Issuu

contents 08

EDITORS COMMENT Craig Jarvis

photo feature Kody McGregor

St Francis Property Owners Association Membership Drive

By Richard Cowling

Review

Photo’s by kody Mcgregor

69s. The story of an extinct wave 30

The St Francis Links Restaurant Review 34

Community

Breakfast At Trade Winds 46

FOSTER needs your support, please become a supporter Community

In The Pound with Haydn Health 06 P H O T O @ G U M B O O T.CA M E R A

St Francis College Getting To Know Our Teachers St Francis College Secretary Lucy Kotse 57

Getting to Know Those Behind The St Francis Property Owners Non-Profit Company (SRA) With Greg Miller - SFPO NPC General Manager

P HO TO @ G U MB O O T.CA M E R A

Free Internet Installation for the Sea Vista Library

Provided by TCS Wi-Fi, powered by The Computer Shop

07 P HO TO K O DY M CG R E G O R

EDITORS COMMENT

Just like that we’re all back in the ocean, we’re all shopping at the bottle stores again, and there is a little bit more time to go out and joy a meal without having to run the curfew gauntlet. The weather has been epic of late, and our village has reclaimed the lovely vibe that makes it famous.

For this issue of The West Wind, we showcase JBay Winterfest chief photographer Kody McGregor and have a look at some of his favourite images from all over the world. There is an excellent historical story/obit on 69’s, the local wave that ceased to exist due to development, penned by Prof. Richard Cowling. Development often destroys waves, but it also creates waves, and we sometimes have to take the good with the bad. There are a couple of reviews in there, including the St Francis Links Restaurant and Trade Winds in Cape St Francis. We take a good look at the Cape St Francis Resort’s Office Break, a shared office solution. Private work sta-

tions, meeting rooms, highspeed internet and reception service for printing and scanning. Our regular columns are in as well, and Haydn from The Pound chats about fitness and health. At the same time, we interview Lucy Kotse from the St Francis College and get some insight into the wonderful learning establishment that is The College. The West Wind has experienced a remarkable growth in popularity, and we would like to thank everyone for their support so far. We aim is to be an informative portal and a fun read. Nothing more, nothing less. Editor: Craig Jarvis Art director: Terri Hutchings https://thewestwind.co.za/

photo feature SEASCAPES Kody McGregor

PHOTO ’S B Y K O D Y M C G R E G OR The Port Elizabeth photographer Kody McGregor occupied the hot seat as Chief Photographer/Photo Editor for the JBay Winterfest for seven years. In a busy year the Winterfest would include a local surf event, the Championship Tour event, a mountain biking event, a three-stage trail run, a swimming event, the funduro motorbike contest, a bowls tournament, a huge fishing competition, and 12 local and international bands playing live. Kody covered them all, racing between live bands, to people running the night stage trail run, to the early start at Supers for the JBay Open. Over those seven years he developed and matured as a photographer, and branched out into other areas. We’re proud to be showcasing a few of his favourite photos.

12 S E L F P O R TR A I T

Aerial reserve: Many years

ago I was commissioned to do aerial photographs of a school in PE and I had booked a helicopter for an hour to do the project. After 20 minutes I had completed the shoot and the pilot took me on a flight around the bay for the rest of the time I had booked. It was an amazing experience as it was not only my first time in a helicopter but also I had never seen the city I grew up in from that perspective. Flying along the coast we went past my local surf spot and I managed to get this shot. I really love it as it was before all the upgrades and extras that have been built since. I have this print on my wall at home and it reminds me of when I first started surfing there and how few people really knew about it.

Abstract: I’m constantly

working on multiple personal projects and only of my favourites so far has been a currently untitled abstract project. I aim to create otherworldly abstract shapes/ patterns and designs by using multiple exposures in nature and natural scenes. This particular image is one of my favourites as it has a sense of movement within its structure and shape. The altered colours give it an odd look and this adds to it moving away from the fact that it’s a plant and more towards giving it an alien feeling. This is an ongoing project that I really enjoy working on and can’t wait to be able to exhibit the final pieces.

Liquid silver: This is an old photo that I haven’t been able

to recreate since. Titled “Liquid Silver”, I got this shot while swimming at Fence in PE. The water looked like a different kind of liquid and fits perfectly as a monochrome image. I love water shots and this one is still one of my favourites to this day.

