“Flight 566 to Beirut” Is A Very Good Surf Doco

Lebanon has long been on the short list of countries I desperately want to visit, but have not been able.

The food, the culture, the people, and the Mediterranean Climate beckon, but something’s always been in the way. The closest I’ve come to purchasing a ticket was during the planning of a year long trip around the world I took with my wife in 2008. The July War was too recent, sporadic violence made us nervous. We spent a month in Egypt, instead.

Since then it seems like one thing or another has stood in my way. I fear it’s a missed opportunity I’ll forever regret.

 The talent over at Wasted Talent won’t suffer the same. Together with French/Lebanese surfer Adrien Toyon they made the journey, scored some surf, edited it together into a tight little package joined by a tight bit of editorial.

Wandering in the golden light through downtown Beirut on our last evening, under the bullet holes, shell craters and pocked facades of the old buildings overshadowed by the glistening new buildings, we reflect on our time here. A wave previously unsurfed, and surfed by a surfer born down the road during a turbulent time, gives us a rare sense of profundity.

Lebanon is an amazing place. From the ashes of the civil war history, to now rebuilding as a beacon of liberty and prosperity in the Middle East, we can’t help but draw some parallels between it and Adrien’s slab. The food, the waves, the culture, the scenery and above all, the people, are amazing. We couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome, and we will remember the Lebanese hospitality for a long time.


I’ll still dream of Lebanon. But, if I’m being honest, I know it’ll be a long time before I make the trek. There’s just too much world in the way.