The picturesque view and peaceful waters of Hout Bay believe the danger in the waters just off the coast. For the past ten years, hand picked surfers from around the world have gathered here to partake in the Red Bull Big Wave Africa competition. Just east of the Sentinel, a peak that overlooks the west side of the bay, the waves break off a protected underwater reef, where the sea meets land after thousands of miles of open ocean.
It is at this point where the stormy waters of the South Atlantic make landfall. The sea here is frigid and foaming, and the water swells up in huge
ridges with enormous power. Thick kelp beds camouflage the abundant sea life from the marine reserve, of which the reef is part, counting among its inhabitants Great White sharks that prey upon a seal colony on a nearby island. The reef can produce waves of fifty feet and higher, though the highest ever recorded here was “only” forty-seven 
feet. The biggest waves usually occur in the period from late July through to the end of August, though predicting when waves of fifteen feet, the minimum for big wave competitions, or higher come takes more than a bit of luck.
This is Dungeons, a big wave surf spot virtually unknown until 1999, when Red Bull took up the challenge to start Africa’s first big wave competition. Discovered by South African surfers Pierre de Villiers and Peter Button in the 1984, it is notoriously fickle, dangerous, shark-infested, and when the waves come, one of the most exquisitely beautiful and challenging surf spots in the world. By 2005, it had become the second longest running big wave paddle
competition internationally, after Hawaii’s Eddie Aikau event on Waimea Bay.
Red Bull will no longer be in Hout Bay for the Big Wave Africa competition in 2009, but the big waves still will be. After ten years of sponsoring the event, Red Bull pulled its sponsorship, though they have not ruled out sponsoring the competition in the future.
Red Bull’s marketing manager, Tristan Werner, phoned surfers personally to explain the company’s position. 
According to Werner, Red Bull usually only hosted an event for a few years before moving on to something new, and they certainly did not sideline the competition due to budget constraints, as they are spending the same amount on surfing events as in previous years. Rather, Red Bull preferred to “mix it up a bit” by changing the events in which its name was used, though Werner also said that if the surfing community wanted the event to resume “the possibility of it coming back is real.” In a statement released by Red Bull, spokesperson Taryn Cheadle said, “Red Bull will still remain as a support structure to the local big wave community and will be working closely with them to engineer a suitable way forward.”
So 2009 will be a year rooted in the nostalgia of the past ten years at Dungeons, which have been an incredible experience for everyone involved.
This is unusual, as only four surfers have won in the ten years since the competition began. In 1999, it was all South African surfers, who came a bit late for the big waves. The wintry weather kept any good photos from being taken, though in that first year everyone saw Dungeon’s possibilities. The first winner of the event was Sean Holmes of 
Wilderness, South Africa in 2000, who caught a perfect wave that got Dungeons noticed as a big wave surfing venue. From then, it was quiet until 2003, when Californian Greg Long became the first foreigner to win the event. There was another lull without winners until 2006, when Grant “Twiggy” Baker of Durban was mooted to win the event after winning earlier in the year at California’s Mavericks Big Wave Event. Instead, John Whittle, also of Durban, took the win and surprised many at the competition, including himself. Though Red Bull expanded the window for the event to three months for 2007, conditions did not meet the competition requirements, and there was no winner this year. In 2008, however, Red Bull expanded the window to a full four months, and Grant “Twiggy” Baker came back and won the competition in its tenth year.
The big wave competition at Dungeons has helped mushroom the big wave surfing community in South Africa and put the country on the map as a 
top surfing destination. As South African big wave surfer David Smith put it, “We met world famous surfers from around the world, surfed shoulder-to-shoulder in some big waves and along the way improved our equipment and technique. Red Bull gave us ten great years.”
Dungeons is bigger than Red Bull. The big waves that swell up from Dungeons reef during South Africa’s winter will continue to attract big wave surfers from around the world. All it needs to become a competition again is a sponsor.
