Hawston

Macassar is a great jumping spot, so good the locals are called 'Airforce’. Offering six to eight ramps to the edge of the bay, it’s best in strong SE that can still blow 30 knots even when the west coast’s dead-calm. But it’s not just conditions that are gnarly. The area between Eerste rivermouth and Seal Island is reputedly extremely sharky, the car-park gets sandblasted, and break-ins aren’t rare. It’s best to leave your girlfriend at home on a Macassar day! An outer reef catches the bigger waves at Strand so it’s good for freeride and wave training in cross-onshore wind. In SE, Strand’s too gusty for kiting but still works as a launch for downwinders to Macassar. When NW winds hover below 12 knots in eastern False Bay, it’s worth a trip to Cape Hangklip. The valley between Betty’s Bay and Rooi is an excellent wind-funnel that can provide 25 knots to Pringle Bay on its leeward side. Onshore SW works too, but especially in big swell and cross to cross-offshore wind Stony Point is the place to be. A fast beach-break with long steep faces, SE isn’t perfect but is also rideable. Betty’s Bay is best in SW and big swell too, but it’s generally just for surfers. Further east, one powerful beach-break after another lines up from Kleinmond all the way to Hawston, 10km away. So close to the township, Hawston itself isn’t exactly safe, but it’s a great launch for the downwinder to Kleinmond. Near the harbour it’s still pretty gusty but the wind gets increasingly consistent further down the beach. Hermanus isn’t just a popular holiday destination during September’s 'Whale Festival’, so the beach gets crowded, especially at weekends. The most interesting venue is Maanskyn Baai, east of the village. The beach that separates lagoon from ocean redirects SW wind upward, which makes for incredible air-time over the mirror-flat water. Just west of Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African continent, Brandfontein offers some amazing waveriding in NW wind from the right. Any luck you’ll see wild springboks on your drive in. Also west of the Cape, a headland protects the bay at Suiderstrand while waves break outside. The bump-and-jump is a bit gusty though. To get in, walk along the gravel beach to 'Pietie se Huis’. Struisbaai is an excellent place to work on your wavesailing. The outer reef only lets easy waves through and keeps things super-smooth in-between, especially at low tide. SE is cross-onshore, rare S wind also works on the outer reef although it gets pretty gusty inside the bay. Struisbaai Plaat is perfect in SW, usually with modest waves although very big swell can get really challenging over the well-formed sandbars. In the next bay lies the fishing village of Kassiesbaai, part of the little town of Arniston. A local folk song nicely sums up the whole region: “Kassies baai is a lekker baai. Daar waar di suid oos so lekker waai!” ('Kassies baai is a nice bay. Where the south east blows so nicely’). Further east, Witsands on the Breede River estuary is worth a look. The river’s formed a sandy peninsula with butter on one side, onshore wave conditions on the other.