Portrait-fishstix: I really enjoy shooting portraits so when

RVCA commissioned me to shoot with Simon Fish I jumped at the chance. This one really stood out for me (and for the brand, they ran it as a full page ad). I love the patterns of the boards in the background and the simplicity of how Simon is standing and inspecting one of his creations.

Logging: I absolutely love logging. Living in PE has really

given me the chance to longboard more and I can’t get enough of it. I also love shooting logging and the community around it is so rad. This was shot at Millers a few years ago and I was experimenting with some slow shutter images. I really love how the whole image is showing the movement and the speed, but the surfers foot is in focus. I’m currently trying to recreate this shot but from the water perspective, but damn it’s difficult!

Portait- joshe: Last year I got to

shoot with Joshe for Mami Wata and this was the last photo from that shoot. I enjoy working with Joshe, he can be a little quiet sometimes but is always amped to try new things and work with me towards whatever our goal may be. The shoot was coming to the end and I knew he was frothing to get in the water for a surf, but I had one last idea that I wanted to try. Without any hesitation he carried on and we got this shot which was one of my favourites from the day.

Silhouette: This photo was a spur of the moment idea from a

winter session a few years ago. I was photographing at Millers one afternoon/evening and it was getting to that time of everyone getting out. My wife had been surfing and got out at the bottom of the point. As she jumped out of the water I noticed all the city lights in the background and started shooting silhouette shots of her walking back to the car. The result was a set of amazing silhouette photos of her and her board with the various coloured lights in the background making for some really cool compositions.

Water-supers: Lineup shots

are part and parcel of surf photography and there is nothing better that snapping something that stands out from the portfolio. This image was from an early morning session at Supertubes. I arrived in Jbay before sunrise and was waiting for the sun to come up so I could start shooting some action shots. It was an eerie morning with mist, and as it got lighter it started creating these amazing colours in the sky and water.

Street-India: I love travelling and I certainly love street

photography. So whenever I get to travel I try to build on a personal project of street photos from the various countries I’m able to visit. This particular photo was from an India trip back in 2013. We had been walking all day around Mumbai and had just found a great viewing area that looked down onto Chowpatty beach and the beachfront area. As we walked back towards where we were staying, I noticed that there were tons of military personnel roaming around in his one particular area. I saw these guys relaxing on the bench and approached. Without speaking to each other I asked them (in hand gestures) if I could take their photograph and they accepted in head gestures (anyone who has been to India will know what I mean by head gesture). I really love this as it wasn’t a sneaky photo, there was an understanding and respect between them and myself, and a moment where two cultures came together for a split second. 19

Street-Turkey: A few years ago I was fortunate enough to

visit Turkey and this photo was one of the standouts from the trip. Istanbul is a massively cosmopolitan city and with the mix of Islamic culture as well as Western ideas it is a great place to visit and see. Istanbul is split into two parts, with one half being in Europe and the other half being in Asia. This image is from the Asian side with the Bosphorus river in the background. We had taken a day trip across to Uskudar on the Asian side and were walking around there when I noticed the two Islamic ladies walking down towards the river, I immediately saw a photograph happening and as I picked up my camera two “western style” ladies came walking around the corner. They crossed paths and the result was one of my favourite shots of the trip. The contrast of lives and ideas all in one image. I titled this photo “Catwalk Clash” as it felt like the 2 sets of ladies were out in their beautiful clothing walking around the city. 20

DZ- seals: I

love Cape St Francis as it’s a special place for me and my water photography. When I first started I spent tons of time up there honing my swimming and shooting skills and it was one of the places that made me into the photographer that I am today. This shot of Donovan is from the most recent session I had there with him. The waves were firing and I hadn’t shot with DZ in a long time. I was excited to get into the water and try to find some barrels. We paddled out and the first bomb that came through he went on. He took off, did a massive bottom turn and just lined up perfectly in the pit. I was lucky enough to be in the right spot and fired off a few frames. For the rest of the session we tried to find another one like it but couldn’t. It was the biggest and best wave of the day.

