South African Surfers Set New Record

What happens when a group of surfers ride a single wave, simultaneously - They set a new world record of course! At least that's what happened to the surfing enthusiasts who got together at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town, early last month.

It took seven attempts, but their hard work paid off yesterday, when the Guinness Book of Records confirmed that 110 of them had been able to catch the same wave and stay upright for a full five seconds!

In doing so, the South African group surpassed the existing record set in 2008, by a group of 100 Brazilian surfers, who performed a similar feat.

The event was organized by Earthwave Global Surf, an initiative started by a Cape Town surfing company to showcase the universal nature of the sport and, to raise awareness of the effects of global warming on climate change.

For the latest event, the organizers attracted over a thousand surfers who paddled in the ocean an entire hour, waiting for a signal, from a fellow surfer, scanning the ocean, aboard a jet-ski. Each time, he saw a wave that looked big enough, he alerted the awaiting surfers, who then got prepared to ride it.

While it was hard work, everybody had a great time and are excited even more so now, that the record has been confirmed. However, they are not resting on their laurels - Preparations are already underway for the 2010 event.

sources:telegraph.co.uk, sun.co.uk, monstersandcritics.com