Dogs Are Now Towing Into Outer Reefs

So, Garrett McNamara, a blind guy, a dog, and a Jet Ski roll up to an outer reef…

In 2008, that would have been the start of a bad joke. The punchline would have landed somewhere in the vicinity of Garrett expecting the trio to tow him the whole time. Barking orders, not being able to see their side of the argument, etc.

However, it is not 2008. It is 2018 and so that is simply the start of a story.

The blind guy, in this story, is Derek Rebello — a legitimately inspiring fella from Brazil. Garrett McNamara is Garrett McNamara. And the dog is @bonosurfdog, who happens to have more followers than a handful of CT surfers.

“[Bono] was a champion, handling the poundings out there,” said the man who invented Nazaré.

Couple thoughts:

-Technically, Bono would have beaten Filipe Toledo in that 2015 heat at Teahupo’o.

-Fact check on the “biggest wave by a dog” claim. Two words: Richard Marsh.

-Just because you’re a dog doesn’t mean you get a pass for riding a SUP.

-But honestly, this is probably against some sort of animal protection law, no?

At this point, though, I’m almost more concerned about the welfare of surfing than that of the dog. Is this really where we’re at?

I blame Instagram. I don’t necessarily understand how it has gotten so powerful that it would convince an entire group of grown adults into believing that whipping a dog into a wave at an outer reef is an idea worth pursuing. But we’ll blame it anyway.

So here’s an Andy Irons section from Billabong’s Trilogy, from before the App was invented, to remind us what surfing is again. Thanks, AI.