Big Wave Surfing South Africa

Big wave surfing in South Africa is becoming increasingly popular especially after the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event held at dungeons reef off the sentinel in Hout Bay recently. The event this year saw record crowds on both the viewing point up on the sentinel and from spectators watching the incredible surf action on the sea from boats. This spectacular competition brings some well-known names together from the world of surfing both from SA and abroad and is contributing to putting this country on the map as far as international big wave destinations go.

Apart from dungeons reef, Hout Bay, there are a few other notorious big wave surf spots around Cape Town, South Africa. A few of these spots are very close to each other and in the vicinity of Kommetjie and include Sunset Reef, Outer Kom and Crayfish Factory near Misty Cliffs. Plenty of other locations around this countries coast line get some massive waves and Jeffreys Bay on the Eastern Cape, Elands Bay up the West Coast and The Bluff in Durban are just a few places that can handle really large swell while still being surfable.

Instead of paddling into a wave just using their arms many surfers use a “Tow-in” technique when it comes to surfing big wave spots around the world. Tow-in surfing is a technique where the surfer is towed into a wave by a partner usually driving a jet ski with an attached tow-line. Laird Hamilton, Buzzy Kerbox, Dave Kalama and many others are among those who pioneered this technique used to pull the surfer into giant waves that are moving too fast to paddle into using their arms. The big wave surfing scene in South Africa has also seen many surfers using this technique when the waves get really big especially at places like Sunset Reef in the Cape.

Below is a video clip of a Tow-in surfer: