Free Wave Act Petition update

Free Wave Act Petition Update. I’d like to thank all of you who have taken the time to support our battle to maintain uninterrupted access to the ocean that you can sign at the following link

Free Wave Act Fight

It’s doing rather well. Signed 670 times, 2,170 views, 137 shares.
Btw, shares are most important. So please do share!

As surfers and throughout this pandemic in fact we would like to instate or reinstate worldwide the “Open wave act” passed a few years back by the Senate of California – if I remember correctly – to curb localism and violence at surf breaks.

These last few days have been hectic in South Africa.

I am lucky enough to be training over here with Italy’s top windsurfing wave talent, Andrea Rosati. December to February are the best time of the year for windsurfer and kitesurfers to be over here.

All of a sudden we were barred access to the ocean by the police when ZA issued a level 3 lockdown that prohibits – among many other measures – access to beaches in worst affected provinces like Western Cape and Cape Town, where we are training.

For days we have being summoned off the beach by the SAPSs, the law enforcement officers and or park rangers depending on location.

Yesterday we decided it was enough and we enacted a protest getting out at one of the most renowned windsurfing spots in the Cape Town.
We disobeyed Police orders to come out if the water to be fined or our equipment seized or worst be arrested.

We endured the sirens, the flashes of lights and even the shooting of a bengala.

In order to avoid arrest we overstayed police and came out of the water past sunset.

Now I don’t want to depict myself as a hero. But here the ocean is very cold around 9°, it’s pitch black and scary, had pretty big waves, super strong and 30 knots of cold south easterly wind (“cape doctor”) and is inhabited by the white sharks.

It was not pleasant.

The next day we were able to sail as it would have been in a normal day.

But celebrations turned out to be ill fated as after another day the police started chasing surfers all over again.

So it ain’t finished yet.

Please support or fight for liberty and free waves. There is no spreading g if the virus over the ocean and the way we are being treated over here has more to do with racism – after years of exploitation blacks in ZA have strong feelings against whites and surfing is considered a white elitist sport – it is – and we are hated for that.

But hey! we have nothing to do with centuries of wrongdoing by colonists here in ZA.

We are here to enjoy this marvellous country and helping its economy spending a bit of money.

This behaviour by the Government and Administration of ZA does not make any sense.

Please support our effort to have them reconsider it.