Zye Norris on the nose at Batu Keras, Java. COURTESY DEUS EX MACHINA
Your book The Longboard Travel Guide is just out. It’s the first dedicated guidebook to cover the subject, so the longboard community should be pretty stoked.
Yeah, I hope so. Longer boards are obviously harder to travel with, but riding them opens up so many interesting breaks around the planet, all sorts of thrilling points and peelers.
The book includes some interesting off-the-beaten-track destinations like Gabon, Western Sahara, Canada and Angola. Why were you keen to include countries like those?
It’s a fact of life that lineups around the world are becoming more crowded, so I think it’s important to open peoples’ eyes to new surf zones where they can be assured of high quality waves and minimal crowds. Only the most adventurous surfers make it to places that are a challenge to get to, therefore they remain uncrowded. Many of these places already have a small number of low-key tourism facilities available, such as eco-lodges, and they benefit tremendously when there’s an increase in adventure tourism. If you accept that the journey is part of the adventure, then I think many of the countries in the book will stoke your fires.
More and more surf travel companies seem happy to cater for longboarders these days. That’s got to be good news for loggers.
For sure. Surfing embraces such a wide range of abilities and approaches that any savvy surf travel company will cater for every level and every board type. But I think there’s still a gap in the market for specialist surf travel operators to provide exciting quivers of boards to use on location, so that the client doesn’t have to travel with a massive coffin bag of boards. Wouldn’t it be good to arrive at your destination and be able to borrow a small quiver for the duration of the trip (say a specific noserider, a performance longboard and a fish)? Obviously the premium might be higher, but what a great way to free-up the stress of travelling with boards, and enjoy the chance to sample new designs in new waves. Surf travel operators could easily collaborate with local shapers to achieve this.
Do you prefer searching remote coasts by road or by boat?
By road, if it’s possible. For me, one of the biggest rewards of surf travel is meeting people, experiencing the landscape and learning about the local culture.
Getting through airports with a 9’0″ is a mission. How do you do it?
It’s never easy! Lately, I’ve noticed that Gatwick and a couple of the Heathrow terminals have introduced a 2.5 metre (8’2”) limit for oversized baggage. This is because oversized baggage is placed in trays which go down chutes (for automated sorting) before being loaded onto the relevant plane. If the attendant working at the oversized baggage check-in refuses to take your longboard, it’s at the discretion of the duty manager to have a member of staff take the board by hand…and they might refuse to take it altogether. So, the options are either to travel with a board no longer than 8’2” at suspect airports/terminals, or choose airports/terminals with a track record of accepting full longboards (9’0” plus). I know from experience that Heathrow Terminal 3 (the home of Virgin, who are great for longboards) is at ground level and it doesn’t have a size limitation for surfboards as they get transported to the loading area without using chutes. Also, smaller international airports like Bristol (where you can connect to bigger hubs such as Amsterdam) currently have a good track record with 9’0” plus boards. It’s always wise to talk to the airline before you book and gather as much information as possible from fellow travellers.
Sam on the road in the Philippines. JOHN CALLAHAN / SURFEXPLORE
When you’re planning a long-haul trip, do you choose somewhere consistent and book flights in advance, or wait for a good chart and go at the drop of a hat?
Well, our SurfExplore team doesn’t have the resources to go jetting off at the drop of a hat, so we hone in on an area and choose a month which is likely to give us good swell and good light for shooting. For example, July and August are the best months for surf in West Africa but it tends to rain heavily, so the early season (May and June) is a better bet if you’re shooting. Similarly, areas in the South China Sea that work during the northeast monsoon – Southern China, Malaysia and Vietnam – tend to have a pervasive gloom after Christmas which is awful to photograph, so it’s often best to go early in the season, say November. If you want to publish material or produce films, good planning certainly makes a difference. If you’re only freesurfing, of course, it’s just a matter of choosing the peak swell season.
What are your own personal all-time surf discovery highlights?
