How World War 2, Hashish, And “The Hippie Trail” Changed Morocco Forever

During World War II, the United States established a naval base in Kenitra, a town in northern Morocco.

After the War, surfing caught on in the States, and servicemen began noticing suspiciously good lines steaming down the myriad Moroccan headlands.

This, matched with a mass influx of proto-trustafarian hippies and beatniks in the 1950s and 1960s, lead Morocco becoming ground zero for ex-pat surf activity.

There was cheap housing, un-stigmatized hashish smoking, kind locals, close proximity to the rest of Europe, and most importantly, consistent surf.

Anchor Point became the center of this new surf ecosystem. For years, it was known as the gem of the coastline — the region’s Rincon, or Snapper equivalent.

That was until a stand-out Moroccan surfer named Luc Soutif got a job at Port Safi unloading cargo. As he squinted his eyes on one morning shift, a west swell lit up the point opposite the Port, and he saw line upon line barreling, then halting, then barreling again.

Safi was born.

After remaining a secret for over a decade, surfers slowly began filtering in to the point, inhabiting its many separate sections. One of these sections is the infamous Rock, where Billy Kemper broke his pelvis, collapsed his lung, and broke his ACL, MCL, and Meniscus in one fall.

The Head of the Snake: The Secret Story of Safi is a mini-documentary by our friend and frequent collaborator Alan Van Geysen. If you want a Moroccan surf history lesson wrapped in a highly entertaining package, give it a watch.