69s. The story of an extinct wave By Richard Cowling

A lonely session at 69’s sometime in the early 1980s. Photo: Richard Cowling. The headland extending south of St Francis Bay was once home to three world-class point breaks, Bruces, Killers and 69s. 69s! What’s that? A powerful, top-to-bottom (69) right-hander that peeled across a beautiful embayment immediately south of the shifting dunes that were stabilized for Santareme. Few surfers knew about this spot. In the 1970s access was difficult, via a track off the old St Francis-to Seals road at Cow’s Corner, through the present-day airpark, and down a rutted track to a cobbled bay.

Later, 69s was accessible via Santareme. Whenever there was a solid swell with some east in its direction, the few in the know would head for 69s and enjoy uncrowded sessions. Lower down the point, Bruces and Killers would be packed while 69s was near empty 69s could hold a large swell, even larger than Killers, and in a straight east swell, was 23

a good couple of feet bigger than the spots lower down the point. Like Killers, it was not a forgiving wave. The jump off spot was terrifying in a big swell. Getting to the lineup required leaping across a gulley to an isolated rock; once committed, there was no turning back. A friend of mine got his leash snared in the gulley and was viciously pummeled by an eight-wave set. This antic was greeted with raucous sympathy.

The last 100 meters of 69s did credit to its namesake: solidly top to bottom! Deciding when to exit was crucial. Going too far on a small wave meant risking being caught inside by the set waves, a grisly fate As far back as 1986, the future of 69s was being considered by the Apartheid government when it mooted a small-boat harbor for St Francis Bay. The site identified was a small

Trevor Hansen on a large, east-swell day in May 1985 when St Francis Bay enjoyed several days of pumping swell, which attracted big crowds (at least for those days) at Bruces and Killers. 69s remained blissfully uncrowded. Photo: Richard Cowling. 24

Shirley Cowling enjoying 69s to herself. Easter 1992. Photo: Richard Cowling east-facing bay, precisely the one that delivered 69s. The feasibility study reported wave height data, collected in the mid-winter months, that did not include a single east swell. Their conclusion: the sites is as calm as they come. Some surfers would beg to differ. The harbor project gathered momentum in the early 1990s, concomitant with the growth of the chokka industry. At that time, the Kromme River was chock full of small craft, all wanting 26

their share of this lucrative fishery. The locals weren’t impressed. The harbor would rid the river of these undesirables. And there would be jobs. After more than a decade of stagnation, everyone was hungry for a new project. Raising objections to the harbor based on the extinction of a surf spot was pointless if not frivolous, given the obvious economic benefits of the development. So next time you visit Port St Francis, seated in pleasant restaurant overlooking the

bay, shift your gaze to the southeast, over the harbor wall, and you will see 69s’ jump-off rock. Imagine a six foot, top-to-bottom wave peeling right across the harbor and beyond, exploding on the unforgiving sandstone slabs in the death zone.

Spare a thought for an extinct wave – an irreplaceable feature – that succumbed to our tragic need for perpetual economic growth. Richard Cowling

St Francis Bay in the late 1960s, showing the location of 69s, world-class point break rendered extinct by a small boat harbour.

The hea d l and t od a y © B A RRY C U L L IGA N

The St Francis Links Restaurant RE VI E W By Craig Jarvis

It was that day last month that the power was down for about 10 hours. I had set up that I was going to come and work at The Links for the day, and when that day arrived the kids were at home, and my wife wasn’t too busy, so we all decided to go to The Links for lunch. My son asked if he could have the steak, and feeling quite cheerful, I heartfully agreed that he would have the steak. The steak, a 250g Sirloin, is tried and tested and remarkably delicious, with many sides included.. However, my daughter decided that she wanted the same, and there I was, stuck between a rock and my daughter. I couldn’t turn her 30

down, and she ordered the same. My wife went for the chicken schnitzel, another prize menu item in our household. During the prohibition time, there was to be no wine or beers over lunch. I was working anyway, and never touch the stuff while I am trying to concentrate. My wife went for a coke, my son and daughter both ordered a sprite, and I ordered a lime and soda, and no food except the mushroom, mustard and sherry sauce, on the side. It might sound like I had been drinking on the sly with that order - no food - but there was method in

my madness. When the two steak meals arrived, it was apparent that there was too much for the children. So I received 2 bowls of creamed spinach and 2 bowls of pumpkin. I was also handed some onion rings and loads of chips. So I basically had a meal already. My daughter gave me the task of cutting her steak, and I was allowed to cut about a third for myself. I was sorted, and along with my delectable mushroom (and mustard and sherry) sauce, had plenty to go on.

