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Few people in Cape Town are keeping as close an eye on the weather this winter as Tim Coles.
But while most of us are wishing for the blue-sky days between the cold fronts, Coles is hoping for fierce deep-ocean storms that will send enormous swells barrelling towards the Cape Peninsula.
As organiser of the inaugural Cape Courage Big Wave Invitational, Coles hopes this will be the year competitive big-wave surfing returns to the Cape after a long hiatus.
The location for Cape Courage is Dungeons, offshore from Hout Bay, one of Cape Town’s most fearsome surf breaks. The invite-only event, held in association with Red Bull SA, will run for a two-month waiting period that starts on 1 July and runs until 31 August 2026. That window allows organisers to call the contest ‘on’ when – and if – the Atlantic delivers the kind of powerful winter swell that has made Dungeons famous around the world.
It marks the first major big-wave competition at Dungeons since Red Bull Big Wave Africa last ran in 2008, bringing competitive big-wave surfing back to the iconic Hout Bay break.
For Coles, the long wait has been about more than just securing sponsors or choosing a date. It has taken years of engagement, buy-in from the local big-wave surfing community, and an approach to reviving competitive surfing that’s inclusive of the local crew.
What, and where, is Dungeons?
Dungeons sits off the coast below The Sentinel, outside Hout Bay, and is widely regarded as one of the planet's most technically challenging big-wave breaks.
Unlike more predictable big-wave arenas, Dungeons needs a very specific combination of factors to come alive: a deep winter storm large enough to send swell towards Cape Town, but far enough away that it does not bring unsettled seas and strong winds with it.
“It’s the biggest wave in Africa. Or, at least, it has the potential to be when the conditions are right,” says Coles. “Globally, it sits as one of the most technically challenging big waves because the reef is so big. You’re looking at a playing field that is probably 300 metres by 200 metres, and the waves can break at any point around there. So, you’re almost inevitably caught out by some big set during the day. Globally, it commands a lot of respect.”
Coles describes it as ‘the white whale of big waves’, a fickle break that might only deliver a handful of truly world-class days in a season.
When it does switch on, it can be terrifying. Coles says he has seen waves at Dungeons with 20-metre faces – roughly the height of a six-storey building – although Cape Courage is not expected to run in conditions that extreme.
This is also a paddle-only contest, rather than a tow-in event, meaning surfers must use their own arms to paddle in and catch the wave, rather than being towed in by a jet ski. The jet skis in attendance are there purely for surfer safety and rescue, if needed.
That decision is partly practical. Dungeons sits within a marine protected area of the Table Mountain National Park, and the use of personal watercraft is tightly controlled. But it is also somewhat philosophical.
“Being a paddle-in competition takes the whole thing to the next level. We wanted the event to reflect the core spirit of big-wave surfing and the legacy of the guys who initially walked over the mountain and paddled out there,” says Coles. “And it definitely adds a whole layer of intensity. Dungeons is a gnarly spot that catches everyone out at some point. If you want to catch a wave paddling, you have to sit in a spot where you are as likely to be caught by a monster set as you are to actually catch a wave.”
The big dogs of big waves
But, if anyone has a chance of doing it, it’s the crew of big-wave surfers who have been invited to compete.
The Cape Courage field brings together 22 of Southern Africa’s best big-wave surfers, drawn from Cape Town, the East Coast, Jeffreys Bay and Durban. The line-up includes some of the country’s best-known names when it comes to heavy waves: the likes of Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, Frank Solomon, Matt Bromley, Josh Redman and Fabian Campagnolo, alongside a younger generation of chargers including Sam Warren, Levi Kolnick and Jake Elkington.
The competitive format will see invited surfers take part in three opening heats, with the top two surfers from each heat progressing to a Final Showdown to compete for the title of Cape Courage champion.
For Coles, including a young local field is central to the event’s purpose, with Cape Courage focused firmly on shining a spotlight on South Africa’s established and up-and-coming big-wave community.
“For me, that’s the most important thing about Cape Courage: being able to show the world what the new crop of South African surfers is doing out here,” says Coles.
When is the competition?
The waiting-period format means there is no fixed contest date. Instead, organisers will monitor swell charts, winter storm systems and wind forecasts throughout July and August.
A traffic-light alert system will move from red to amber as a possible swell approaches, with a final green light given when conditions will bring the Dungeons wave to life.
And if you want to watch? Your best bet is to follow along on social media channels for when that light goes green and start planning your strategy early.
The best seats will be on the ticketed spectator boats on the water. If you’d rather keep your feet dry, head to the viewing points on Chapman’s Peak Drive and pack a good pair of binoculars. A livestream is also being explored.
For more information, visit www.capecourage.co.za.
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