From an idea to a group of 25 boogieboarding women who meet every Friday, rain or shine, to catch a wave and chill, the Kowie Granny Grommets have landed. And to celebrate six months in the surf, they’re having a special celebration at their home break, Kelly’s Beach, on Friday October 4.
Founder member Jenny Hodgskiss said the inspiration had come from the Nahoon Granny Grommets, whose exploits have even made it on to national television.
Hodgskiss, who recently retired from her post at Rhodes University’s Centre for Social Development, said she was looking for something to do – “but something adventurous”. She’d already received the call of the ocean.
“It was in Morgan Bay in about 2000,” she recalled. “I got myself a bodyboard and tried it out there and loved it,” she said.
Brother Mike Loewe, who is a serial surfer and open-water swimmer, tried to persuade her to join the famous Nahoon Granny Grommets. Started by East Londoner Julie Schroeter, they meet once a week to bodyboard and socialise.
“But East London is far,” said Hodgskiss, who lives in Makhanda. “So I thought, I wonder if there wouldn’t be other people interested in Port Alfred.”
So she tested the waters, as it were, with a social media post or two, then a date and a place. She’d found a partner in crime and she and Michelle Rosenthorn arrived at Kelly’s Beach parking lot some time before 9 on Friday 5 April.
“It was terrible weather,” she said. “Pouring with rain. And Michelle had called me earlier asking if we shouldn’t cancel.”
They sat in the car and waited.
“Next thing a car roared into the parking lot – it was two women from Kleinemonde who had come all the way from there to join us, Hilda Vermaak and Liz Hartley. And then Helen Averbuch arrived.”
Pausing only to take a photo, following the tradition of the Nahoon Grqanny Grommets, “Off we ran into the ocean”.
In the six months sinc e then, the Kowie Granny Grommets decided on their name, started a whatsapp group, grew their numbers (there are 25 of them now), and met faithfully every Friday for an amazing hour or two of bodyboarding.
“If I’d had any doubts about whether the trip all the way from Grahamstown was worth it, that first session really settled it.
“When I came back, I felt rejuvenated, full of joy,” Hodskiss said.
The group has met every Friday since then. Pretty much every week there are 9 or 10. The best attendance was 18.
None of them is younger than 50 (“If you’re under 50, we can help you start your own group,” says Hodgskiss); and there are two 80-year-olds.
Apart from just being an absolute blast, Hodgskiss says it’s been a healing journey for many of the participants.
“Some women who come have had bad experiences with the sea. Two are dealing with bereavement. Others are nursing ailing husbands, or mothers.”
As they’ve gained confidence and commitment, many of the members have invested in better body boards, rash vests, wetsuits and booties.
If you happen to be at Kelly’s Beach next Friday at 9, when the group celebrates their six month milestone, you won’t miss them. They’ve had orange T-shirts emblazoned with the Kowie Granny Grommets logo plus each member’s name.
“Partly because that’s quite a cool thing to have on your team kit. But mostly because we keep getting our T-shirts mixed up on the beach,” Hodgskiss said.
“We’ll also put up our special flag.”
The KGG even cracked the nod for a special invitation to the SA Bodyboarding Championships at Kelly’s Beach in Port Alfred this week. The championships end today.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, September 26, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