I’d say exploring Algeria in 2009. After three months of research and planning, photographer John Callahan and our SurfExplore team documented the northeast Mediterranean coast of the country, culminating in a few sessions at the outstanding left point of Ain Barber on a solid mistral swell. We were really on a roll at that time as our travel tactics had become almost military in planning and execution. The local crew in Annaba now ride this spot when it breaks (a handful of times per year) and our trip has become part of their surfing folklore!
How important is it that travelling surfers act responsibly while on surf trips to developing countries?
During my travels I’ve seen how sensitive cultural tourism can bring employment and resources to previously unstable and economically-deprived corners of the world, such as Madagascar and Liberia. So, positive cultural exchange is really important – it’s how bridges are built between different cultures and communities.
N’Tirift, way down in Western Sahara. JOHN CALLAHAN / SURFEXPLORE
The Longboard Travel Guide (Orca Publ.s) is available now price £17.99. Click here to buy.
KLM are now taking surfboards on board free of charge on international flights. A boardbag can now be taken on board instead of a bag. If you are flying internationally that means no extra fee is charged; https://surf.klm.com/#!/surfgearonboard”
With fjords, mountains, amazing surf and snow spots and chance of seeing the northern lights Norway is one of the magical places on earth to take a surf trip.
Yannick:
Everyone always seems to venture south, in search for warmer temperatures. Yet Norway is one of the most beautiful travel experiences I have ever had. In Norway that feeling of being connected and at the same time humbled by the surroundings is so intense. Surfing here just strengthens that feeling. It clarifies the mind.
I feel this place carries a magic and greatness that you can feel in your bones. On top of that there are no crowds and the waves can be amazing.
Mads Johnson:
Travelling in Norway is unique. The coastline we have here is as long as the westcoast of the US and there is so many in’s and out’s, so many fjords. There is unlimited potential for surf exploration here, I think you could spend a lifetime exploring here and never run out of new places to find.
After the John John Florence JetBlue fiasco we were pleased to learn Dutch KLM are now taking surfboards on board free of charge on international flights. A boardbag can now be taken on board instead of a bag. If you are flying internationally that means no extra fee is charged; https://surf.klm.com/#!/surfgearonboard”
Dutch Pro surfer Yannick Jager was behind the KLM campaign and their celebration of surfing;
‘As a proud Dutchie, I always preferred to fly with KLM, my native airline who flies to a lot of great locations around the world straight from Amsterdam. Whenever I stepped on board of a KLM flight it always felt a bit like ‘coming home’ after having been away for long periods of time.
So about a year ago I started talking to KLM airlines, with high hopes to find a way to make board bags free as a part of your standard baggage allowance. Fast forward to half a year later and it turned out there were holy corporate soldiers living within the concrete world of big business and dusty decision making dimension of multinationals. People that were dedicated in making a positive change for surfers and people that travel with a passionate reason.
A boardbag can now be taken on board instead of a bag, if you are flying internationally that means no extra fee is charged; https://surf.klm.com/#!/surfgearonboard”
They also gave me the opportunity to come up with a concept to shoot inspirational content around the campaign. I’ve always been looking to document my travels in the nicest way possible so it was a dream job come true. I wanted to work with a ambitious and dedicated, yet small team to work on the production and that really worked out. Stoked I got to work with some great people and to be able to portray a few of the KLM destinations in a way how I perceive them. Excited on the results.’’
Whether you’ve got your board in the back of the car planning an after work surf or you’re travelling long haul, your boards need protection… here’s some of the best board bags which will do the job. Click here…
Ninety kilometres off the coast of Morocco lie a group of Spanish islands which have become synonymous with heavy waves – the Canary Islands. Entirely volcanic in origin, they’re blessed with year-round sunshine and epic waves. Dubbed the ‘Atlantic Hawaii’, some of the Canaries’ urchin-infested slabs hold incredibly heavy waves with barrels as thick as hydrodynamic theory allows. The islands are surrounded by deep water so incoming swells slam in with full Atlantic power producing thick, heavy waves which require 100 percent commitment from the second you think about getting to your feet. What comes next depends on your ability to control your rail and line up the section; if you don’t, you’ll suffer the consequences. From playful four-foot peelers to top-to-bottom quadruple-overhead monsters, Canarian reefs tick all the boxes. There’s also a selection of less intense beach breaks which can be fun, although the reefs are what the crowds froth over.
