Bellows
Edit SpotAbout
Scary place, cold water all year round. Winter is the best time to go as the most swell comes from huge storms out to sea.The downside about winter is that the sharks apparently feed more off shark island and head closer to the mainland in the summer. There is an abundance of all sea life out there so if you not surfing, you can just enjoy the scenery. We have only surfed here a few times, as wind conditions got worse and more sharks were spotted but gets perfect on a good day. Bring a Bible and a crowd cause theres none here.
Atmosphere:
Welcome to one of South Africa's least ridden and largely un-heard of big wave surfing spots. This spot has often been spoken about amongst False Bay and Cape Town surfers, yet remains somewhat a myth due to the inaccessability of it. It sits far out to sea, close to seal island, which collects one of, or if not the largest populations of great white sharks in South Africa.It needs a huge swell to start working (roughly 8-10feet)and can hold up to 20plus. (Local fisherman have told how they have seen and heard of it breaking at 30!) On huge days we used to sit on Helderberg mountain and could see it barreling from where we sat. (The other side of False Bay.)
Additional Info:
Get yourself a boat with an extra tank petrol and head far out into nowhere.. There are 3 breaks. 1.) Bellows: which sits far out southwest of seal island. Picks up the most swell of the 3, is a predominantly left hand wave but breaks both directions.(Dont know exactlocation.) East shoal: (Thats the name given on sea charts) The reef in the pic. A deeper reef so needs bigger swell to work. Dont know if it has ever been surfed. Right and left.
3.) Unnamed righthander that breaks off seal island. Can get perfect under the right swell but a life gamble due to sharks.
The weather does strange things and the wind blows all the time out here so plan it well and go on a calm day after a storm so that you dont get blown to the south pole! I recommend checking the tides and sea report before aswell. ASEC (African Shark Eco Charters) do shark cage diving trips often out here and are here mostly when the seas are calmer but I wouldnt advise going surfing when they are about!
Location
Loading...Access
Get your own boat and jetski's. Head out in the direction of Seal Island in False bay. (Take a few hours, depending from which side of false bay.)The reef sits about south east of seal island far out to sea.
Walk | Don't know |
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Public access | Unknown |
4x4 required | No |
Boat required | Yes |
Wave Characteristics
Type | Reef (rocky) |
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Direction | Right and left |
Bottom | Reef (coral, sharp rocks etc.) |
Power | Hollow, Fast, Powerful, Ledgey |
Frequency | Regular (100 days/year) |
Normal length | Short (<50m) |
Good day length | Long (150 to 300m) |
Ideal Conditions
Wind direction | North, NorthWest, NorthEast |
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Swell direction | SouthWest, South, SouthEast |
Swell size | 8ft-10ft - 16ft and over |
Tide | Don't know |
Tide movement | Falling tide |
Crowd
Week | Empty |
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Weekend | Empty |
Dangers
Urchins, Rips / undertow, Rocks, Sharks
Videos
None
Nearby spots
6.24 miles away
Direction: | Right and left |
Bottom: | Sandy |
Frequency: | Very consistent (150+ days/year) |
7.78 miles away
Direction: | Right and left |
Bottom: | Sandy |
Frequency: | Regular (100 days/year) |
7.83 miles away
Direction: | Right and left |
Bottom: | Flat rocks |
Frequency: | Regular (100 days/year) |