Chippa Wilson and photographer Simon ‘Swilly’ Williams have boarded the Liquid Destination surf charter in the Maldives every year for a number of years. Covid put a temporary halt to that, but last month Chippa decided to once again organise the annual pilgrimage and assembled a crew of eclectic personalities and styles to spend ten days roaming around the Maldives in search of uncrowded waves.
The crew consisted of Chippa, Holly Wawn, Letty Mortensen, Dion Agius, Wade Charmichael, Jaleesa Vincent, Balaram Stack, as well as Swilly and filmers Wade Carroll and Jackson Jones.
While the crew scored fun waves with no one around, it didn’t come without consequence. Balaram ended up needing stitches in his leg and Letty fractured his tibia.
Check out some entries from Jaleesa’s diary below to get a flavour of what it’s like being a free surfer on a Maldives boat trip.
Chippa was trying to wrangle a few surfers together for a boat trip in the Maldives. People were pulling in and out. Knowing Chippa loves his lefts I decided to jump on board. I didn’t know who else was going to be on the trip. I bumped into Holly, Letty, Wade Carmichael, Wade Carroll and Jackson at Sydney airport who all happened to be going on the trip. After a couple restless flights we arrive at Male airport, pick up our luggage and walk straight onto a boat only 50 metres outside the terminal.
I bend down and splash my face. The salt stings my dry aeroplane air con skin. We drive a little taxi boat through a port full of million dollar boats until we arrive at our red charter, which is home for the next ten days. Balaram is already on board and surprisingly hasn’t cast a line out yet. Dion missed his flight and won’t arrive until the next morning. A few ritual beers are drunk and off to bed for me. It’s 1am here and 6am in Australia. I need to fall asleep before the symphony of snoring begins.
The next morning we head off to surf a wave just off the mainland. We get off the boat and walk along the streets where we’re greeted by some locals and cute cats. The wave was heavier than expected and left us with a few broken boards and reef cuts. Walking back to the boat we soak up our last time standing on land for the near future.
Dion arrives after a bit of bad luck. Then we head for the horizon, an infinite blue. The clearest water I’ve ever seen. It looks as though you could ice skate on the surface.
Balaram (Bal) has a line out the back trolling. We sit and stare at the horizon, our new updated TV. It’s so peaceful, drifting and watching the clouds change shape, fish flying out the water and I squeal in excitement when a pod of mini spinner dolphins race our boat. The red of the boat reflects on the blue water making a surreal purple tinge on the dolphins, I wish I had a camera.Â
After hours cruising, we make it to a little island with a small left hander which is running too fast, so we keep travelling. In the meantime, we crack a beer as the sun begins to set. I see a shooting star and make a wish. Now, its’s time for bed.
I awake to greet the sunrise on the horizon with a little stretch, deep breath and a smile. Bal and Chippa, who are both night owls, share a story of how they saw a baby whale shark cruise by at 3am.
While I’m enjoying this luxury holiday vibe so far, I am very keen to get in the water and surf. I can see white wash in the distance. Please be a wave! Nope. We pass the island, looking straight back at an empty horizon. It’s hard to imagine a wave breaking out here.
Wade, Bal and Jackson crack a beer, while I make another coffee. Dion and I talk about aliens and the collective consciousness of everything. The boat is rocking, my stomach is rolling. It’s a marathon not a sprint. There’s so much down time I’m worried I’m going to finish reading my book before the end of the trip.
White wash ahead. Perfect little lefts on the clearest water I’ve ever seen, it’s nice to get a fun little surf in. Afterwards we eat the yellowfin tuna that Bal caught for lunch and finish the day with a sunset surf.
The next day we pull up at a little right hander and decide to go for a snorkel, it’s incredible. The reef reminds me of my Shirley Barber Mermaid book from my childhood. A storm rolls through and picks the surf up a bit. Once it glasses off Letty heads out for a solo session. He’s ripping out there. We all join him for a couple fun rights and then head off to find some more lefts as the goofy footers are a little greedy and we outweigh the regulars four to three. That afternoon the whole gang joins Bal on the back deck. It’s a small zone but we all squish in taking turns fishing and telling stories. It’s a beautiful wholesome energy.
One night Bal shows us his new film. It’s amazing. A few drinks are poured to celebrate. The next morning I wake up to find out Bals in hospital getting 15 internal stitches and 15 external stitches on his upper thigh. He had a woopsie that night and landed on a metal bar that went through his leg and into the muscle. I see a photo of the wound before it was stitched up; it looks like a shark took a bite out of his leg. Bal has to head home and he will be missed.
Bal isn’t the only casualty, during a session later that day Letty pulls a ligament in his knee trying an air. Another one bites the dust.
However, that afternoon we surfed until we could no longer paddle. Watching Chippa that day blew my mind. He’s like the elastic girl from the movie ‘The Incredibles’. Every move is so fast, confident, accurate and he always wears a big smile. We surfed the left again the next day. It’s small. But we wait for the midday pulse. It never comes.
As we begin our journey home, we arrive at a right hander just off the main land where we spend our final two days. However, it’s crowded. A big contrast considering we haven’t seen any other surfers since we left. Holly and Wade are out there shredding. They are both incredibly powerful and throw so much water. I try to work out how to surf my back hand, it’s been dormant for a while. Dion catches a few bombs and Chippa gets a mental cheater five barrel.
That session concludes our surf trip. We were a little unlucky wave wise, there were a couple injuries but it was so nice to get to know everyone better. I hadn’t hung out much with a number of this crew before, but everyone was so nice and supportive of each other. I’m looking forward to catching up again sometime.
Thank you to the fishes that fed us. Thank you to the boat crew. Thank you Louie and Swilly from Liquid Destination Maldives boat charter. I still can’t believe I get to go on trips like this for my job. Thank you Billabong and thank you Dolphins.
Check out a few more shots below, courtesy of Swilly.
