Stab Podcast: How Do You Save A Wave You Want To Keep Secret?

Only a surfer knows the feeling, so the tagline went. 

There are many feelings a surfer can experience, plenty of them great, some not so much. A recent Stab piece from Paul Evans posed an interesting situation, one felt by surfing communities united in a defense of their coastline: what do you do when a world-class wave that’s been under wrap for years might soon have privatized golf courses and luxury resorts?

It’s all explained in Paul’s story about the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda, where developers (including Robert DeNiro) are trying to change local laws to plow key environmentally sensitive areas, including a phenomenal and underground point that resembles “mini Kirra, minus any surfers anywhere even vaguely close.”

Wave-rich zones tend to be rich in other resources as well, and you don’t have to be a dedicated environmentalist to know that plenty of surf regions across the globe are at risk because of development. Places like King Island, the west coast of South Africa, and Salina Cruz come to mind.

Like a savvy Catan player, surfers tend to be protective by nature, guarding resources at all costs. But the problem with keeping these spots so underground is that local communities don’t often see the economic benefit of having a gem in their backyard, and there aren’t many people around to help when shit hits the fan. 

As Paul astutely points out, the Barbuda situation is a small-scale example of global issues, and the tradeoff of blowing a spot up on the map seems worth the alternative to literally blowing it up. And as we’ve seen before, surfers can make a difference. Remember Equinor’s plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight? How many waves, animals, and communities were saved after protests organized by surfers caused the company to reverse course? 

Danny and Buck discuss all this and more on the latest episode of The Drop. On a lighter note, they reveal a celebrity’s appearance in two notable surf films, and dive into all things Stab in the Dark with Jack Robbo, which have a “shitload of carving and turns.”

Time codes are posted below:

:43 Gabriel Medina is not going to Portugal 

6:40 Who wins in Portuguese tubes, Clay Marzo or Italo Ferriera? 

9:51 Save Barbuda: Why A Wave You’ll Never Surf On An Island You’ve Never Heard Of Matters

19:18 SITD with Jack Robinson

27:13 Simon Rex who?

34:28 A Sociopath at Snapper?

Surf sinners, receive your penance by confessing to [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].