When you eat vegetables first, they come across quite differently than when you eat them with the main course. Their flavours are accentuated, as your tastebuds haven’t been flattened by steak, garlic, basting sauce and chilli yet. So the two vegetable sides were delicious. My son, the carnivore, couldn’t talk as he was too busy eating his sirloin. He loved it, and there was definitely not enough to share with dad.

My wife found the schnitzel delicious as well, but she too had vegetable sides, and a garlic and chilli butter, and chips, so her plate was full, so to speak.

common sense prevailed, and she realized that she couldn’t actually move because she was so full. We didn’t have any dessert, that would have been foolish.

Eventually, she graciously handed me some of the schnitzel, and I won the battle for the most food for lunch, without placing an order.

It was another round of soft drinks, and I continued to nibble, with gusto, on all the delicious little odds and ends that made up my meal. Unbelievably, my son ordered some more chips on the side, and my daughter, feeling the challenge, was about to rise to it. Still, then 32

The 250g Sirloin steaks were R145 each, and the Chicken Schnitzel was R110. The side chips were R25, while the mushroom sauce was R26. We had 8 assorted soft drinks. The meal came to R620 plus an R60 tip, so the total was R680. • Our staff and journalists pay for all meals, drinks, services and accommodation at The West Wind, and do not announce themselves. We do not accept freebies. That way, we can always keep it real.

In The Pound with Haydn H E A LTH

We live in a little bubble. It’s our own paradise. It’s not quite the fountain of youth, but it has all we need to live a long, happy life. You see health, fitness and wellness is not only about CBD, gyms and medical aid. This pursuit of a balanced healthy life is a multitude of things, including our environment and what we make of it To fulfil a healthy lifestyle, we must appreciate what we have. We must let go of the negativity of the cities we’ve fled, and embrace the essence of the lifestyle we fell in love with. Don’t make the place you’re going to the place you’re escaping from. It happened to me, not swimming in the open wa34

ter, not surfing because the surfs not perfect. Not walking running or cycling in the unique dunes and fynbos. We think we have time, we’ll do it tomorrow, but I’ve seen our beach at dusk without a soul. I’ve been on our trails without a footprint ahead. We’re complacent and forget that our happiness and wellbeing is no one’s responsibility other than our own. We have all we need to live healthy lives.

Seal Point time: slowed down, low-stress lifestyle gives us a significant health advantage. We live in one of the least-stressed towns in the country. It is the epitome of the Eastern Cape way. Enjoying time with friends and family stopping by, taking that time to laugh and tell a story, even if you have a busy day. The laid back lifestyle is a reason we can and should

have a healthier life. Sunshine and fresh air, pristine beaches, unique indigenous reserves? When last did you go check out the beach in Oyster Bay? When last did you go beyond Jan’s shack to experience the rock pools and trails? When last did you walk through your own reserves less than 500m from any home in Seals?

Oh, yes, I’ll do it tomorrow. If you were conscious of the health benefits, would you do it more often? There are no excuses, it’s easy to be physically active and creatively inspired here. We can eat better and exercise more: Fresh fish and seafood straight from the rocks, and vegetables and fruits available from our community neighbours. We have trails, beaches, canals, rivers, and the ocean to play and exercise in, there are no excuses. A strong community needs to be positive. Research links happiness with good health and longevity. South Africans tend to be infatuated with their own misery. Australia is safer, Canada is more organized. All true, perhaps, but this is Africa, 36

and this is an adventure. You don’t have to be blindly optimistic, but keeping a healthy perspective will go a long way. A positive community spirit has a way of rubbing off on individuals. We can create a uniquely Seal Point way of life. More stress-resistant, appreciative of our surrounds. Work and financial obligations are real, but we should make the time for things we value. Make it a joyful experience, love this Seal Point lifestyle, and it will ultimately affect your health, fitness, and wellbeing positively.

