Surf Spot Train Smash

A wide-angled stitch of the giant iron ore train that plies the West Coast. Click for detail.

Transnet issued a press release recently that seemed innocuous enough: the railway service road from Elands Bay to Doringbaai on the West Coast is closed to the public.

For many people of the non-surfing variety, the inconvenience would be relatively slight. To get to Lamberts Bay, they must now mission along an inland road that adds maybe 20 minutes to their journey.

For them, the news is not a train smash, least of all one involving that infinity-bending iron ore anaconda of 3.8km consisting of 342 wagons and eight locomotives that clackety clacks its way for 160km down the West Coast to Saldanha Bay as part of an 861km long haul from the Sishen iron mines of the Northern Cape.

If you think that line was long, get your head around the world record set by the same train: a 7,5km Cape Cobra mutant made up of 660 wagons with a total load of 68,640 tons.

As many West Coast surfers will tell you after waiting ages for the anaconda to pass at a level crossing, the train runs parallel to the Transnet dirt road mere metres away.

For them, the news is a big train smash. A bunch of really good surf spots are now going to be almost impossible to get to, or at the least, very difficult to access.

As from Tuesday last week, the Transnet road from Elands Bay (with the boom gate) was closed to the public, as was the same road north of Lamberts Bay to Doring Bay.

According to the decree, the reasons for the closure were: an increase in private motor accidents; theft from cars on the road while owners were at the beach; accidents at level crossings from motorists who failed to heed signs; public access leading to the exposure of Transnet to liabilities and claims from the public; and insulators kept tripping due to dust from vehicles because the road was not designed for high traffic.

Certain spots will be accessible from the Lamberts Bay side, but there are several that will be a problem to access, especially those north of Lamberts where the Transnet road cuts inland and a few reefy slabs between EBay and Lamberts.

Reaction has been mixed though. Here are some comments on our Facebook page:

Andre Mory said "It's about time! Yessssssssss." Faeez Abrahams said: "It's just wrong."

Anita Goodchild said: "Speak to Transnet .... maybe they are open to the sport developing... and will give access grants on the road ... West coast seem to have a good lot of bodyboarding kids development at the comps being supported by some big companies so why not give it a try.... it could be a start of something really goodThe route up to Elands that comes in from the SW end of town around Baboon Point does not appear to be effected, but time will tell."

It is not the first time Transnet have shut their roads on the West Coast, but something about this decision smacks of permanence.

There is one immutable law of surfing: overcrowding comes from easy access to surf spots. Take away the access, and the crowds immediately dwindle. The Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape, with its shocking roads and high concentration of sharks, is not exactly crawling with surfers.

There is one immutable law of surfing: overcrowding comes from easy access to surf spots. Take away the access, and the crowds immediately dwindle. The Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape, with its shocking roads and high concentration of sharks, is not exactly crawling with surfers.

The more rugged and inhospitable the spot, the fewer people venture there. The West Coast - barring the obvious big name spots - has always been a harsh, unforgiving landscape with poor access to many beaches, particularly before all those ridiculous Hollywood-styled developments.

However, a core group of keen surfers have always known about the many hidden gems that lie along the coast.

But the railway service roads are so well-kept, and the ride so smooth and quick, surf spots enroute were always going to be put under pressure. More and more cars have been driving these roads in recent years, and as one surfer said, former secret spots “have an instant crowd as soon as the conditions are good”. One gnarly but now busy slab was a few years ago ignored by surfers and bodyboarders who drove straight past.

Not so any more. For some, the road closure will be a blessing in disguise. It will bring about those uncrowded glory days, but ssh … don’t tell anyone.