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#shorts #spearfishing #competition #kzn #boland Meet Vloei en Henku. as they announce the raffle of a super duper Speargun to assist on their competition costs. The competition is well underway and we look to be diving again today. stay posted... more at thesardine.co.za

Hiding to nowhere on Protea Reef: I watched helplessly as the reel in front of me, just melted away line. The sound was deafening. I was absolutely flummoxed. For the longest time, I can’t remember being in such a state. “I am sick n tired of big fish!” – going through my head. It had just been 15 minutes of craziness. And I had no idea at this stage, the dire future that screaming reel had in store. Plus another rig too… This is how I think it happened, it’s all a blur…but there are three of us to corroborate the story with. Digby Smith invited me and my newest guest, Sean Calitz, along for a jaunt. Marlin was the keyword. And the weather websites ALL agreed on a perfect Tuesday. Enjoy the launch, a tiny bit of the story, and hitting the beach again… VIDEO As you can see from the video, the weather reports were totally wrong. And true to fishing on Game ON form, the SW pomped. And pomped. Over 15 knots most of the time. The swell jacked in the current, and our chosen starting point, Protea Reef was moody. Game On as a boat only likes inclement and worrying conditions anyway. Daisy chains were our only retort to this cacophony of wind and swell. We got two bonito (these ones are actually Eastern Little Tuna) in no time and chucked them in the luna tubes. If we stuck either of these guys out live on the southern pinnacle on Protea, we would have had trouble. We might have got a strike. But the sharks love it down that way. Then, to make the run all the way back to the backline (5 miles), we needed at least two more baits. I watched the spread out the back as I always try to be doing in times like these. When I saw a big fish come flying and smack a small kona type feather thing. Which just screamed in agony. No chance. Two more rods went. All screamers. The guys each had one on. And this is where the opening scene comes into the story. Targeting live bait These were daisy chains and small feather rods for bonito and baby yellowfin. But we had just been marauded by a wolf pack of huge gamefish. Yellowfin Tuna were our first suspects. All our small lures were gone. Some bitten off. We deduced tuna being sharked. I scrambled for solutions and found a stout little Tyrnos 20 and chucked on a small Kona. The line was 50lb and so I let the lure back and jammed the drag up tight. Slammed it into the back upright holder and went back to work. I grabbed the next rod – a lovely little Penn 40 lever drag, and set to work on that fast. Trying to scratch together a daisy chain or something else to put out. Digby and Sean had each put another rod out the back and were all set. They came in like rockets. Every strike was visual and on top. Explosions. Flashes of blue. Digby and Sean were vas with each of their fish trying to burn off the other. They did really well to stay connected for the few seconds that they were. Both were bitten off. The Tyrnos 20 in front of me was also shouting at the top of its voice. I tried to take it from the upright holder. Would not budge. Drag was set soooo tight. Suddenly the Tyrnos slowed right down and stopped. I got the butt out of the holder but was still stashing the rod I was working with. I was dealing with two rods and all the chaos and excitement had literally overcome my decision-making abilities. The angry fish aimed its head somewhere and put on a huge burst of power. I had zero chance. The rod was ripped from my hand and was gone at very high speed. I jumped anyway. The water is very clean on Protea I might tell you. But I never saw any rod. It was gone in an instant. When I came back up I jumped on the boat only to discover that I had kicked the other rod clean off the boat with my well-meant but completely pointless jump-in (well I got a viz report for the visiting Boland Spearo Team). Luckily the hook I had just tied on got stuck in my shorts. But the rod was in free-spool, and all the line was all out. 500 metres of braid. Plus top line and leader. I tied up to another light rod with some space and man oh man, I have never fought a fishing rod for so long or so hard. Backline Beaten. A hiding to nowhere. Or to the backline at least. Where Sean”s live bonito got munched by a hammer in no time flat. Those brown marlin shark fish can behave exactly like a couta. From the strike to the way it fights, well, I was hopeful in the beginning. And after one helluva run. But when it came back brown, I knew that was the end for us on this day. A hiding to nowhere! Stay with us at the Umzimkulu Marina where the guys at Umzimkulu Adrenalin can hook you up. Deep-sea. Estuaries. Rock n surf. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are working on the Boland Spearo teams surf launching skill set at the moment. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves.

