Andrew grew up in Cape Town in Southern Suburbs. He started surfing when he was 12 years old at the Berg. He’s now 29 so it’s been almost 17 years of single-minded obsession over the ocean. He moved out to Kommetjie 11 years ago and has lived between Kom and Kalk Bay since 2002.

Since early 2011, Andrew has been working offshore as a hydrographic surveyor, mapping the sea floor and sub-bottom geology all over the world. That has taken him to Namibia a lot, Australia (where he managed to tie in a few weeks of surf in West Aus with some expat friends), Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, Sweden, Norway, Spain, France and the UK. Basically he’s been pretty busy travelling in the past few years.

Andrew went on his first surf trip out of South Africa when he was 15 years old. Went to Bali for 2 weeks with some mates from school and have been totally hooked on surf travel ever since. He finished school in 2001 and spent 2002 working in bars and restaurants (Bell and Polana), surfing his brains out around the Peninsula. He did his second trip to Indo for 2 months during the winter of that year. Just in the south… Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Nusa Lembongan.

He went to UCT in 2003 and studied Ocean and Atmosphere Science with a second major in Environmental and Geographical Science. He then did 4 years of Undergraduate (BSc Honours) finishing in 2006. He then hit the road, heading over to London for most of 2007. He did a trip to Portugal that year with some mates, but got pretty skunked. Surfed around the UK a bit and then spent a month in Morocco at the end of 2007/2008. Got awesome waves and made great friends with some really cool locals who let him crash on their couch for the last 2 weeks and showed him some of their favorite waves off the beaten track. On 2008, he spent a few months in Spain and Italy trying his hand at the Superyacht thing. He never really got into it and headed back to London to make some quick bucks for the remainder of the year.

Andrew went back to UCT in 2009/2010 to do a Master (MSc) in Physical Oceanography. He started working at sea collecting oceanographic data for the US government during 2010. He used to sail on container ships from Cape Town to New York 4 times a year, so he crossed the Atlantic by sea a fair few times. Then he did a monster road trip through Southeast Africa, driving from Dar es Salaam through Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and across South Africa. Scored epic waves in Mozams (that right superbank they were calling the African Kirra – he was there at the same time as the Zag guys and happened to luck into a monster cyclone swell).

Most recently surf trip wise he spent a month in West Java and South Sumatra in August with his boss, and had 2 weeks in West Ireland in October. Ireland is amazing he said because of the waves, culture, jols, friendliest people, natural beauty.

Andrew’s 2nd best place next to Cape Town were Pescuales in Mexico, or Safi in Morocco when there’s a massive North Atlantic groundswell with light offshore wind.  In terms of vibe, he would love Ireland. For natural beauty, the jungles of West Java would have to be right up there.

Andrew mainly surf Dunes because he just live in Klein Slangkop at the end of Wireless Road in Kommetjie so its 15mins from bed to barrel. He hits the reserve whenever the Dune isn’t on, otherwise Krons if the wind is South/Southwest, the tide high and the swell big enough.

Andrew has a lot of surfboards. From a 9’6 rhino chaser to a 5’11 dumpsterish shortboard. He has a couple of retro boards – an original Country Rhythm single fin from the 70′s plus – a modern rendition of that board shaped for him by Lyndon Read which has a single-fin box plus quad and twinnie setups. He rides a lot of barrelling, chunky waves in the South Peninsula so he has a lot of step-ups and semi-guns in the 6’6 to 7’6 range. In terms of surfing, He’s not the most talented surfer, but he really just enjoys getting barrelled and finding sweet lines on a wave. He doesn’t really care if it’s knee high or triple overhead, as long as he can get a bit of speed. He also hates crowds, so he often missions a long way or surf slightly worse waves to avoid the masses.

Andrew’s favorite surf spot is Dunes which is the most consistently world-class wave in Cape Town.. According to him Kalk Bay is great and he lived there for a couple of years. You get those quiet sessions and you get in with the crew so you can score some good waves. But the crowd is often a bit overboard (slight understatement). He said, he’s fortunate in that extensive travels because he have many epic trips over the years. The Mexican beachbreaks are top-notch, he said, but in terms of uncrowded quality his favorite would have to be a quiet corner of West Java, he scored in August 2012.

Every decision Andrew made in his life since he was 12 years old has been driven by his love for surfing and the ocean. What he studied, where he lives, where he travels, what work he do now. Andrew met so many great people and made many true friends both locally and all over the world through surfing. If he had to pick one that really influences him so much in surfing, he would pick Andrew Marr. He said, he has the best attitude of anyone he had met. Such a down to earth character for someone who charges so heavily, and he constantly has a massive grin on his face.

