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In the barrel

Waves have been a captivating force of nature since time began. The ocean’s sheer power can be terrifying to some yet also pleasurable to others whose passion is to swim, watch or ride these super tubes of water.

Bodyboarder, photographer and lover of the ocean Peter Lambert has spent much of his life searching for the perfect barrel. Lambert’s long swims have earned the respect of many big wave surfers as one of the few photographers who shot Dungeons and Sunsets reef from the water. His pictures put you right in the eye of these waves and many others as the water folds around you in a glassy green room.

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THE SLAB at Dungeons

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This mutant wave that breaks on the inside of Dungeons onto a slab of rock is not for the faint of heart. Not only is it one of the heaviest and dangerous waves in the Cape, but it is also unfortunately located in a perfect position for you to get completely obliterated by any freak set that swings wide at Dungeons.

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DIAS BEACH The white sandy beach of Dias is tucked away at the foot of the cliffs at Cape Point nature reserve. It is a heavy shorey that breaks right on the sand. Getting it wrong will see you spend weeks trying to get sand out of your ears.

On this day the riders had more than just the usual baboons to contend with, when getting out of the water after an hour long session a great white was spotted breaching, disproving everyone’s belief that an earlier shark scare was just a seal.

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SUNSETS This wave is a good 1 kilometre paddle off-shore.

Sunsets is at its best on 15-20 feet on a light South Eastern wind.

The picture on the opposite page was taken in 2010 as riders James Lowe and Matt Bromely took off together. On this day one surfer saw a shark. With so far off-shore the only option was to huddle up together with Pete dangling his legs in the water, so he thought it entertaining to swim underneath and grab one of the surfer’s foot. Needless to say someone went home with brown undies.

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TAND The West Coast is synonymous with secret spots and sadly Tand is probably by now the most well-known.

Bodyboarders have been playing on this wave for years until surfers got sniff of its location and dubbed it Khoisan Ledge.

Tand breaks dangerously in front of an exposed barnacle covered rock that stands out of the water like a sore tooth.

An untimely take-off here can result in serious injury.

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COOPERS Mum’s the word in the bodyboarding community when it comes to this wave somewhere up the West Coast. This is one of the most isolated and perfect waves in South Africa, and we would like to keep it that way for now, so our words will be few . . .

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SANDY BAY Sandies is better known as the nudist beach of Cape Town, but apart from this reputation it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the city with plenty of small rocky bays and a long stretch of pure white sand at the end of a 20 minute walk from the car park.

Sandy’s icy barrels come alive when huge winter swells make other spots around the city to big to ride. Nearby is this beautiful wave tucked away between the rocks. It is a perfect clear barrel that exposes the sea bed underneath. The wave is great for photos, but not so great to ride, especially if you do not want to find yourself wedged under the granite boulder that the wave breaks towards.

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ONRUS SHOREY

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