#boland #spearfishing #national #champs #kzn #natal #umzimkulu Henco and Vloei of the Boland Spearfishing team made the huge trip up from Cape Town. To the Umzimkulu Marina. In Port Shepstone, KZN. To prepare for the upcoming national spearfishing event that we are competing in. 60 Of the best spearos in the water, will converge for a week, to compete. The dates are 1 - 7 May 2023. Teams of 3 are fielded by provinces all over the country. But don't expect to see huge catches of huge fish at this event. The rules are totally conservation oriented. With a minimum weight of 1kg, up to 4kgs. Different species score different points. And the breakdown is really weird, to say the least. These divers will have to perform complex mathematical calculations underwater before they pull the trigger. Shooting the closest to 4kgs of any species, is top strategy for this event. So this launch is Henco's first out of the Umzimkulu Mouth in Sheppy. But having launched at Umkomaas a number of times before this, I was sure he would get us through just fine. Which he did. We were fortunate enough to have the Niteshift launch right before us so Henco could watch and see the line he chose. The 90hp single engine configuration makes this little 5.5m boat nigh invincible. Super fast acceleration. And turns on a dime. Both advantages played a role in getting us out there through a very unpredictable swell on this day. Stay posted for updates as the event unfolds... We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the next while for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#launch #shelly #beach #shelley #kzn #africa #surf Welcome to another instalment on the Surf Launching Southern Africa YouTube channel. We are back at Shelley Beach, KZN, South Africa. All set for a big day out catching up on things. We had been away for a month or so, and it was time to re-establish in the area. Loading up the good ship Game On, we got to the Shelley Beach Ski-Boat Club, or Sonny Evans Small Craft Harbour... Surprise! No tractor! Straight back to the 80s. Where we worked the art of the wet launch, to get our oversized ski boats through the shore break. But Digby, Captain of Game On, has a new Hilux 4wd. And there is no way that thing is allowed near any saltwater! Luckily, there are a team of guys at the base, who will help you get your boat in, using the time-tested dry launch method. Which is when you just plop the boat on the beach. And PUSH! This saves the vehicle from the salt. And upon return, the whinch on the front of the Hilux takes quick care of loading up again. Conditions For this launch, were unfavourable from the start. And after pushing through the shore break, it was a long time in the holding area. Since Digby had to wait for two breaks. One swell was coming in from the north. And the other, much stronger, came in from the south. So a break was often, not, a break. We had to wait for both swells to synchronise. But they did. And we never even come near a wave all the way out. Fishing The fishing was excellent, although very slow in the beginning, as we patrolled the backline for snoek and couta. By the time we got near Protea, after patrolling out deep a while, the tuna came alive. Switching from a billfish spread to tuna produced a double-up strike within 30 seconds. And as the guys were reeling their fish in, a cheeky young marlin came in and smashed BOTH the tuna clean off the lures. And ate them. Right in front of our disbelieving eyes. We had been trolling for marlin for three hours before that! But. This is why I go to sea so much. To me the place is like the Kruger Park. It is wild out there. And an encounter like the one above is forever and indelibly printed into your mind. To think about over and over again. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are set for a jam-packed Easter. We have a kayak fishing course on. And! The Western Province spearo team checks in today at the Umzimkulu Marina - for a month! The ocean is behaving and the current seems to be back inshore where it's needed to sweep the green water away. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#brucifire #surf #surfing #jbay #jeffreys #bay Brucifire Surf Reports on Cyclone Freddy first waves in Jeffreys Bay for 2023! Yips, cyclone Freddy sent a welcome east influenced swell into the bay in JBay last week. And Brucifire was there to document it all as the wave-starved locals devoured every set. Well almost every set...the crowds were tame and small in number - only 20 to 30 guys at once. But plenty waves coming through in waves as the cyclone generated swell just kept throwing them in. Not big by any standards but some guys got themselves properly covered up in those racy sections. February is statistically the month with the most swell here in KZN and the Eastern Cape too. The concentrated storms come through week after week in January and February and each one sends a swell down this way. Often this coincides with a cold front from the Cape, and this combination lights up everyone's faces. Surfers. Spearos and anglers all revel in these conditions. Stay in touch with what is going in and the around the ocean here by checking back to The Sardine News every now and then. https://thesardine.co.za Support Brucifire Surf Reports by buying some merchandise at the https://brucifire.co.za international shop.

