Here’s The Mutant Double-Up Not Even Taj Burrow Wanted

You might have caught the mini-documentary Mirage that’s been bouncing around the web the past couple of weeks, which traces the genesis of Skeleton Bay in all its sand-bottomed glory.

At the nine-minute mark, in amongst all the crunching lips and carnage, the camera quickly pans to a double-lipped tube that is obscene even by Skeleton Bay standards. A natural footer is seen briefly holding on for dear life until he gets bucked off his board and the wave of a lifetime continues to rifle down the point without him, accompanied by howls of anguish from the beach courtesy of Koa and Alex Smith.

The clip, shot by ace lensman Benoit Lelande, lit up Stab’s insta feed with many commentators commiserating with the unidentified surfer and giving him kudos for having a crack, while others reckoned he had it in the bag but #blewit. It’s bad enough eating it on a potentially life-changing wave – now imagine it being replayed over a quarter-million times, and counting.

Unbeknownst to Stab at the time, the surfer was South African Luke Slipjen, who only a week before had taken Stab’s insta feed by storm. Clearly, Luke is no kook.

As it turns out, Taj Burrow wanted nothing to do with the wave in question (wisely, perhaps) before Luke put his head down and gave it a go. Click play to watch the story behind the one that got away.