The islands hoover up swell from all directions, but most of the big winter swells come from slow-moving North Atlantic lows which churn out a steady supply of northwest groundswell throughout the winter months. Hurricane swells from the east coast of the US can also reach the islands if the storms peel away from the continent early and don’t dissipate too soon. Trade winds blow almost all year round, predominantly from the north east; the winds tend to be lightest in October and November.
There are seven main islands in the Canaries, and each offers a selection of surf spots ranging from good to world-class. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are the furthest east of the islands and they’re also the least mountainous; consequently they offer the best access to the coastline and they have the highest concentration of breaks.
Lanzarote’s heaviest and best known spots lie in a cluster around the fishing village of La Santa on the north coast. El Quemao, a crunching left next to the village’s tiny harbour, bears more than a passing resemblance to its Pacific cousin Pipeline. Offshore on a southeast Sirocco wind, El Quemao will tear you a new orifice if you don’t treat it with the utmost respect. The takeoff is always steep, and you’ll need to nail a heavy bottom turn to line up the second section which can sometimes suck almost dry. El Quemao is shallow, fast, heavy and will give you a shot of adrenaline you won’t forget. The locals are a tight-knit bunch who aren’t too wild about visitors, whether you rip or not. Show respect and it’ll improve your chances, but even then they won’t welcome you with open arms.
A kilometre along the coast is La Santa Right (known locally as Morro Negro), a long, powerful righthander which breaks along a boulder-strewn point. It’ll hold waves up to 15 feet and can be world-class on its day, with big open walls begging to be carved to bits. The inside can sometimes get bowly, with the odd barrel to be had. The current down the point is quite strong and the paddle outs are wearing, but catch it on a perfect six-foot day and you’ll be hooting your head off. Get there early to beat the crowds.
Other quality spots on Lanza’s north shore include the heavily localised La Santa Left (‘The Slab’) and San Juan, a long smashable left.
On straight north swells a cluster of reefs on the east side of the island turn on. Jameos del Agua, Punta de Mujeres and Arrieta offer softer waves which will appeal to intermediate surfers more than the bone-crunchers around La Santa.
The long arc of sand at Famara provides a beach break option for beginners, although wave quality is dependent on the state of the banks. If the swell is from the north or northeast, another beachie to check out is Orzola on the far northern tip of the island.
Most of Fuerteventura’s best waves can be found at the northern end of the island, around the resort town of Corralejo. The Bubble, a few kilometres west of the town, is a sick A-frame which offers hollow lefts and rights breaking over a sharp, shallow reef. It works best on a northwest swell with a southeasterly wind. Deep-water waves jack up quickly and morph into good-length pits for those lucky enough to snag one off the locals. The Bubble is one of the busiest spots on the island and the locals aren’t too willing to abide by general etiquette, so expect drop-ins when it’s on, even if you have priority and have been quietly minding your own business for a while. Hang around, be nice and let your surfing do the talking, then you’ll have a better chance of taking one of the well-protected set waves. And get in early to avoid the crowds.
Other challenging spots for experienced surfers include Las Lagunas (‘Spew Pits’), a gnarly righthand barrel near Cotillo; and Lobos, a long right point that peels down the side of a volcano, a short ferry hop from Corralejo. Intermediate level surfers can find fun waves at some of the less demanding reefs like Rocky Point, as well as a selection of beach breaks like Glass Beach, Cotillo and Playa de Esquinzo.