St Francis Property Owners Association Membership Drive The St Francis Property Owners Association represents the entire community of St Francis Bay. It serves as the ratepayers’ interface with the Kouga Municipality and other community organisations, working towards protecting our property values and lifestyle. Annual subscriptions enable us to maintain a small office with an admin manager to assist members with all related matters. These funds also allow us to tackle various community projects geared towards improving our environment and lifestyle. We live in a delightful community that needs a strong backbone of property owners and residents to maintain and protect that which we find so special in St. Francis Bay. Please consider joining our Residents Association or renewing your membership for 2020-2021. Membership of the St Francis Property Owners Association is voluntary and renewal for the year. It runs from 1 October to 30 September is now due. 38

Our subscription fee is R500 per annum or R330 for pensioners. Pay Online at https://stfrancispropertyowners.co.za/membership/ Or by EFT to our bank account or in cash at our office, 28 Lyme Road South. Banking details are: St Francis Bay Residents Association Standard Bank Humansdorp Bank Code: 050015 Account No.: 08 249 9276 Please quote your name and Erf. No. as reference.

Breakfast At Trade Winds RE V I E W By Craig Jarvis

The Cape St Francis restaurant where everyone knows your name. Just a trace of a hangover, combined with Sunday morning laziness, saw us heading for Trade Winds in Cape St Francis for a cappuccino and a quick bite to eat. First up was a delicious double-shot cappuccino, just to get the heart racing and the brain working. My wife opted for the single shot, being a bit more sensitive to caffeine’s effects than me. The local knowledge in me spied a fairly large group of youngsters, about eight of them, finding a table and getting comfortable. We quickly pushed our orders through to be on the right side of their order. It’s easy to order at Trade Winds 40

because everything is good on the menu. Even if you rush an order, you can’t go wrong. I went straight in for the bacon, egg and cheese toasted sandwich on white, and to hell with the Banting Diet, I say. To hell with it. It was just as expected, a delicious plate of comfort food, just what was needed. My wife went for the Potato and Salmon Trade, a salmon and scrambled egg meal on potato rosti with rocket, and it was fresh and delicious. A well-balanced, healthy and tasty meal that she washed down with a coke, and I didn’t judge her for it. It was easy like Sunday morning, after all.

While eating, several individuals and couples popped in to get a take-away coffee or sit down and have a meal. There were salutations and quick chats all around. Others, non-locals, discussed moving to Cape St Francis and St Francis Bay and were loudly discussing house prices and the benefits of living here. Unfortunately, they were missing the point that many of us live here for the peace and quiet, and lack of people SHOUTING ABOUT HOW LOVELY IT IS TO LIVE IN SUCH A QUIET PLACE! My grumpiness aside, trade was brisk, and when we got up to leave, our table was quickly taken over by the next group of people, ready for their breakfast. Now that alcohol sales are open again, and people can

buy alcohol and have a few drinks, we often forget the bolted-on industries, like those establishments serving food that can ease the hangover symptoms. Trade Winds is by no means merely a hangover station, but it does serve that purpose very well when needed. Other meals worth mentioning are the burgers, which are all delicious, and the Oreo milkshakes that my kids and all the other kids in the village swear by. The meal came to R212, and with a 10% tip, the total was R233. • Our staff and journalists pay for all meals, drinks, services and accommodation at The West Wind, and do not announce themselves. We don’t accept freebies. That way, we can always keep it real.

P HO TO B Y S I CU N N E E N

FOSTER needs your support, please become a supporter CO M MUN I T Y Thanks to FOSTER’s efforts over the past 30 years, our region has four well-managed nature reserves, each with unique natural and recreational features, providing residents with many services, for example recreation, nature appreciation, fire hazard reduction and (ask any estate agent) enhancement of property values. Here they are.

Cape St Francis Reserve

Seal Bay Reserve

Irma Booysen Reserve

Seal Point Reserve Imagine if FOSTER had not existed these past 30 years. No veld management would have taken place in open spaces around the village. They would become even more densely invaded by rooikrans, representing a severe fire threat. Indeed, much of the village would probably have burnt down

in the fire of Jan 2016, had FOSTER not cleared these aliens in the Irma Booysen Nature Reserve. 47

Rooikraans thickets in the Irma Booysen Reserve There have also been proposals to develop parts of the reserve system. A light industrial area was mooted for the area adjacent to Osprey Road, and there were plans to extend the viilage to the north of De Hoop Crescent. The likelihood of something like this happening today is virtually zero; proclamation of the unproclaimed parts of the nature network by the Kouga Municipality is imminent.