If given a chance to kick back with one of the famous surfer one day, Andrew would choose to be with Slater. He said this guy is just such an amazing athlete to have evolved over a 20-plus year career and still be challenging for world titles. He also would love to hang with Dorian, he’s on another level in anything heavy.

Bernie Shelly is one of Cape Town’s true surfing legends and who would have thought that she is a 65 years old surfer and a Grandma of six potential surfers. Aside from her husband, Alan, surfing is one of the determining elements of her life’s course. Although she didn’t surf for 25 years, stopped travelling and became a mother of 4, she didn’t quit and started surfing again in the early 90’s at the time long boards made a good comeback. She underwent a bilateral hip surgery 3 years ago, but that didn’t keep her out of the water and she continues to surf, compete and travel if given a chance.

She has competed most of her life. And just like other surfers she won some and she lost some. One of her greatest achievements was winning WP Champs in the Ladies category and adding 2nd, 3rd and 4th may times. Just lately a new category was formed for women above 35 – men have 5 year progressions. “In the older age division I have come out tops most times in WP Champs”, she revealed. She always ended up being runner up or at least being in the finals of SA Longboard champs and finally won the Diva division. Since the day she had her hip replacements, she became more reticent and careful. Imagine the thought of breaking your leg bones or dislocating your prosthesis; it’s a big deterrent to willful abandon.

Right now, her life revolves around her menagerie and family, but a lot still centers around surfing. She stopped teaching Psychology and English and dabbled a bit with writing for a while, but eventually became an enthusiast surfer. “Everyday, my waking thoughts involve tides, swell and wind”, she says. That’s how fanatic she was and even her holidays still get planned around surf spots (except of course for ski holidays). The majority of her clothes are simple and picked with the need to change in car-parks always kept in the mind. Any invitations will be declined or accepted depending upon her surf schedule.

She’s traveled a lot both locally and internationally, including St Francis, Jbay, Durban and Elands Bay as well as Mozambique, The Maldives and Madagascar. ( Read about her travels to Madagascar here ) For her, almost all the places she’s been to are second to Cape Town. “If it wasn’t for the damned South-easter and icy water this would be paradise, what with our bountiful, diverse coastline, multitude of surfbreaks of varied competency levels and types of waves, and our natural beauty”, she expressed.

Her bucket list includes surfing with only bikini bottoms on, no top – just plain freedom to surf. And she added, “the soul afraid of dying never learns to live”. However the cold water prevents her from doing so and thus she needs some warm private spot to do semi-naked surfing.

Apart from surfing, Bernie enjoys hiking, skiing, viewing nature in all its forms, spending time with friends or family and also her animals (two cats, four bantams and three golden retrievers). She also loves indigenous organic gardening, going to the cinema and movies, watching ballets, bicycling, pilates exercises, playing music and reading great books. And above all, dreaming about surfing.

Her present board is a David Stubbs 9ft epoxy performance longboard having a thruster set up but she is now experimenting with a bigger sole fin. Just lately she purchased a Bulldog from Natural Curve in Durban. This is like a 6’8″ longboard having a number of feet cut in the middle. “The rationale is that it’s a transition towards a short board, so that my surfing can be more versatile, but I doubt I’ll go shorter, so Winston will be my “short” board.” she says. “I’m into mellow head high surf, although I must acknowledge that an occasional adrenaline rush from a fast hollow (but makeable on a longboard) wave is very welcome.” she added.

Talking about her favorite surfing spot, there happens to be a super “secret” peeling wave around the West coast of Cape Town which is quickly becoming her favourite local spot. Not to mention the additional appeal of being not so crowded. Of course let’s not ignore the beauty of Muizenberg on a great day as among the best longboard waves in existence. Moreover, she loves the Hullett’s reef in St Francis Bay. “When it’s big the left is fast and exciting; when it is small, the right is fun. And it is almost always warm”, she remarked. More so, she finds the Bali’s Medewi to be amazing and ideal for longboards. “I’ve been barreled at Uluwatu (believe it or not) and the thrill of a hollow wave is undeniably orgasmic, but for me nothing surpasses the charm of a clean mellow running longboardable wave” she says.

Her expert advice on how to keep peace in the ocean (surfers, bodyboarders, SUPers are all combating the waves), all she can say is that, “there is an inexhaustible supply of waves, so if you don’t get your fair share today, you’ll get them on another occasion”. And besides, there’s nothing you can do about hogs and other idiots in water, so it’s wise to ignore them and just enjoy the waves that comes to you.