#surf #launch #launching #southernafrica #boat #shelleybeach #kzn Captain Digby Smith and I had the fortune to have aboard the GameOn on this trip, a certain Professor Anthony Turton. Who is a wealth of relevant fishing information. On this trip we caught a lot of small tuna, we missed one billfish, but man oh man did Digby and I learn a LOT! Check out The Sardine News at https://thesardine.co.za for more... We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course this year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#surf #launch #southern #africa #portshepstone #kzn Carl Gous takes us flying through the Umzimkulu River mouth in Port Shepstone on his ultra-fun monohull. Powered by twin 60hp Yamaha 2-strokes, this boat is so much fun in any surf zone. And makes short work of this beautiful clear day at the river mouth. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course this year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#shorts #surf #launch #port shepstone #kzn #south africa Thanks to Phillip for holding tight and risking his phone to film this one minute launch at the Umnzimkulu River Mouth in Port Shepstone, South Africa. There ain't too many waves to be worried about but the chop on the inside as we negotiated towards the take-off spot, was bone-jarring on out little 16ft monohull. But the twin 60hps powering it made short work of the sandbar crossing and the surf, we never even touched the bottom. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the new year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#shorts #cyclone #freddy #mozambique #inhambane Unfortunately for Inhambane Province in Mozambique, this Cyclone Freddy keeps changing direction. And has now settled on a target in the Inhambane town area. It is a serious cyclone and we can just reach out to and pray for anyone who takes the wrath of Cyclone Freddy on the head. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the new year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#catfish #barbel #perch #umzimkulu Our guests a short while back rocked in here at the Umzimkulu Marina smack bang in the middle of another outburst by nature. It rained and rained and rained. But when it finally let up, the barbel were eagerly waiting for us at the jetty. Squid, chicken, sardine...these guys eat anything. And really put up a great fight every time. Sometimes tearing off on the surface, other times doggedly down deep. They also will take a lure but that is highly specialised fishing and something we have yet to take more interest in (Shaun Begg, a provincial angler guest we have here often enough, has promised to show us the way next time he is here). So the chiefly freshwater breathing barbel come barreling down the river with the flood waters. They happily hang out here in the lower reaches of the estuary, in the completely fresh brown water. Then as we go through another tide cycle, and the strong prevalent east winds join forces with the strong prevailing south current, the brown water plume is whipped away southwards and diluted into the vast ocean down thataway. Allowing the salty blue water to come back into this estuary (it is one of a handful of estuaries that still function and are not completely silted up and closed). The brown water is alkaline having washed all the way down from the Lesotho Highlands. This alkalinity performs a vital function. It balances the acidity levels of the ocean. Unfortunately, reprehensible farming practises have stripped most of the coastline of it's natural flood-impeding vegetation. And therefore topsoil. Cattle, goats, sheep, chickens - have taken the natural habitat of wild animals and wild vegetation away. We are down to a few ravines, cliffs and valleys that these animals can't get to. It's clearly visible how close these domestic animals get to the edge of cliffs. They destroy it all until it's gone. Add sugar cane to the mix and we have destroyed our very own coastline. One which was handed to us in a pristine state not even a hundred years ago. All we have achieved in this time, is laying waste to a beautiful land that once was. All of this bad news, coupled to the completely incapable cadres we have running the show - that pour raw sewage into stormwater drains, rivers and the sea. And can't maintain a thing - and yes, we have a disaster on our hands. Tourism is suffering hard - bookings are way down here in KZN. Since the mismanagement and corruption we have had to deal with has now led to visitors taking ill and going to hospital. Losing limbs. And even their lives. As in Harding recently. This all manifests in the estuaries. Like a toilet. Which, if not flushed, does exactly what your toilet does, when not flushed. The bacteria responsible for breaking down the effluent, needs oxygen to operate. But because the system is now closed, and no water is flowing through, the limited available oxygen runs out. The bacteria succumbs. If there was a goldfish in the toilet, it would be belly up at this stage. After a week or so, the water starts to go black. And if you go in this water, you are seriously in trouble. When the floods eventually flush the toilet, all this tepid and poisonous water hits the ocean. Your local beach. And you get sick. * Acknowledgements to Professor Anthony Turton who unbelievably is a professor of all things water and the environment. Thank you Tony, for realigning my misaligned understandings and misunderstandings. What can we do? Well we are doing what we can here in Port Shepstone. Many activist groups have recently formed. And are amalgamating. This unifying of forces is starting to produce results. We have a class action law suit against the ANC. We have Afriforum and Sakeliga at the table. Regular meetings have led to a game plan. If you would like to get involved, check it out at... independenceca.org and greennet.org.za thesardine.co.za

