Other places where the grower
phenomenon is especially
pronounced include the inside
bowl of St Leu and the final section
of Desert Point, which has even
become known as The Grower.
Not too long ago, this section was
deemed impossible to ride, thanks
to its penchant for luring surfers
into gaping tubes before shutting
down over near-dry coral, but
nowadays there’s a dedicated crew
of loons from around the world who
are almost exclusively committed
to riding The Grower. Legendary
photographer Pete Frieden once
summed the wave up best, saying,
“There’s so much skin left on that
part of the reef that it’s practically
human.”SPECIAL MENTION:
energy down the line. The wildcard
is when you’ve got a convex
shaped reef or bulge in the bottom
contours. This can exaggerate the
natural refraction and result in
intense focal points as the wave
peels down the line, like the
Carpark section at Supertubes.
“That’s where you often see
the wave grow a bit taller and get
faster,” says Dr Bjorn Backeberg,
oceanographer and researcher
at the Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research. “This
mostly has to do with a steeper
bathymetric slope and sharper
refraction as the wave gets
shallower and the angle of the reef
changes as it bends in along the
point, focusing the swell.”
Put simply, the wave will grow
in size and intensity as the deeper,
faster moving wave energy is
suddenly focused onto a shallower,
more prominent stretch of rock,
reef (or even sand).
“It depends on the swell
direction, but the grower sectionat J-Bay really comes into play
when it’s around four- to six-foot,”
says Jordy Smith. “You’ll take off
on a four-footer at the top of the
point, and by the time you get
down the line, it can be six-foot
solid. The really good ones seem
to cap out wide and then twist in
and double-up on the inside at the
Carpark, throwing out big, wide
barrels. It’s definitely one of my
favourite characteristics of J-Bay.”Overlooking Supertubes as the wave
refracts and bends down the line. If
Surfing Life’s office were right here, you
could bet granny’s milk bags we’d never
make a deadline for the rest of our lives.
PHOTO: GRAMBEAUEvan Geiselman laces up his sneakers and stretches
one out through the Deserts Grower section.
PHOTO: FREIDENConnor Coffin has curated his style at Rincon, a wave that shares many
similarities with its South African cousin. It’s little wonder Conner has
taken to J-Bay like a lion to a rump steak. PHOTO: THURTELL