“Safi has the worst vibes of any wave in the world,” Jérôme Sahyoun tells Tracks. “There is no respect, no positivity. However, in the dead of night, it’s good vibes only.”

The Moroccan right-hander has become a byword for perfection. Recent edits of Ramzi Boukhiam, Torren Martyn and Noa Mizuno surfing ruler-edge lines peeling down a boulder-lined point, 400-yards long, with multiple 10-second-long tube sections.

What isn’t shown is the big crowds and a heavy local contingent that has a lockdown on the main takeoff section. While it’s possible to paddle further up the point, to a steeper, deeper, drainer section, even if you manage to negotiate the take-off, an inevitable  drop-in awaits.

And so, Sahyoun, even as one of Morrocco’s most influential surfers who can pick and choose any Safi set, had enough. One afternoon back in 2015, he was surfing the low tide session ‘til dark. After doing three more ‘one-mores’ he headed back to his filmer’s boat as night fell. With the wave hugging a coastal road, the street lights were just illuminating the whitewater as waves reeled off symmetrically in the oiled, Moroccan night.

“I said to my filmer, let’s try a few waves and see if it’s doable,” said Sahyoun. “I caught half a dozen waves, and while the footage was grainy, it was doable.” The next week another deep low pressure was set to park itself up in the Northern Atlantic and provide the huge, long-period swell that the wave needs.

“I called dad and said I need some electricians, trucks and lights to surf at night,” continues Sahyoun. “He was like, ‘Fuck, you aren’t surfing enough through the day? Now you want to surf at night too’?

At this stage you’d be within your rights to ask what ...