Like the other avid surfers, surfing influences every major decision in her life. Surfing dictates everything, whether she is available to baby-sit the grandchildren, what car to drive, how much money she has to spend, where would she go on a holiday – absolutely everything! After all, surfing is her passion, her sweet obsession, her remedy, her personality, and also her reality.

She met a lot of extraordinary women and men through surfing. One of those is Simone Robb, whose talent became her inspiration. Another one is her good friend Therese, who’s extremely addicted to fitness that keeps her from getting slouchy. And of course John Mc Carthy and Justin Bing, who taught her how to become a soul surfer and a motivated achiever.

“What’s to change when it’s the perfect lifestyle, perfect sport, and perfect way of living?”, these words are her answers when she was asked about one thing to change about surfing. What’s important for her is today and to have exciting plans for the future. Just recently, she met up with an old surf friend from the 60’s and with one more survivor of the “Seal Surf Club” days, and together they plan to bring back the erstwhile girls’ surf club. And if you are to ask her for what purpose, she would say, “Just for the stoke of it”. Also, she is preparing one more trip that requires a plane ride and someplace warm with bigger waves for next winter. Not to mention she wants to visit Mozambique the coming year during cyclone season.

In regards to the famous surfer she would like to kick back with for a day, she did not mention any names. All she says was, “Perhaps someone who is cool and fun and easy to be with.” “I would choose the person more for her/his qualities as a person than her ability to surf well,” she added.

For surfers, a typical day includes checking if there are any waves, having breakfast, and surfing the entire day. This is also true for Andrew Wilsnagh on a day off. Andrew began surfing at about 12 years old and attended Rondebosch Prep and High but eventually left because he hated it and went to Art College. His father was disappointed but his mother (who is originally French) was more supportive. Without any restrictions at school and having a passport on hand, Andrew gave studying a back seat and put surfing in the driver’s seat. But before long, when he reached 16, he became involved into school clubs and that became his priority. It took 3 years for him to stop surfing. Fortunately with some friends, Lyndon Read and Hamish Hogg, he was brought back into boards again. “I left the needle in my mid-twenties”, he says.

He started to surf more but it was only at the age of 27 that he truly re-discovered surfing. On a surf trip in Cornwall along with his mate Dave Colema, Andrew made a big mistake due to a hangover. “I bent my knee the wrong way and couldn’t walk, work or surf for about 6 or 7 months”, he recalled. On the 7th or 8th month, he felt surfable strength returning, and so he bought a board and scored the sickest Croyde (North Devon). He promised himself that if there are waves the next morning, there will be no time for jolling. This changed his whole life. The same theory applies to his work and it has been working out pretty well.

Now, he’s been permanently based in the Kalk Bay area for almost 4 years with no intention of working abroad. He always has this in mind, “what if a swell comes, and I’m not here to ride it” and so he stumbled into the fortunate career of working at the art department in the movie industry. Right now, he is happy supporting a few other Kalk Bay locals from starting out a little restaurant appropriately named “Ours” in Kalk Bay. “I couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out!” he exclaimed.

Back when he was young, he really had an absolute party and he wouldn’t want to change that. “I still love the jol but riding waves is my religion, and nothing gets in its way,” he says. “And hey, if you regret your past I skeem you kind of regretting your present!” he added. Except for one thing, he wishes he had been to Indonesia already.

Like most surf boarders, Andrew loves doing airs, however the present take off to landing ratio wouldn’t qualify him for the pilot’s manual, not to mention the license. ‘Been making these performance kind of dumpsters for myself”, he says. He’s been riding 5’11 x 19’5 boards – more or less a few mm’s here or there.

Locally, he used to love Kalk Bay, but due to the crowd he’s been searching for a few new options. For options abroad, France, Canaries, and Ireland for him are way too fun, but perhaps he had the most enjoyable experience at Perranporth, a little left wedge in the UK. Of all the places he has visited, Canary Islands falls second best to Cape Town. “They’ve got a lot of waves and not so many riders, that was a while ago though”, he responded.

The fact that people are spending too much time in the water to get a “set of waves”, not everyone can afford to buy decent wetsuits, not to mention the accessories like boardies at a scorching R1000. If you ask Andrew about one thing he would want to change about surfing, this would be his reply; “The cost! It seems like these companies are no longer aiming their products at surfers”.

Same as the other surfers, surfing also means everything to Andrew and influences all of his decisions. This includes Lyndon Read, one of his oldest friends, who really had a big influence on his life. “He showed me how to shape my own boards, and inspired me to start my own ‘anti-brand’ called Treason”, he says with gratitude.

Finally, if you ask him who would be the famous surfer he wants to kick back with one day, he would definitely give you a joke: “Dunno, did Bob Marley surf?”