What Surfing In Port Alfred Is All About
Surfing in Port Alfred is, by and large, uncrowded, even though the waves get insane at East Beach. West Beach can also get insane, but it remains pretty quiet most of the time, with just a few local surfers and bodyboarders sharing waves on most days.
When it comes to the radar when the banks line up perfectly, the swell is from the right direction, and the wind is light offshore, then the waves are usually good in Gqeberha and East London as well.
These days, people often just surf what’s in front of them, and only a few people are committed to hard travel for surfing.
Still, Jordy Smith, Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning are three surfers out of many who have enjoyed East Beach when it gets perfect. All of them have spoken of the break in superlatives, and rightly so.
This year we will see the Rip Curl GromSearch presented by The Royal St Andrews Hotel and the Rip Curl Cup presented by the Royal St Andrews Hotel take place at Port Alfred during the Port Alfred Easter Festival.
As surf journalist Jass Kushke wrote in a recent article,
” When the swell is just right (it likes a long-range south to southwest swell) East Beach off the Kowie River Mouth in Port Alfred is a long, fast hollow right-hander breaking over a sand bottom. That’s not every day, though, and more often, you’ll find a sedate, short left-hander bowling up in the rip toward the rocks with easy, peaky rights further down the beach. Experienced surfers jump from the rocks into the mouth at the head of the wall instead of paddling out, but this can be somewhat hairy, so don’t attempt it until your confidence and ocean knowledge are on a level.
When it’s on, it can provide a fast hollow top section with the potential of some solid tubes. Toward the inside, the face opens up, allowing for some rail and lip work, with the ride often punctuated by a left breaking peak, to make up some good close-out aerial stuff.”
See also: Port Alfred Easter Festival Facebook
