New Pier Goes Mad
written by Craig Jarvis

Nov. 14, 2005 - DURBAN - Last Tuesday was the scheduled day for the Quiksilver Goodwave event to run in Durban. The swell had lifted on the Monday evening, and the forecast was looking good – four to six-foot and clean conditions with a prevailing offshore wind was the call. Everyone was excited for the event. That Tuesday morning saw conditions exceeding the call by just a tad (sarcasm), with relentless ten-foot plus freight trains pouring through over the mercilessly shallow New Pier bank.

Some called it the biggest swell in Durban in ten years; others called it the biggest November swell ever. Who knows what the history will eventually say? I do know one thing, it was by far the biggest swell this scribe had seen in his four and half years of residence in Durban.

The contest was called on hold and all those with a bit of courage or stupidity attempted the heavy jump off the pier.

Quite a few guys made it out, and plenty of people got caught on the bank and washed to the beach, with some attempting the paddle out up to four times. Others (yours truly) stood on the end of the pier and gave running commentary as to why we weren’t out there, and whether or not the pier was going to get washed away by a big set. The waves were solid and grinding, with closeout sets washing through from Pier to Pier every so often, and outside sand bars breaking in excess of fifteen-foot throughout the day. The standouts in the big stuff were new WCT-enlist Davey Weare and WQS campaigner Damien Fahrenfort. Big wave surfer Jason Ribbink got some ridiculous tow-ins across from the main peak, and Warwick Wright hooked into some bombs on his backhand. By ten o’clock in the morning it was a blown-out wash-through mess that saw all the surfers on the beach contemplating what the next day could bring.

The next day saw a very slight drop in the swell, but with slightly cleaner, more orderly conditions. The Quiksilver Goodwave had an early start, and it was a barrelfest from the beginning. Young upstart Josh Redman, brother of O’Neill Deep Blue ‘QS victor Dan Redman, got barrelled across the bay, and Sean Holmes, who flew up from tiny, onshore J-Bay, were the surfers of the moment.

The finals were a difficult affair, with big closeout sets interspersed by perfect six-foot runners, and wave selection was the go. Former Quiksilver ISA World Junior Champ Warwick Wright took first and a sixty thousand Rand cheque, which is pretty good coin in any currency, for surfing just four heats.

The day after the event, the Thursday, saw the waves at New Pier going completely mental, with Volcom team manager and former ‘QS campaigner Simon Nicholson getting the bombs of the morning. The swell was a much more manageable four to six-foot but it was flawless on the low tide with every single wave a barrel over the now impeccable New Pier bank. By that afternoon it was high tide, onshore and crappy, and by Friday had turned into the normal summer onshore slop, giving everyone a break to go into work and to have some respite from the summer sun.

For more photos of the swell and contest check out SurfConditions.co.za.