Red Bull Big Wave Africa, Professional surfing competition in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
Red Bull Big Wave Africa is a professional surfing competition held at Dungeons, a reef break off Hout Bay in Cape Town, South Africa. The reef sits close to a rocky headland called The Sentinel, which channels Atlantic swells into large, powerful waves.
The competition was founded in 1999 and quickly became a regular part of the international big wave surfing calendar. Before the event, Dungeons was little known outside a small circle of local surfers.
Red Bull Big Wave Africa takes place at a reef spot called Dungeons, which sits off the coast of Hout Bay and is known for heavy Atlantic swells. Spectators typically watch from boats anchored nearby, since the break is hard to reach from shore.
The event takes place during a window between late July and August, with the exact date announced only when wave conditions meet the required size. It is worth monitoring official updates closely, as the call can come just a day or two before the competition starts.
Dungeons sits roughly half a mile (about 1 km) offshore and can only be reached by boat, which means even watching the event requires getting on the water. On windy days, the spray rising from the reef can be spotted from the cliffs above Hout Bay before the waves themselves come into view.
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