This will be the culmination of 30 years of hard work by FOSTER to entrench the legal status of our reserves.

2002

2020

Not only would those rooikrans thickets have been a fire hazard, but also a security threat. However, open spaces that support throngs of hikers, joggers and cyclists, and are monitored and managed, are unlikely to provide opportunities for crime.

After the lifting of lockdown restrictions last May, record numbers of people passed our camera trap, up to three times the number recorded in the same months last year. Contact with nature reduces stress, as many scientific publications have shown. We are delighted that the reserves can provide a refuge from the anxieties of living in a complex and uncertain world. FOSTER strives to be costeffective in its management of the 330 ha of nature reserve. Operational costs are about R80 000 per annum, amounting to R250 per hectare. How do these costs compare to those incurred by government-run reserves with similar management challenges and objectives? Note that we have excluded salaries from these operational costs as FOSTER is supported by volunteers and pays only for contracted services. Salaries comprise between 30% and 50% of operational costs for government-managed reserves. The annual management costs per hectare for a similar-sized, dune veld 50

reserve (approximately R7 000 per hectare) is 28 times more per hectare than the FOSTER-managed reserves. However, this reserve is in a major metropolitan area and hosts large volumes of visitors. Another candidate reserve for comparison, also in dune veld and within a major metropolitan area but having visitation rates like the FOSTER reserves, costs – at approximately R1 750 per hectare - seven times more to manage despite being about three times bigger than our combined reserves (costs per hectare decline with increasing reserve size).

FOSTER needs your support. So please, if you want to see these reserves safeguarded and cared for in perpetuity, support, donate and volunteer. Make the Committee’s life easier by ensuring that this group of dedicated volunteers can respond swiftly and effectively to your needs in managing our reserves. On a final note, the Committee includes members who have served for many years, if not decades. Most will be resigning in the next few years. The younger (35-50-year-old) members of our community must volunteer if they want their children to enjoy the benefits of our reserves.

Membership runs from Jan to Dec. R200 for single, R300 for family or corporate. Bank details: Friends of St Francis Nature Areas First National Bank Br code: 210115 Acc no: 62179531598 PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS Tax certificates will be issued on request. FACEBOOK @fosterstfrancis

http://www.foster.org.za/ 51

St Francis College

Getting To Know Our Teachers

ST FRANCIS CO LLEGE

SECRETARY LUCY KOTSE

turning 2 this year. We also have a dog called Beans, a cat called Abbey and not forgetting the two goldfish.

Where are you initially from? I am from the UK and grew up in a market town in Northamptonshire before moving to Cornwall and then onto London.

Tell us about your family your husband and children?

How did you end up in St Francis?

My husband, Duncan and I have two daughters, Maya, who is almost 5 and Neve,

I met my husband, Duncan, in the UK, when we were both living and working in 53

London. Duncan had planned to move to St Francis Bay to start his own building business and build our own home, so we moved to SA 17 years ago.

How long have you been here and how long have you been working for the College? My husband and I moved to South Africa from the UK, straight to St Francis Bay in December 2004. We lived in Cape St Francis for 16 years before moving to the St Francis Links estate.

Have you had any different roles at the College? I have always been a secretary at the College, but my roles can vary, and my days are never dull!

What is the best thing about the College and working for the College? I love coming to work, the environment is beautiful on the farm, and the children’s conversations are priceless! I work amongst excellent teachers, and the background noise of happy 54

children and farm noise is rather special. Plus I have the added perk of seeing my own child enjoying her school day too.

