29th February 2012

SURF CITY: Jeffreys Bay is a small town where big things happen. The locals love it, and you will too, writes Nicole Klokow. Article published on www.theherald.co.za. 

WHEN the waves are good in Jeffreys Bay – and they often are – you‘ll spot the surfers heading for The beach, wetsuits peeled to the waist, boards waxed, and hair bleached by the sun. For two weeks in July every year, the eyes of the world are on this Eastern Cape town as the Billabong Pro brings elite surfers like Kelly Slater and Taj Burrow to ride the legendary waves.

While surf culture – and some of the best breaks in the world – have made Jeffreys Bay what it is today, it is the locals who give the town its unique energy, and who prove that Jeffreys Bay is a fantastic place to live, work and play.

What was once a local surf spot for the laidback kids of the 1970s is now a growing business hub, with surf shops, housing developments, restaurants and guesthouses popping up all over town. It‘s an international tourist destination, and it‘s right on our doorstep.

Andy Thuysman, owner of Instep Leathercraft, remembers Jeffreys Bay as a small surfing village.

“At heart, it‘s still the same place it was 30-odd years ago,” he says. “Back then, we could fit the whole town into one place for a New Year‘s Eve party.”

A lot of those people are still around – Andy, for one, Cheron Kraak, who established the Billabong brand in Jeffreys Bay, and Glen D‘Arcy, surfboard manufacturer and importer.

“It‘s the lifestyle that keeps them here. People in the city don‘t realise what Jeffreys Bay has – space, beaches, nine great surf breaks, no traffic jams. It‘s laid back, sure, but we get things done.”

Adds J-Bay dentist Isabeau Joubert: “There are some things only a local would know about this town, like the old milkwood trees that used to grow opposite Main Beach; how you could drive down Da Gama and wave at every car you saw because you knew everybody in town; the beautiful sunrises over the bay; the shell-scattered beaches, and the fact that the wind always picks up at 11.”

Isabeau has lived in Jeffreys for 20 of her 37 years, with a nine-year detour travelling in Europe. “Only Jeffreys Bay can give you that holiday feeling – even while you‘re working.”

Peter Nicholson and Tara Hossack know that feeling well. They both work in marketing at the Billabong South Africa head offices.

“It‘s an incredible working lifestyle,” says Peter. “ We get to surf whenever the waves are good.”

Tara moved there from Cape Town two years ago, and loves her new home base. “Living close to the beach is awesome. We travel so much for work, it‘s nice to come back to this quiet town. What we have here, you just don‘t get anywhere else.”

Cypriot George Sarmias had been in the restaurant business for many years when he moved to Jeffreys Bay in 2007. He opened his restaurant, The Greek, which overlooks the Kitchen Windows surf break, last October, bringing with him his passion for the Mediterranean diet.

This is a man who knows his food – his meze spreads have knocked the socks off the locals. Regulars challenge him to games of backgammon and he gladly accepts, for George‘s is the kind of place where people sit well into the night, enjoying food, wine and conversation.

“The people are what keep me here,” says George, who is assisted in the restaurant by his sons, Andoni and Andreas. “It‘s a spectacular town. There‘s big business, tourism – there‘s not a nationality I haven‘t seen at my tables – and the locals go out of their way to make you feel welcome.”

This sentiment is echoed by another globe-trotting resident. Liesl Ogston has been in and out of the country for the past 13 years, living in Europe and the States, but right now, Jeffreys Bay is where she wants to be. She and her husband Logan, a musician and surfer, run Zen Guest House from their home. “We came here on a one-week surf trip, found a house, moved in October last year and opened the guesthouse in November.”

Fairly new to town, the couple has found Jeffreys Bay to be open-hearted and open- minded. “There‘s a cosmopolitan mix,” says Liesl. “Because Logan‘s a musician, we meet a lot of different people. It certainly keeps life interesting.”

For Liesl‘s friends, Deon and Tanya Lategan, it all comes back to surfing. “We could earn more, drive better cars, and afford more holidays if we lived elsewhere,” says Tanya, “but the way we see it, it's about quality of life. Thousands of surfers all over the world dream of riding the waves we ride in our own backyard.

“Here, we get to surf the same spots as our heroes. How many golfers get the opportunity to talk to Tiger Woods? Last year‘s Billabong Pro champion, Kelly Slater, is on first name terms with our dog Wollie.”

Clearly, life in Jeffreys Bay has its perks.

The Billabong Pro starts on Thursday and ends on July 19.