Jbay Day 4 Pt 2

On the drive back, we stop for baked goods and Tanja asks if I would like to check out a recycling project the community has going. On our way I point and ask, “What’s that beach?”

“If I told you I’d have to kill you.”

Ah…that spot. Deon had gone surfing there a few days ago. He won’t even take his own brother to this break. I’d read about it, a left point, maybe one of the best in the country, and extremely localized.

This sparks one of many conversations about localism. I have always thought of localism as a ridiculous macho territorial construct. But I kept my mind open, because my friends were intelligent and incredibly hospitable people and I wanted to hear their perspectives.

The main themes I gathered were sacrifice and contribution. Jbay is not a booming city overflowing with work opportunities. To live there, you will take any job you can get and you probably won’t make as much money as if you lived in a busier place.

They have also allowed one of the best waves to be surfed by so many visitors with a brand of localism described as much mellower than places in Hawaii, Australia and California. That is, there is indeed a pecking order and in their minds, it keeps it safe and organized.

Every July the place gets taken over and publicized by the professional contest. What do all of these visitors and pros bring to the place? A momentary rush in commerce, more development, more crowds, a lot of trash. In the end, it is the more stable community that looks after the place in the long term. One of the ways they do this is through the Supertubes Foundation which has been responsible for restoring the dunes and native plants and constructing boardwalks to protect the dunes and provide a great spot for viewing the waves and contest. They bring attention to the issues surrounding prospective nuclear power plants coming to the area, sewage leaks into the ocean there and they worked to make the Billabong Pro have less of an environmental impact.

When locals take responsibility for a place, when they care for it and restore it and make a the pleasant place to visit, then they do deserve the extra respect from those passing through.

And so, if they want to keep a break to themselves or take a few extra set waves, that is more than fair.

We continued to the site of the recycling project. It was in the local township. Contrasted with the nice houses overlooking the sea or the fancy buildings of downtown Cape Town, the townships are marks of the extreme class differences and stratification still present in this country (and many other places in the world).

When we arrive, we are told they are short on volunteers so we end up helping out for a while. The JBay recycling project is set up for kids. They bring in recyclables and get credit based on the weight of what they bring. The credit can then be used to purchase items like food, clothing, toiletries, toys etc. The kids can also choose to save their credit from week to week in order to buy bigger items like bicycles.

Lots of trash just gets thrown out on empty land and can eventually wash out into the ocean. This project takes care of the environment, teaches kids about earning, saving and spending. What we did on this day was go around the shop and help the kids figure out what they could afford.

Tanja kept apologizing because she knew I was wanting to go surf again but it was awesome to see the community involvement and the turnout for this program. The line seemed unending. One of the best parts was one of the girls from the neighborhood had began volunteering. She already knew three languages: English, Xhosa and Afrikaans at age 12. At 25 I know one language and how to say “hello” in about 5 others so I was quite impressed.

Once more volunteers showed up we headed back. I was definitely ready to get in the ocean while I still had the chance. Of course, the wind had turned onshore.  Being from Florida I should be used to that kind of thing. I go out for a last session. It’s choppy and flawed but it gives me time to reflect over my visit. I’m thankful for every bit of it, good waves, good friends, beautiful scenery and animals. Incredible.

I crash on the couch at 7 p.m. and wake up early to catch my bus back to Cape Town. I have a trip to Eland’s bay planned with friends and I’m looking forward to experiencing my first left point break.

As a bonus, check out this wave Deon connected from Supers through Point as captured by Bruce Gold. I was lucky to witness it in person but the commentary on this video makes it that much better.

http://www.thebombsurf.com/thebombsurfvideos/961/the-full-monty