What are your thoughts on the year 2020, and what are your thoughts on post-covid and the future? Living through a pandemic has made me appreciate where we live even more, and I am grateful to be bringing up our young daughters here. I also look forward to the day that we can reunite with family again from overseas. It is incredible to see how the children at the school have adapted to new protocols. They are benefitting from our unique school environment with lots of healthy farm-fresh air.

website https://www.stfranciscollege.co.za/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ StFrancisCollegeRSA

Getting to Know

The People Behind The St Francis Property Owners (SFPO) Non-Profit Company (NPC) GREG MILLER IS SFPO NPC GENERAL MANAGER

Tell us a little bit about yourself ? Well, I’m 32 years old and originally from Somerset West. I used to come To St Francis Bay on holidays when I was young, as my mom’s side of the family has had a house/shack on the other side of the river since 1946 and on my old man’s side of the family my great grandfather built the first house on the canals in around 1978. My grandparents later purchased what was about the 4th home on the canals, which we still own. While completing a BSc with Hons in Aquaculture at Stellenbosch University, I spent much of time in St

Francis. Having designed a dredging system to solve the problem of sand under our jetty. I approached the Riparian HOA who were evidently having similar challenges for the rest of the canals. They accepted my proposal and I spent a portion of my final year designing and building the canal dredging system for the Riparian HOA. Shortly after University I managed to convince Michelle to move to St Francis with me where I would help implement and manage this system for a year or two… About 9 years later we are still loving St Francis but now married with 2 little girls and 2 big dogs.

Your role with SFPO NPC is quite involved. Tell us more about it.

Greg and his wife Michelle You are very involved in the community. What are all your roles/job titles and associations that you represent? I am still involved with the Riparian HOA although now as non-remunerated director. I work full-time for the SFPO NPC, and assist with the SFPO Association. I also stand on the Kromme Enviro Trust, but more in the background. I have been actively involved in firefighting from the 2012 fires. This voluntary firefighting/ Preparedness role evolved into being part Disaster Volunteer Group (DVG).

Obviously, the role is relatively varied, with our base projects requiring fluctuating levels of input. But there’s also a huge amount going on behind the scenes. I am often involved with Municipal liaison, and working with the other groups, whether Riparians, Property Owners, or liaison with individuals. Then are the small projects such as upgrading of car parks and beach access routes and all those little things. Although in 2020, COVID 19 massively reduced productivity across most sectors. We had a very dynamic year on the beachfront. There were dramatic changes to the spit and the river mouth area. The last of the spit breaches that happened earlier in the year required significant intervention to protect both public and private canal properties. It was an excellent test for the capabilities of the Riparian HOA, the SFPO NPC and combined resources that we have.

Looking forward, what do you hope to see within the broader scope of the SFPO association and the SRA projects? I have always loved St Francis bay and hope that what we do will both preserve and enhance what has made St Francis bay so special to so many. . Regarding the projects, I believe that everything we have planned is for the betterment of St Francis, not only as a lifestyle destination but for the preservation of the environment that brought us here in the first place. Once we get groynes and a beach back, there are huge upswings. One of the most understated is the benefit that dredging will have to the river. It will have a significant effect on tourism, the river as a general amenity and for the estuary system’s health. It’s exiting that in the bigger picture, our “River Spit and Beach” project will have a massively positive impact.

What is the best thing about living in St Francis Bay?

It’s all good, I love this area. Initially, we knew we should leave for the benefit of our careers. Now, it’s for the benefit of our kids that we’ll stay. There is nothing better than allowing kids to grow up in an area like this. The outdoor and natural environment and being surrounded by people who share a similar appreciation for it is what’s best about this place. I enjoy Kitesurfing, diving, fishing, boating and all things outdoors. Convenience. When your free time is limited, having all these awesome outdoor experiences only minutes away is invaluable.

Free Internet Installation for the Sea Vista Library

PROVIDED BY TCS WI-FI, POWERED BY THE COMPUTER SHOP

St Francis Bay - TCS Wi-Fi was on hand on Friday 12 February for the handover of the new Sea Vista Library to the local community. TCS Wi-Fi powered by The Computer Shop has provided a free internet installation for the Sea Vista Library and one of their uncapped, unshaped and unthrottled high-speed internet packages. This will ensure the community has access to excellent quality internet at the facility. In conjunction with this, they have built a wireless highsite on the building, which will radically improve their internet coverage around the Sea Vista area. They’ve also begun rolling out a series of internet hotspots within Sea Vista to provide the community with a cheaper alternative to mobile data. Vouchers for these hotspots are available at shops around Sea Vista.

From L- R: Barry Tonkin, TCS Wi-Fi Public Relations Manager, Councillor Daniel Benson, and Roger De Donker (St Francis Branch Manager)