Soli Bailey Riding A Variety of Crafts in Perfect Winter Surf is Required Viewing

Surfboards are wonderful vessels for diving into the psyche.

Proud Yaegl man Soli Bailey is the latest Byron Bay local (as in he, like, grew up there!) to give top flight professional surfing a genuine crack, and from what we’ve seen thus far, he may well be the region’s best hope for competitive success. Also, following on from Wade Goodall, Soli’s the next Channel Islands team rider to have their 2020 examined. Unsurprisingly (considering he’s been living on the east coast of Australia during one of the best winters on record), Soli’s enjoyed the lack of travelling and competition, and the chance to ride some more lo-fi crafts.

Content’s a pretty straightforward affair when you have an interesting protagonist and perfect surf, so it’s not surprising that gaining an insight into Soli’s last few years on tour paired with winter pointbreak highlights is a compelling affair. A couple of things worth noting are: how good growing up in the Northern Rivers makes you in hollow rights (Soli doesn’t miss a millisecond behind the curtain in the session 2:20 on), how smoothed-out top level competitive surfers look on mid-lengths (see the wave at 3:45 for details), and, the abstract motivation method of spending a week on the tools with his old man to get the competitive fire back in the honest ramble at the nine minute mark. 

If any of the crafts featured above tickle your fancy, then dive in here.