The ultimate surfing arena of Sunset turned on an outrageous display of power today, as 12 foot walls lurched through howling cross shore madness, and rain squalls pelted down while rogue sets loomed. The contest started early, and competitors were instantly playing cat and mouse with the lineup - and each other – dodging sets, fighting for priority, and doing their best to claim 6 point rides.
In a strange twist, I found myself in the channel during heat 13 as Damien Fahrenfort’s board caddy. We had a good laugh about it on the paddle out, because Damien grew up at Long Beach, and so did I.
I had pretty much a 9 year head start in life and being a local in Kommetjie, so I gave Damien a bit of trouble when he was a youngster full of attitude. He survived well enough, and is now much bigger than me and my, how the tables have turned. In fact, if someone had told either of us that one day I would be his board caddie in the Triple Crown at Sunset, we both would have laughed them out of town (or at least I would have, anyway).
Still, there I was, in the rain and wind, getting laid to waste by dodgy West peaks, making sure that Damien’s second board would be intact if he needed it. I was his bitch for 25 minutes, and Damien didn’t make my job much easier as he launched himself into a couple of nearly impossible drops, free falling into the flats on both of them, before catching his rail on the second one and then having to paddle through an 8 wave set.
He’s a strong kid, however, and handled it all with ease.
Board caddie culture must be one of the strangest sub cultures in modern surfing as 4 guys, some sitting on boards with another board leashed to their ankles, wait in the channel and follow the heat. When their surfer catches a wave, they race inside, to provide encouragement and advice and to set a pace for the paddle back out (or to provide a replacement surfboard for a snapped one). Kind of like the guy who runs on with the water at half time in the rugby match. Now imagine four of those water guys, who all know rugby really well, all sitting on the sideline bantering about rugby players, water, and great half time water deliveries, and you get close to what it’s like.
The waves were gnarly enough today to warrant a flipper on one foot, and a jetski for support for the caddies, but in less extreme conditions neither of these luxuries would be in place. The caddie is expected to sacrifice his only means of flotation to the competing surfer, and then swim in. In return, he traditionally receives 10% of the rider’s earnings for the event.
While the surfers in the water jockey for position and priority, in the channel it gets pretty chatty, even festive. Caddies hoot for rider’s waves, talk story while dodging sets and I was even offered a place to stay anytime I’m in Australia. It’s kind of like the anti-heat goes on on the periphery, will the real heat goes down on centre stage.
In the last minute of Damien’s heat, Frenchman Eric Rebiere took second place from him with a mushy ride to the beach, ending my caddying career for the time being. Meanwhile, in my anti-heat, the hooter sounded so I paddled in. While I was paddling, Damien took off on a wave between heats, broke his board and lost a fin.
Fortunately for me, the siren had wailed, the heat was done and I was already on the beach, my anti heat over. Dooma swam in with surprising ease, however, and I’m thinking maybe next time he can caddie for me.
