That's How It Happened

The water along the Atlantic coast of South Africa is shockingly cold, due to the Benguela Current. When the prevailing South East wind blows freezing water is drawn up from the Antarctic waters. The air temperature in Cape Town can be in the high 30's, and the water temperature can still be stuck in the low teens. It makes for shocking surf conditions.
Pictured are the Reef (South Africa) Split-toe Surf Boots. I surfed every day during my holidays, and came to love these little rubber shoes. They keep your feet warm as toast, but more importantly the ninja toes help you maintain balance during critical drop ins. Due to legal issues between Reef (South Africa) and Reef (The thong/sandal company) (mildly NSFW), you can't pick these up outside of RZA. You can however get some slightly less cool ones from Rip Curl.