Taming One of South Africa’s Most Treacherous Waves in “Kelp Town” (Video)

On its own, this Pipeline -esque slab in South Africa is scary enough. Steep and shallow, it's an extremely challenging wave. But, to add a few more terrifying layers to the experience, this wave breaks way out to sea, in notoriously sharky waters, with a minefield of kelp covering the reef.

"As you jump off the rocks, you're straight into this massive kelp bed," says Adin Masencamp in "Kelp Town", the latest short from Now Now Media . "You're almost lifted from the water, and you've got no control because the kelp is just holding you there, and then you've just got to paddle through it.

"As the water drains, the kelp shoots up at you — they're pretty hard and they definitely pack a punch," Masencamp continues. "Only when the wave comes the kelp sort of disappears and then you're in the tube. When you come out, you hit this dry patch of kelp and you just go flying. There's so much kelp, that when you do wipeout, you end up underneath all of it..."

Basically, if you survive the sharks and the slab, you'll still need to avoid drowning in a massive underwater kelp forest after shooting out of the tube. Yep, this is definitely one of the most treacherous waves on earth.

Click play to watch Masencamp tackle a tube that few surfers on earth actually want to ride, and learn why this is one of the few places where kelp forests are growing, rather than shrinking. From the sounds of it, this slab is only getting more challenging by the year.

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