Yeah well this launch takes the cake this 2023 season so far. Just trying to hold on made camera work a sheer impossibility. All the footage featured was put through a warp stabilizer during the edit. Which took two days to iron out into something almost useable. These are inclement conditions. And we only went out to sea because for like 4 days, since the first couta video, we just couldn't get out there. The blue blue water has moved right in against the brown flood water, and the halocline has been really hot lately. But on this day, the wind, big waves and current were not in harmony with eachother. And, there was another problem... 29 Degree water! Duarte (https://fishbazaruto.com) won't even fish if it's like that! The fish get so lazy. They hardly move! My Dad says this is the hottest/warmest water he as ever seen in 40 plus years of fishing here. We have Bulelani Saunders here, from the Transkei, doing his fishing guide course and man is he getting a baptism of fire. He actually thinks this is all just normal! Crazy launches. Wild seas. Couta! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG4OmwFwWAY Check that video out for what the days out here are supposed to be like! Featuring the Niteshift's first couta of the season. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course soon for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, or becoming a fishing guide, please get in touch via that website. Or Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#shorts #lures #mydo #traces #couta #kzn #umzimkulu So this year round and it took until the 5 February for the Niteshift to boat her first couta of the 2023 season. A handsome fish looking towards 20kgs but not quite. A live mackerel was on the MYDO trace and it didn't take long for that lone fish to find the bait. However, that was the only couta for the day aboard the Niteshift. There were rumours airwaving around about more couta being taken. But... And herein lies the quandry. The best anglers do not brag about their catches. Ever. They just don't want Joe Public to know about where the vulnerable big fish are. Otherwise they will be gone. And since we are way down to below 4% of the oceans stocks since we began fishing mechanically and with nets, this makes prudent sense. Unfortunately it takes many decades of experience to reach these levels of consideration. Joe Public, who has just discovered fishing, will do anything to get that photograph. Even lie! There is a chap on the north coast who we al know about. He posts fish that he never even caught. He has been busted so many times, and yet he still does it! And the worst is those guys who come from out-of-town, luck into a decent fish, post it al over social. Absolutely inconsiderate. Making YouTubey stuff, at someone else's beach, is just not on. What you can do, is what we all do, make sure no-one gets to know where exactly your chosen fishing spot was. Photograph the situation in a way that doesn't let on. Otherwise you will kill all the fish at that spot for sure... Letting fish go is such an amazing feeling. Watching a fish swim away after receiving a staunch lesson in survival from you, tops anything. We need to carry on catching and releasing (educating) fish for their survival. Or there will be none left. Here at Umzimkulu Adrenalin, we only keep fish that are injured beyond repair. All the rest are photographed, and go back. If you appreciate this kind of stuff, please get in touch with me Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com or +27793269671 anytime. https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za holds many answers for you. https://thesardine.co.za is where you can stay up-to-date. https://mydofishinglures.co.za is where you can buy MYDOs.

#couta #mydo #niteshift #umzimkulu #lures #traces The crew of the Niteshift watched curiously as the little red chopper came into their airspace out of Port Shsepstone. Next thing, the chopper pilot aimed the nose downwards and headed to a patch of water a few hundred metres away. As the Niteshift crew watched on, the chopper orbited the area and then flew off to find something else to look at. A few minutes later... And the live mackerel out the back, on the big rod, screamed. My Dada, aka Captain Skomolo, already had the rod in his hands when it happened so he merely made sure of the almost croc couta. Liam and Jarrod Galagher were along on the trip. With Bongani Saunders, who at this point is halfway through his fishing guide course here with us at the Umzimkulu Marina. They launched this morning specifically to try and catch the first couta of the season for The Niteshift. Liam was the cameraman throughout the trip. He did a spectacular job of capturing the launch. And the fight - right to the gaff and the shouts of joy! The brown water is flowing out of the Umzimkulu beautifully at the moment. Just the right amount to keep the halocline (brown water line), at the right depth. When the east blows hard, coupled with the current, the brown water is swiftly despatched southwards. ANd the following spring tide sees clean water back in the estuary. This is an excellent time to be fishing! Get in touch via https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za if you would like to join us in the estuary, out at sea, or from the beach. We make MYDO Fishing Lures at https://mydofishinglures.co.za. Stay in the news with https://thesardine.co.za

