The Past (And Future) Of South African Big Wave Surfing. - Stab Mag

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The Past (And Future) Of South African Big Wave Surfing.

A tale of two waves.

elsewhere // Jun 19, 2021
Words by Luca Robinson
Reading Time: < 1 minute

As far as at-home-viewing goes, we surfers often find ourselves drawn to carnage– Shippies, Pipe, and who among us hasn’t had a Wedge-YouTube phase? Hence the notoriety of the unruly right-hander at the Southern tip of Africa: Dungeons.

Wild, weird, and powerful, it has everything required for fucked up surfing and premium viewing.

But just across the bay, though lesser known, is Dungeons’ more refined, more elegant older sister, Sunset, where South African big wave surfing began back in the late sixties. Her rowdier brother has had the spotlight for some time now, but she’s poised for a return: “If you want a perfect big wave, Sunset at 15-20 feet is as good as it gets,” says 3x World Champ, local and international charger Twiggy Baker. 

Her full potential remains untapped though. Eventually, Twiggy reckons, someone out there is gonna drop in behind the peak, and “get just a mind-bending barrel on a really big wave”. Until then, there’s no shortage of action. See for yourself here.

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