Challenger Series Losers Win Consolation Prizes At Namibian Desert Casino
“Some crew were saying it was a 3/10, but for me, it was 10/10. The best waves I’ve ever seen.”
Faced with mediocre conditions following their eliminations from the Ballito Pro Challenger Series event, a cohort of CT hopefuls shifted their gaze from the dangling carrot of qualification to a particularly stubborn donkey.
Taking advantage of the relative proximity to the best left on earth, it was more than reasonable to keep an eye on the charts in case the desert grinder would light up.
“Jarvis (Earle) was constantly checking the forecast for Skeleton Bay,” said Jordy Lawler. “We were so close to going last year after the contest but didn’t pull the trigger.”
With a swell on the way and only prepared for Ballito’s subtropical climate, Jordy, Jarvis, and Reef Heazlewood — who finished 33rd, 9th, and 17th, respectively — were scrambling to find appropriate rubber for the Benguela-cooled Southern Atlantic. “We were asking around the contest site to borrow wetsuits,” Lawler continued, “without totally blowing out this swell we were going for.”
Arriving the afternoon before the swell, the Australian screwfoots opted out of surfing the smaller day. “We just hung out and walked around town. The town is so cool! It’s so not what I expected,” said the observant Lawler. “It was a full-blown German town; it felt like I was in Germany (laughs).”
By sunrise, the boys had made it to the point and were greeted with their desert reward. “It was solid,” Lawler exclaimed, “Wave after wave, some were 6 feet plus, just peeling down the line…”
But not without some GST.
“After two 30-minute runarounds our ankles, knees and calves were cooked,” laughed Jarvis. “But of course we had to keep surfing because of how good the waves were. The hardest thing about it is just the sheer length of it and knowing when to speed up and slow down. It’s so long that you’re sitting in the pit just going, ‘should I come out or do I sit in this thing forever?’ Quite often I found myself getting too greedy and caught up in the foamball. It’s a full reverse-Kirra.”
On the barren stretch of sand was Jason Apparicio, the charismatic goofyfoot coach from Trinidad, putting his defeated pupils, Tiago Carrique (currently leading the European QS rankings) and Léo Paul Étienne, through an impromptu African rite-of-passage.
The gamble paid off. Apparicio told Stab, “We didn’t do well in the event, so we saw the swell and decided to check it out.” He added, “We scored; the first day was small but super fun, and the next day was pumping!” For him, “Nat Young and Jordy Lawler were the standouts (of the swell), but I also saw some good waves by Reef.”
After placing 25th in Ballito and seeing there was a swell on the way, Nat Young decided to give the wheel another spin. “I went last year with a crew and we kind of got skunked, so I felt like I had to go back,” he said. “It’s got to be the best wave in the world, and I was already close, so I figured, ‘Why not give it another shot?'”
Nat flew in solo and stayed with Jordy Maree and a few other South Africans, who said the waves were “about a 3/10 considering how good it gets.” Nat added, “I still got a few waves that made the trip plenty worth it.”
Jordy Lawler offered a counterpoint: “There was talk that the bank wasn’t as good as it usually is. To me, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Some crew were saying it was a 3/10, but for me, it was 10/10. The best waves I’ve ever seen. It exceeded my expectations even.”
Commenting on being considered a standout, Lawler said, “Jason’s a legend, that’s rad he said that!” Before sharing his own 36 Namibian cents, “Everyone was getting so barreled, it was insane to watch. Nat Young was really gnarly out there, and Jordy Maree, Eli Beukes, Brendon Gibbons, and all those South African lads were ripping as well.” He added, “It was extra special watching Jarvis and Reef. It’s so epic watching your mates get super barreled!”
Safe to say that spirits were palpably high among the entire crew, but we still probed Jordy on how long it takes to wash away the sting of a loss with waves like these. “Even though we surf competitively throughout the year, it’s important to score waves and tap back into the pure love of the sport. It did help soften the blow of losing in the event for sure.”
Jordy, who won the second event of the Challenger Series this year (as a wildcard) at his local North Narrabeen, was the only surfer at the swell currently placed above the CT Qualification Line, with three events left in the season.
Less fortunate on his first trip to Namibia were Quey travel partners Ryan Huckabee from Flagler Beach and Dimitri Poulos from Ventura. The Floridian — in his maiden Challenger Series season — followed the flock after finishing 65th at Ballito, but an unfortunate encounter with his rail cut his trip short. He left the country with 23 stitches and a slightly redesigned chin. As for Dimitri, he tore a bunch of ligaments in his foot on the first day after a meaty foamball flexed his hoof the wrong way.
About 2,000 km away, the same swell graced the world’s best right — noticeably absent from the CT schedule this year, to the disappointment of many.
Tireless South African lensman Alan van Gysen was on the ground at Skeleton Bay, while some of his crew documented the action at Jeffreys Bay.
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