Sharks: Muizenberg 2007
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OK, this is quite an old article I penned for my own entertainment in 2007 at the world record attempt in South Africa for the most surfers on one wave. In light of my article on sharks in the latest HUCK though, I thought people might enjoy it.
On a cloudy, muggy day in Cape Town, there’s not much surf to speak of, so it seemed like a good idea. Go to Muizenberg to watch the world record attempt for the most people surfing on one single wave. The Irish got the official record up to 44 in May 2007 at Lahinch, and a claim of 53 had also recently been submitted from Bali and was awaiting confirmation from Guinness.
On the way there though, I had to admit to myself that I was doubtful. The whole idea did maybe seem kinda lame. All catch the same wave? Woohoo! Kookville. Or, like most entries in the good book, kinda pointless. So you can balance twenty plates on a pole? Make a big ball of string? All catch the same wave? Someone hit the snooze button.
But like many record attempts, this one also had a charitable angle: to raise funds for the local shark spotters.
These are the (hopefully) eagle-eyed men who survey the beach from their vantage point on Boyes Drive, the road above the ‘Berg. From here they watch out for sharks that might stray into the surf zone, maybe looking for a quick human snack. So, if the spotters think they see a lurking great white, they alert their man on the beach and evacuate the water.
Kahuna Surf School and Life’s A Beach Promotions thought of the world record attempt as an opportunity - through a public debate, fundraising and the world record attempt - to raise awareness and funds for these guys.
So although there is in my mind a cheese element, I was still kind of curious to watch the spectacle. I decided to take the high way over Boyes, and passed the shark spotters on their perch by the road.
Any given Sunday is a crowded Sunday at the ‘Berg, Cape Town’s answer to Fistral, and even more so today, as clearly many are as curious as I am. But there were a few little swell lines rolling in so at least there were a few waves for them.
I arrived as the shark debating ended, so I can’t tell you what was said. What’s probably true is that nothing new came of this debate, as everyone’s opinions regarding whether chumming is to blame or whether sharks should be culled or not etc. have been well documented.
Clearly though, the business end of the day was out of the way early, and the mood changed swiftly as everyone prepared to break the record. There was stuff for the kiddies first, digging in sand the ground for treasure, as all the old-timers fiddled with their longboards, or tried to find the rest of the family.
The waves looked weak, but I headed for a surf to kill time regardless. A big old cloud hung over the mountain and the water was quite a disconcerting sharky grey, kinda reflective. But I got a flurry of sets and forgot about what could be lurking under me.
But then there came the inevitable lull, as the sun broke through the clouds and changed the water colour to an eerily clear lime green. Suddenly I could see the sand bottom under me, and I looked up to realise I had drifted quite far out, and there was no one sitting anywhere nearby.
I felt vulnerable. Paranoid, momentarily. Exposed and in danger. But then I recalled the spotters, and looked up to the road on the mountain where they sat watching out for me and everyone else. And I felt safer. Not much safer, but safe enough.
By now a crowd of maybe more than a thousand people had gathered in their support. I ended my surf session as the 300 odd hopeful record breakers were getting ready to paddle out. The hype had by then clearly spilled over into the spectators.
Will they break the record? Won’t they? Oooh I can’t stand the excitement. Not.
After four or five attempts, Muizenberg beach did indeed become the unofficial home of the Guinness World Record for the 'most surfers standing on a single wave' when 73 surfers caught and rode the same wave on that glorious Sunday afternoon.
I admit it, it was pretty cool to watch all those riders catch one wave, like maybe seeing a comet or a shooting star. And they raised much awareness and funds for the spotters on the hill.
But then it was over, and I was over it, and I fought the traffic home, hoping I wouldn’t die the statistically far more likely death of colliding with an African taxi on the road, rather than in a still statistically very unlikely encounter with old Jaws of the sea.
Peace be to them.
The next Earthwave takes place on October 4, 2009.
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Sharks: Muizenberg 2007 (text) by Miles Masterson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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