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Nick Pike

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Nick Pike

Surfing since 1977 and writing since 1981, Nick Pike has spent time on, next to and under the water. He writes sunshine journalism about the beach, surfing, fishing, salty characters and living the good life at the coast under the church of God's blue sky.

Inside the cottages at Cintsa Dunes Resort, new owner Kira Rathbone, and her dad Ed,  have created a quiet space to decompress.
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AT THE BEACH | Peace, natural beauty and bird calls abound at Cintsa resort

Cintsa Dunes Resort offers a peaceful retreat immersed in natural beauty, where abundant birdlife and the unique ecology of coastal forest create a vibrant soundscape.

Twin Fin surfboards under the name Seaflight  from Jeffreys Bay, were all the rage in the 80s. Pictures: NICK PIKE
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At the Beach | Surfboard shapers are the Michaelangelos and Da Vincis of our game

I still have the original invoice for my first ever custom surfboard from Jeffreys Bay Surf and Sail.

A picture  taken at Queensbury Bay, backlit by an early sunrise.
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Spring tide reveals sheer beauty of garden in the sea

A particularly low spring tide reveals a vibrant underwater world teeming with diverse seaweed species at Gonubie Point.

Chris van Vuuren, left, and surfing pastor Andy Pitt  at Nahoon Reef in 2024.

AT THE BEACH | Last wave for selfless surfing pastor Andy Pitt

A local surfers paddle out for Andy Pitt will be advertised in the near future.

SHADES OF BLUE: Jethro Johnson having the tube ride of his life in the Banyaks in Indonesia. Picture: CONRADO LAGE

AT THE BEACH | Surfing paradise: the privilege of chasing the perfect wave with your best mates

The Banyak Islands are a group of 99 islands between Similue and Nias off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia’s Aceh Province.

Daniel Emslie celebrates his triumph at the Victoria Bay Quadrangular. Picture SUPPLIED

AT THE BEACH | Daniel Emslie escapes disaster, then rides to victory at iconic surf contest

Daniel Emslie does not wipe out often. His make rate is very high. He is just that good.

LONG WALK HOME: After Abandoning their broken craft and a swim through a sardine bait ball, Kelvin Herman and Dylan Cloete had a long walk back to Bonza Bay. Picture: BRUCE VIAENE

AT THE BEACH | Be well prepared for rogue solstice and equinox waves

Closest to solstice and equinox, spring tides are magnified, and if you catch a tube ride at low tide at Kowie East Beach during a winter solstice low spring tide, it might just be one of the best rides of your life.

Carl Wiersma, from Buffalo City/Port Alfred, has joined the SA U16 team for the world champs in El Salvador.  Carl surfs at high speed and is good both on rail and in the air.

At the Beach | Border junior surfers ride wave of success with national selection

Once again, it is a pretty large feather in our cap that excellence can and does come from KuGompo.

The author Nick Pike (right) meets with Ernest Bendeman,  owner of Bruce's Ocean Museum and Cafe in St Francis Bay.

AT THE BEACH | Checking out Bruce’s Beauties and Grannies Pool with a cappuccino

There is a dreamy little longboard wave rolling through Huletts and Left Overs just off Grannies Pool here in St Francis Bay as I write this.

Tristan Johnson, left, took second and ‘Surfer of the Contest’ Greg Emslie, first, in the over-45 division.

AT THE BEACH | A feather in the cap of Border/KuGompo surfing

Cape St Francis, Seal Point. First blood came a little late for the winning Border/KuGompo Masters surfing team last weekend.

Surfers Caroline Marks, Caitlin Simmers, Sierra Kerr, Sky Brown, Molly Picklum and Erin Brooks are the cast for ‘Now Days’.

AT THE BEACH | ‘Super Six’ women redefine limits in global surf adventure

I am ever so slightly in a state of shock and awe at the moment.

Big wave surfer Grant 'Twiggy' Baker rides the 5.5m (15-foot) barrel wave off Buffalo City harbour's western breakwall last week while Stuart Fowles, who towed him in, keeps watch from his jet ski.

AT THE BEACH | Storm surf spectacle puts Buffalo City’s harbour break on the map

Big wave surfers Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker and Stuart Fowles made local history when they surfed the Buffalo City harbour western breakwall in 15- to 18-foot waves (30- to 35-foot faces) in last Friday’s storm while the port was closed to…

Neve Bowen, left, and Anne Steiner, right, were team members with Meeghan Heenop at the SA Longboard Champs in J-Bay at the weekend.

AT THE BEACH | The beauty and the beast cover it all in SA longboard champ

“We were all brave together,” Meeghan Heenop tells me about being scared out of her wits at the Surf Emporium SA Longboard Championships, but paddling out with her teammates anyway in giant waves at Jeffreys Bay Lower Point.

Keaton Stansfeld wins the recent Discovery Surfers Challenge.

AT THE BEACH | Keaton wings his way to Discovery triumph

Keaton Stansfeld, 22, has wings on his heels. When this young man hits the tarmac, he flies. Mind you, over rocks, rivers, sand, track, trail, mountains and streams, he does the same.

Janey-Heather Wood has a junior Springbok call-up for the Water Polo World Championships on August 16, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

AT THE BEACH | Buffalo City has reason to feel proud of this all-in girl

Some people just run on a higher octane than others. Janey-Heather Wood is that girl. She runs on 440 volts while the rest of us lesser mortals are on 220.