Full exposure
Kommetjie faces the open Atlantic below Slangkop, and its doors get the spray and the wind together with no shelter. Motor boards have less time in them than almost anywhere; cables rust through; steel bottom panels go from the edge in a few years; sand gets into every guide and track. Every steel part is specified in stainless, the panel edge is sealed, the guides are cleared on every visit, and the motor is on a service interval rather than waited on. A door fitted like a suburban door is replaced every few years.
Holiday homes
A large share of Kommetjie is holiday property, and a door that has stood closed through a wet winter will not open in December — springs set, rollers rusted in, batteries flat, board corroded. A service in October is cheaper than the December emergency, and it is a long drive to make twice. A roll-up in stainless guides is the door that handles the exposure best.
Getting here
Kommetjie is a real drive via Ou Kaapse Weg and Kommetjie Road; the window is quoted honestly and calls are paired with others on the peninsula. Noordhoek, Scarborough and Simon's Town share the routes.