(Kind of) Watch: The Longest Barrel Of Brett Barley’s Life

We’ve gotten a lot of flack for comparing New Jersey’s shapely sand-point to what is arguably the best wave in the world, Namibia’s Skeleton Bay. Which, yeah, this spot in New Jersey is obviously not as good as Skeleton, but I’d argue that it resides within the realm of comparability.

It’s a left, sand-bottomed, and it tubes hard and fast for a ridiculously long time. What else does a wave need to be considered on the same plane?

I must admit that your criticisms started to affect my perception of reality, forcing me to reconsider the potential bias of my claims. 

Are the commenters right? Is this actually just a chest-high closeout?

Thankfully for me, Brett Barley, who is the closest thing to an unbiased expert that I could ever ask for, validated my claims and then some. After surfing Newmibia for the first time yesterday — that’s Day 2 of Winter Storm Riley — Brett reported that he got the longest tube of his life on Garden State soil. So eat worms, commentators. 

Stab: Brett, you said on Instagram that you got the longest barrel of your life today. Tell me about that!
Brett Barley: Yeah I mean, it was only a 3-foot wave. Jeffrey (O’neill, Brett’s principal Filmer) didn’t even start filming until I was in the barrel because when I was paddling for the wave it was like thigh-high, and he thought I was just come in… because I had caught a good wave and I was at the end where we were normally coming in. And then I stood up and I took a pump and it started growing, and as I pulled in he hit record. And dude, I just sat there… and sat there. I was just stalling and arm-barring, like literally in there laughing and yelling. It seriously went for so long. I think that was the first time I’ve properly claimed a tube since Namibia. 

How long was it?
I would have guessed it was maybe like 10 seconds, but I didn’t want to claim the time because I wanted to be sure. Then when I came out I was really far down the beach compared to where he had been filming, so the clip is just looking at it from behind. But as soon as I came out, I stood up so I was sure he could see me. And when I rewatched the clip, the time that I’m gone is 17 seconds. But I think we should throw in two seconds of error for me coming out before I stood up, so I’m guessing it was 14 or 15 seconds.

And no GoPro?
Unfortunately not. I didn’t use my GoPro until the afternoon because I kinda just wanted to surf and have fun. Definitely would have been a cool one to have on film though. 

What was your longest tube before this one?
The longest one I got in Namibia was eight seconds, and I’ve also had a seven or eight second one at the Lighthouse. But all those were bigger waves, and this one was only like stomach-high. But it was so boxed-out and just flawless. It was like a video game. 

So how does this wave in New Jersey, at least shape-wise, compare to what you’ve seen in Namibia?
In terms of wave-shape, it’s the same kind of sand-bottomed, ruler-edged, left point. You’re running up the beach, looking at line after of riding tubes, so when you say it looks like Namibia, it really does. Like it’s chest-to-head-high, not eight feet, but the shape itself and the way it bottoms out and grinds, it’s hard not to make that comparison. You could have totally gotten a 20-second barrel out there if you found the perfect one. Like I had waves that were a minute long, but they didn’t barrel the whole way. 

The fact that you’re even up here is a surprise to many (Brett lives an eight hour drive from this wave). Did you see all of yesterday’s clips and feel the need to come check this place out?
Yeah, I knew it was gonna be good up here yesterday but I thought home might have a window, and you know how you never want to miss home. But man, after I watched all those videos on social media I just had to pull the trigger. So we drove all night for the session, and now we’re heading back home. Pretty hectic but worth it. 

And for those of you who will inevitably call Brett’s account a bluff (Which, if you talked to the guy for five minutes you’d realize he’s one of the most forthright people on Earth…) or disparage his claim, Stab brings a witness to the stand!

Nick Joekel, tell us what you saw.

“Just when you think the local boys Randall, Where’s Willem, and R Kelly are taking the swells top honors… on Day 2 Brett Barley seems to just magically appear in the lineup giving them a run for their money. While I was floundering hopelessly somewhere near Delaware, I was lucky enough to witness Barley get without a doubt the longest, most perfect three foot drain-pipe I’ve ever seen. I literally did a 10-Mississippi count in my head before losing sight of him, only to watch him kick out another fifty yards down the line. Crazy thing was that that wave wasn’t even in his top 5 compared to the other ones I saw that session. Probably just a normal session for Barley!”