Magic paddle last night from Fish Hoek...

I'd rushed down to the beach, expecting to have a hard slog on the "circuit" from Fish Hoek via Simonstown harbour to Ark Rock to Roman Rock and back to Fish Hoek.

This is a good training paddle, but not my idea of "fun" - more like hard work!

The guys were already getting on the water when I arrived and by the time I'd changed, ripped the boat off the car & run down to the water they'd already started.

But...  they'd gone left, along the beach, not towards Simonstown.  I paddled hard to catch them up - they were cruising along, and I could see one of them catching a wave towards the beach.

"What's the plot?" I demanded.  "Fun paddle to Muizenberg," was the reply.

 Cool!

One of the paddlers up ahead was zig-zagging in and out of the waves & I could hear him whooping as he did so - who was that?

It was Dawid Mocke - and he showed a us side that I'd never seen.  He was clearly in "relaxed" mode and it quickly became clear that this is someone who just loves to paddle.  And he doesn't do it quietly.

We stopped at a cove half way between Kalk Bay and Muizenberg where "the best ski wave in Cape Town" kept us amused for a while.  We queued up to catch the wave - there's not enough room for more than one ski.

I covered myself in glory, falling off a total of three times - once losing the ski which fortunately didn't hit the rocks.  But it was great fun.

Dawid was whooping, whistling, singing as he paddled.

Eventually we went on to Muizenberg where we caught more waves - I just mis-timed one, turning off it and reaching the top just as it started to curl.  It caught me and and I went sideways, bouncing down the face of the wave for about 40m before I popped out the back.

On the way back, in the gathering dark, we found a group of seals, basking together on the surface.  Dawid started barking at them - startling them.  The sight of the seals poking their heads up out of the water to look at this crazy creature on a ski was one that will stay with me.

As we paddled back into Fish Hoek Bay, the moon was coming up over a flat sea and zigzagged back along the break going in and out through the waves again.

Phenomenal.