A few times a year a flurry of mind-bending footage emerges out of that mystical wave on the Namibian coast called Skeleton Bay and suddenly we’re all left with our jaws on the floor and our hearts racing, asking ourselves the meaning of life. ‘What the fuck must that be like?’ you implore as you stare at the GoPro angle of some lucky prick flying through a ten … twenty … thirty-second barrel, then reset their line and do it all again, experiencing a moment of such transcendence that coke and hookers could never hold the same allure.
Well, having just emerged out the other side of another one of those bitter flurries, I decided to seek some answers. Anthony Walsh was one man fortunate enough to be on hand when those last swells hit the desolate left-hander, and here the Hawaii-based Lennox charger gives us a rundown on some of the finer points of such an incredible wave.
On how it compares to other world-class waves:
It’s impossible to compare it to any one wave in the world. It’s so long and perfect. It’s sand-bottom like the Superbank and just as long, like getting a wave from Snapper to Kirra, but it’s a left with the perfection of Desert Point yet way longer. In terms of heaviness it’s comparable to Kirra back in the day, below sea level take-offs and wipeouts that will smash you straight into the sand. The bottom’s like cement.
On what’s going through your mind inside one of those barrels:
When you’re on one of those waves it feels like you’re holding your breath wondering when you’re ever going to come out of the barrel, then you do and you’re about to go back in again. Just think of it this way: Imagine how happy you are when you get a short barrel at your local then times that by ten, then times it by eleven because the ride you’re talking about where I’m laughing and throwing shakas I got eleven barrels. I haven’t surfed since and wouldn’t mind if I didn’t surf for another six months or see the sun in that long. It’s that good!
On the difficulty of the wave:
It depends on each wave and tide and swell angle. It has many moods. Generally, it’s a hard take-off then it’s not hard to get barrelled but getting deep for a long time can be hard with the speed changes of the wave. You’re always adjusting, slowing down and speeding up. Or just pumping the whole way. The current can be strong and once you surf from top to bottom you have to walk two kilometres back to the top. Do that for a whole day and your body is ruined.
On the Go-Pro angle:
It’s the best GoPro wave in the world! Leaving it in the mouth is the easiest but using a pole like I was is super difficult. I always had to change hands to pump, slow down or adjust in the barrel. It takes a lot of practice.
On the crowd situation:
All the footage that popped up is all the people that were there basically. Because of how hard it is to get there, and swells are rare and hard to read, once you’re there you’d never find it if you didn’t go with someone who’s been. All these things mean it’s not super crowded and actually when you’re there, in between the fog, the long rides, the current and the long walk back up, you may not see anyone from your crew the whole day.
