Surfer Profile: David Smith

Highlights:
Other than being an invitee to BWA since 2004, I suppose I would consider the odd claim from mates as an ‘achievement.

In 2006 the Red Bull Big Wave Africa was run off in good surf, and John Whittle was declared the winner. As history books will now show, the waves at Dungeons were cranking the day after. Johnny Paarman and a few others were on the mountainside the day after, watching the sets pouring through, trying to work out what had happened. The ghost swell that hadn’t shown on any websites and any charters was real enough on the Dungeons reef.
One of the spectators walked over to where Johnny and a few others were watching. “I’ve been watching Slater out there all morning,” said this guy, a well-known Cape Town surfer.
“Can’t be Slater. He left for J-Bay this morning.”
“Well, there’s someone out there who looks like him and is absolutely going off.”
The sets were solid, and the crew on it called then 25-foot later. There were paddlers and a few tow crews lurking around. We saw a thick set shift over the outside, hold off, and lunge towards the inside. One surfer turned around and started paddling on a board that looked a bit smaller than some of the big ones that get ridden out there. The wave was a thick one, we could see that even from the top of the mountain, and this guy was paddling hard on his white board. He took a few more strokes, caught the thing as it doubled up, and air-dropped down the face. He reconnected, wobbled, and set his line for a big bottom turn.
“There. Who is that? Looks just like Slater.”
It did look like Slater. Couldn’t see if the guy had a chrome dome or not as he was wearing a hoodie, but there were some similarities to the multiple world champion. Johnny brought out his binoculars.
“That’s Dave Smith. He’s on a smaller board.”
He was on an 8’4 as he had broken his big boards, and he looked a bit like Slater.
‘My scariest moment surfing was around that swell that came in an around the event of 2006,” said Dave when prompted for his most scary moment out there. “I had to straighten out on a really big one on the outside, and then having the rest of the set take me to the inside channel. I remember looking up at that wave and questioning my sanity. It was honestly the first time I have been scared for my life.”
Dave is a regular at the BWA and has been since 2004. Whenever there is a good chunky swell around he is on it and makes sure that his entry to the Red Bull Big Wave Africa remains open.