The Mother City's South-Easter is viewed by most Capetonians much like the bad-joke about its sleepy attitude - with annoyance. But for a niche group of water-sport enthusiasts, the pumping wind is the best part of summer.

Found in abundance along the West Coast, the wind is a major tourist attraction, causing small-towns like Langebaan to have an endless sailing and kite-surfing summer.

Downwind in the Langebaan dash

A favourite hang-out among baggie-wearing, sun-bleached dreadlocked types who have a penchant for speed; Langebaan is a hub of water-sport madness.

Attracting sailors, wind and kite-surfers to its shores, the town is pretty laid-back.

Themed-parked around a Greek Isle concept, it boasts inviting turquoise waters - that you can actually swim in without losing your toes to hypothermia - set against the stark background of desert-like shores dotted with dazzling white cliffside cottages.

parse in greenery (probably because anything taller than a shrub would be uprooted by the pumping gale force), on land the area isn't that much to look at. But at the water's edge, it comes alive with waves of blue-green swells, white sandy beaches and bobbing hobby-cats, rubber-ducks and yachts.

Spending the weekend in Langebaan during the annual Downwind Dash - a 20km sprint across the lagoon, launching at Langebaan and landing at Saldanha - I experienced the thrill of this extreme sport from the view of a friend's rubber-duck.

Allowing us to chase the race as it happened, I watched kiter after kiter speed past us towards the finish line. Propelled forward by the howling wind, racers looked like something out of a special-effects movie - silently cutting through the water on their boards, leaping into the air, flying high above the waves.

Anchored metres from the finish line, we watched kiters pace towards victory, with either a look of exhaustion or exhilaration on faces, depending on how well - or badly - their race went.

Leggless at sea

Being on a rubber-duck, we had no choice but to return to Langebaan the way we'd just come. But, heading into pumping wind is not nearly as easy as having it push the boat downwind, as I found out during a 45-minute terrifying trip back to shore.

Strong winds combined with choppy seas caused massive swells and the boat reared against the half-pipe walls, crashing down on the other side. Hanging on with all my might, I dared not looked ahead in fear of seeing a tsunami charging before us.

A good ten minutes of being battered by waves from all angles, we finally came into calmer waters, allowing us to catch our breath. But, without warning we were back in the ‘soup' (our skipper's apt description of the scene), nose-diving through swells that made the 20-footer look tiny.

Luckily the skipper is an experienced seaman and knew how to steer the boat to avoid any major consequences - although even he at one stage looked straight ahead into the wall of water exclaiming ‘Eish'.

Back on dry-land, drenched and shaking like a leaf, the experience left me legless. And only after a long hot shower and a few hot toddies did I begin to chill-out.

Life is one long weekend at Friday Island
Away from the tempestuous waters, the rest of the weekend was spent indulging in piled-high plates of garlic-battered prawns and sticky ribs enjoyed on the deck at local B&B, Friday Island.

Owned by a fellow water-lover, the guest-house is a legend among kite-surfers and sailors, positioned tactically against the water's edge, offering a place for guests to chill-out and share tales of the sea - usually with a cold beer in hand.

Boasting nautically designed rooms (including a delegated outdoor area for hanging wet kit - handy) Friday Island is all about harbouring the essence of a long weekend (as punted in their pay-off line: Life is one long weekend) ensuring visitors leave with a sense of relaxation and calm.

Neighbours to rustic surf shop - Cape Sports Centre - sporty guests can even rent wind- or kite-surfing equipment or book lessons to learn the ropes of the seas.

Sunday sunning in the Maldives

After a night at Club Mykonos - Langabaan's answer to its namesake - for the Downwind Dash's prize-giving / after-party, Sunday saw us getting back on the boat (much to my initial resistance) and cruising southwards to Kraal Bay.

Nestled against the southerly National Park cliffs, the Bay provides a rare spot of wind-free pleasure. Boasting transparent clear-waters and paradise-white untouched beaches, the bay looks more like a scene out of a Maldives package holiday brochure than a local wind-swept dorp.

Accessed by boat or by car through the West Coast National Park, Kraal Bay offers a tempting taste of island magic, a makeshift cricket pitch, bats and balls court or simply a lekker place to rest.

Finding Pearly's on the beach

Returning from our brief island escapade, we found our way to local beach-side pizzeria Pearly's for an early evening meal.

Source: News24.com - www.news24.com

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