Remember back when Surfing Magazine had the Google Earth Challenge? It was 2007 or 2008, I think, and what a fantastic idea. Surf dreamers/searchers from all around the world pored over a million different setups from space in hopes of a free trip to whatever they found. And what a find!
Within months, Namibia’s now-famous Skeleton Bay was the talk of the town. It still is, in fact–a sort of “ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find” kind of experience for those troubled by the ever-increasing crowds. It’s a reminder that, inif one is willing to look, those waves are still out there. There on the very edge of Africa, a perfect, spinning tube had been spinning unnoticed and unsurfed for who knew how long. By now, though, we’ve all seen it a million times, and its sheen has lost a bit of its lustre. It’s still pretty damn shiny, though.
That’s why, when the forecasts caught the eye of surfers all over the world, a select lucky few who were able to jump on a plane at a moment’s notice did just that. With bags hurriedly packed and expectations high, Benji Brand, Koa Smith, Aritz Aranburu, and Cory Lopez boarded a flight and ended up in a few insanely long tubes.