“The Dock” Wipeout Reel

And now, the return of “The Dock”. It’s been about a month since we’ve pumped air into our paddle-less experiment, but it was such an anxious, fun and dangerous time that we’ve decided to release the wipeout reel. Here’s a little background, back in May we took the Volcom team to Bali, and anchored a 100 foot, half-tonne plastic raft south of Keramas. For three days in a row, we were up at 4 am, towing what’s now known as “The Dock” from Benoa Harbour and back for this Stab concept shoot.

Turns out, a paddle-less surfing society isn’t the easiest feat. In the lead-up, we asked the Volcom team to practice by running and jumping into a pool with their boards. They responded with a, “Nah, we all skate, we’ll be just fine” sentiment – that they wanted to try finger flips and 270 grabs.

The first day, however, was a disaster. They couldn’t get to their feet. The waves were a little too big and it was a tax on trying to surf. When you’re on the dock, it doesn’t pick up your momentum, like, say, paddling for a wave does. So, we packed up and boated all 14 miles back to the harbour with our heads hung. The first day was a write-off.

Then, on day two, they got it. It worked; our spirits soared!

“If that thing hit you it would kill you, huh?” asked Noa Deane after the fact. And, it may have. The dock had a tendency to put holes in surfboards that American Airlines would admire.

With that said, here are three days of mishaps condensed into three minutes.