Surfing Google Earth

I’ll bet there are currently lots of red, pterygium, surfing eyes currently affixed to their computer screens and the coverage of WSL stop number 6. J-bay always spikes a bit of web interest in surfing in South Africa and while it does make me a little patriotic, (as specially seeing as I used to live in J-bay...) the line-ups do start to feel a little more crowded, a little more claustrophobic this time of year. I generally find that I’m busy casting my eyes farther afield, planning the next surf trip abroad.

As someone who spends prolonged periods away from my home, I can certainly attest to the fact that being at home; is good. For a young surfer growing up on the east coast of South Africa, I really had, and still have it easy. Consistent waves, warm water and unlike other parts of S.A relatively few sharks.

Today though, it’s damn cold, there’s no swell and it’s onshore. Allain de Botton once said, ’How pleasant to hold in mind that, through the crevices of our moods, at three in the afternoon when lassitude and despair threaten, that there is always a plane taking off for somewhere.’

Travel, and specifically surf exploration has always fascinated me. Going some place new and surfing possibly very good, possibly rarely surfed waves is what I daydream about.

Home is good, but travelling is damn good too.

Now, once upon a time, when boards were longer and town and county was an actual brand, people planned surf trips based on what was told to them, what they read in magazines, and or what what they saw on TV.

I kind of miss those days. I am one of those who laments the death of the ‘old fashioned surf check’. Simply put: heading down to the beach and having a look.  (Invariably coupled with the usual procrastination and dilly dallying on whether some place else is better....see the brilliant Art Of Procrastination a few posts back.)

These days however knowing if there is going to be decent surf has become far more easy: Less craft. Less intuition. More Magicseaweed.

But I digress...

Of course when planning a trip a bit father afield than your local beachie or point set-up, one cannot pop down to beach and check the conditions. The number of variable’s one needs to consider, particularly when travelling to really isolated spots, are so innumerable that one would be a total idiot not to use every resource available to avoid the dreaded situation of ‘being totally skunked’. (...No doubt made far worse by being far from home, perhaps somewhere hostile, with giant bugs that crawl over you while you sleep. Oh and no running water.)

So if you fancy yourself as a bit of an explorer like I do check out Google Earth. (Originally created by a Central Intelligence Agency shelf company believe it or not...)  Recently I used Google Earth to identify and surf a fickle semi secret wave that kept on catching my eye while on holiday, and ended up having one of the most memorable sessions of my life.

Crowds at your local spot getting you down? Feel like exploring your local coastline a bit from the comfort of your armchair? Ever wonder if there are waves in Mauritania? Namibia? Antarctica even? When last did you drink rum in the morning? Feel like braving some pirates? How about Somalia then? I hear the surf is pretty decent there this time of year...

Have a look at some of these incredible aerial photographs of some near and some far-flung line-ups and mind surf away.