Arriving late (as only a Capetonian knows how), I managed to squeeze in a parking and suit up relatively quickly. I hadn't surfed in ages, but I wasn't going to miss this. With my backpack, hula hoop, surfboard and a ridiculous grin I headed through the throngs to find my camp of fellow hoopers. By the time I got down there, they had had a good first attempt - time was not to be wasted! I headed into the water and was pleasantly surprised when my toes didn't shrink into themselves. Getting out to the back line with my 6'6" was easy enough, dodging the long boards was not. I was in for the next two attempts which were the best ones - as spoken by the very generous MC of the event.
There was a beautiful uproar from the beach as we started paddling and the scene was set for a few seconds of unified glory. The water itself was amassed with hordes of black-suited human seals, schooled into a wavering line and waiting for the prompt from the MC of, "Paddle, paddle, Go, Go, Go!! This is the one!!" Thankfully the NSRI had our backs, cruising beyond the breakers for any signs of our toothy underwater friends.
I actually managed to get on the final wave, if only for a few seconds before a comrade fell and hit my board with what sounded like his head. Being a good lad, I dropped out to check if he was okay. No blood, just a sour face. I headed in after catching a few more little waves and was amazed at how many people were still in for the long haul. A beach party it truly was. We didn't make the Earthwave Guinness World Record and got a fair shot of 84 surfers on one wave. Next year will come and this time, I'll be early with a long board.