#umzimkulu #surf launch #surf #boat #africa Another day of east swells, stacked up on top of each other. I had no idea my Dad was setting up a launch. We had - they day before, given in to common sense and safety. But he was. And in an instant we had charged across the sandbank, heading between the east swells, and straight for the beach. I had already turned my camera off and was getting ready to go home and back to bed. I got the camera rolling again just as we changed direction back out to sea to hit the first foamie. Just after we snagged on the sandbank for a few terrifying seconds. I remember looking up at this stage and rolling through my head were the words - "Worse case scenario". Hemmed in right on the inside, we now had to claw our way back into contention for open waters. The first wave stood up and tried to break onto us, but we prevailed with some serious torque from those high-thrust Yamahas with new propellers. The second wave was a proper big old foamie which we flew through at our now built up speed. The next 5 waves were a blur of speed and spray. And the oh so lovely sound of those four strokes chewing away at the surf. We got out just fine - the whole episode probably lasted a few seconds. But it felt like absolute ages stuck inside that impact zone. Bulelani, our crew for this trip, is presently studying to be a fishing guide with us here at umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za. He has a while to go still, so you can expect to see Bulelani starring in many of our upcoming, and past videos. If you would like to pursue a carer in fishing and conservation, get in touch with Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com or +27793269671. More about us... We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the new year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

If in doubt, don't go out... Surfers say the opposite. But they only have a surfboard with them. Taking a fully equipped boat through the waves, with souls on board, is another case entirely. Not comparable actually. When you make a mess in the waves with your boat, it's a real mess. And so this morning we backed out. It's about one in five launches that we back out of. Here at the river mouth in Port Shepstone. It's not a friendly launch at al. But the swel on this day, also would have maade Shelley Beach - just down the coast - also very tricky. East swells The stupid cyclone that is bouncing around between Madagascar and Mozambique to the north of us, has spun up this east swell like this. The storm is not very far away and so the wave period, is very short. Maybe 6 or 7 seconds. Meaning the waves are stacked up one after the other. And they are moving fast having not had time to slow down as they would if the reach (distance away the storm is) was more. South swells The technical opposite of the east swell, which could be caled a north swell to if you wanted to, is the south swell. That comes from the west?! These are waves that were generated very far away, in the southern ocean. By the time they get here they are beautifully sculptured and clean. With huge wave period up to 18 seconds. This makes for easy launching, at all the spots. As opposed to the east swells, which basically blocks off the launch spots, by directing waves straight at them. In a south swell launch situation here in KZN, you get to run through the gaps between the waves as they roll in gently. In an east swell, you face it all head-on. Video Bulelani is here at the Umzimkulu Marina, he is on his 4th day of his Fishing Guide Course with us. Having caught his first fish - a rock salmon on his very first outing, we are now trying to put Bulelani onto all the summer gamefish which are right here at the moment. Stay posted - we are going to to try again as soon as the waves let up! We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the new year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Obviously we also offer Fishing Guide Courses, with practical training too. Here in Port Shepstone. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

