to a surf roadtrip. Exhibit 3 is the Kombi parked at Hewletts. I spent one long summer in that Kombi. Ended having Xmas dinner with a group of monkeys at Port Alfred, was run out of St Francis Bay by the hotel owner (after Ian disconnected the hotels power) and also chased by an irate father (a Mr. Knipscheer). Final insult was giving someone a ride back to Cape Town to pay for gas money and being banned from the Kombi at night as Ian struck up a relationship with our paying passenger.
4. Has horrible habit of dopping on the beach. Now thats OK for the most part but after 2 bottles of hospital port the 15ft close out at Elands looked very surfable until that is we arrived at the back of the monstrous lineup with not a soul in sight and considerably more sober after being buffeted around in the ice cold water.
Be warned joining 6 ft under could be dangerous for health and your personal life.
Post a Comment
I believe this is the blog of the founder and sole member of the 6 ft under surf club.
I have reviewed the the club's web page and wish to post the following warning to all considering joining.
I was once a member with the founder in a surf capital venture known as VanMacCannan Surfboards LLC. The follows are excerpts of my experience and travels in that organization.
1. Never leave the country for a while when you return any surfboards you thought were yours will land up solely in the possession of Ian. Exhibit 1 is the picture of Ian with a beautiful 6ft Fauth twin fin overlooking the surf at PLett. That was (and is) my surfbnoard.
2. Never bring your girlfriend or wife to any 6 ft under meeting. Exhibit 2 is the first picture on the right in the photogallery. The woman he is kissing I believe is someone I thought I was going out with at the time!!
3. Never agree to a surf roadtrip. Exhibit 3 is the Kombi parked at Hewletts. I spent one long summer in that Kombi. Ended having Xmas dinner with a group of monkeys at Port Alfred, was run out of St Francis Bay by the hotel owner (after Ian disconnected the hotels power) and also chased by an irate father (a Mr. Knipscheer). Final insult was giving someone a ride back to Cape Town to pay for gas money and being banned from the Kombi at night as Ian struck up a relationship with our paying passenger.
4. Has horrible habit of dopping on the beach. Now thats OK for the most part but after 2 bottles of hospital port the 15ft close out at Elands looked very surfable until that is we arrived at the back of the monstrous lineup with not a soul in sight and considerably more sober after being buffeted around in the ice cold water.
Be warned joining 6 ft under could be dangerous for health and your personal life.
<< Home