Bulelani who hails from Lusikisiki in the Transkei, went through his surf launching baptism of fire this very morning. He survived his first outing through the waves and back. Bulelani is here at the Umzimkulu Marina doing his MYDO Fishing Lures Fishing Guide Course. It's a 3 week episode and on Day 3 so far, Bulelani is doing well with a rock salmon, and a bunch of bait species under his belt. Fishing School is a lot of fun with the practical side of the course run here at the Umzimkulu Marina. Board and lodging included. Contact Sean on +27793269671 or umzimkulu@gmail.com. We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the new year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch via that website. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#surf #launching #margate #beach #kzn #south #africa My first gig in the movies...Orkney Snork Nie, I was Ouboet's stunt double as the van Tonder family hit Margate to party and chaos ensued. Classic old South African movie encapsulates what it used to be like. The boat had zero wet deck and my handheld radio fell into the fast-gathering water on the cockpit floor. And failed. The first of many handheld radios I have destroyed. Luckily the brief was simple, al I had to do was come in from the north, in between some waves, and then head out off to sea. I got paid R80! We (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) are running an Advanced Surf Launching course in the new year for some guys. If you are interested in a course like this, please get in touch with Sean on +27793269671 or umzimkulu@gmail.com. Check out https://mydofishinglures.co.za for more about what to do once you get out through the waves. Stay with us in Port Shepstone at https://umzimkulu.co.za. We can build you a website by Tiger Lily Consulting at https://tigerlilyconsulting.co.za and help you build sales. Or a complete system.

#hammer #hammerhead #shark #portshepstone #umzimkulu #surf #launching #southernafrica Hahahaha hammerhead as our only bait gets chomped by a hammerhead shark. On camera. But not after we were completely soaked through by an errant late right turn that the Niteshift missed whilst traversing the waves. Our hapless victims (students on vacation from Holland and Portugal) however were young enough to get up off the floor and get back at the ocean for some fishing fun. The takeaway from this video is quite simply that if your catamaran style boat is big enough, and you are going fast enough in the right direction (forward and out to sea), you can hit a wave at a very acute angle and be just fine. Safely soaking your entire crew as you go along doing it. It was quite un-nerving as we made the transition from little mono-hulls to bigger cats. Hitting waves sideways like that took quite some to time to get used to. But once you adapt your tactical thinking around this new-found ability, you can build it right in to your fast-thinking ensuring safe and dry launches for everyone. Check out MYDO Fishing Lures at mydofishinglures.co.za for International orders. And thesardine.co.za/mydo for if you are South African.

#maputo #surf #launch #pomene This trip taught us a LOT. Nothing went wrong for us at all. But it was really close. We got back into the teeth of a deadly cut off low storm that took over 40 lives that night. Boats were lost. Crew were lost. As we made it into the mooring area at Inhace Island just off Maputo, the entire sky was lit up by permanent lightning. And all the clouds were that deadly gold colour that they glow when the atmosphere that they are present in is so radically charged with electricity. NB - Watch out for gold skies... Over 700 miles we travelled in that big aluminium dream machine of a catamaran. That could take 100 people with ease. At 30 knots! Through literally any seas we could throw at it. Not once on this job did we have good weather. Every day was a challenge. Our mandate was to set up a channel with markers. And then take the locally hired MSC skippers through. Over and over so that would be able to do this all at high speed and efficiency when that big old cruise ship stops by. Once all this reconasence work was done, we took that boat all the way back to Inhaca Island. And then a few weeks later all four boats made the trip to Pomene where they still are to this day.

#shorts Captain Duarte Rato finishes off the fishbazaruto.com big marlin season for 2022 with a beautiful clip of a good sized marlin swimming away freely and happily. by The Sardine News at thesardine.co.za

#surf #launch #southernafrica #river #mouth I have a new student checking in with us here at the Umzimkulu Marina over the holidays. Mark has enrolled in my advanced surf launching course. I told him about this launch my Dad and I experienced recently (Dec 2022) and have put it together so Mark knows exactly what to expect. Especially now that we are in the wet season which is characterized by many days of east winds. The Beasterly Easterly. Which is actually a north-easterly drives down on us from the Mozambique channel with vengeance. It is not a gusting wind like the lovely south west winds. It's more like a driving force that just gets stronger and stronger all day long. And this relentless whipping of the oceans surface is what froths up these short period swells. The period can be right down to 6 seconds. As opposed to a decent south swell rolling in around the corner at a sedate 16 seconds or more. These are really big swells though and you really ought to keep your distance from them. Which is easy enough. The other takeaway for me was that since the motors on Niteshift were upgraded from super-economical carburettor 50hps, to high-thrust 60hps, we are helluva lot better off. But we do use a lot more gas. If any of you guys are interested in a thorough course in surviving the surf zone with your boat and crew, get in touch with me Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com or +27793269671.