Diamond Of The Desert - video

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

...and the Skeleton Bay Express just keeps going and going. This time 'round it's the Smith Bros, Koa and Alex, getting seriously piped in the Namibian Desert. The real meat is Koa's opening barrel which begins at around 1:20 and finishes sometime around 2017.

Comments

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 at 11:52am

Sorry didn't see you already had it up, gonna be hard to top skeleton bay in tube footage, a ultra long one of fanning at snapper comes to mind ...but long before gopro's

mehollywood's picture
mehollywood's picture
mehollywood Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 at 6:55pm

Had a mate a long time ago that took his mum to see a surf film.Lopez was surfing Pipeline . He wanted her to understand why he loved surfing so much . Her only comment was "it's not real, it's done with mirrors." After watching this clip maybe she was right. Unbelievable . Incredible .
That's gotta be worth the money and hassle to get there for even a few waves like these !?

Samsy's picture
Samsy's picture
Samsy Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 at 7:40pm

I'm with you. It's mesmerising. Anyone know how far from there you actually stay. I need to go. I wonder how close the new fangled wave pools hope to get to replicating that. Not a chance.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 at 7:45pm

Trippy. Some of those tubes must be 20 seconds plus.

kerry1's picture
kerry1's picture
kerry1 Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 12:22am

A minute plus

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 at 7:56pm

Samsy,

There's a very big town (20,000 people) about 5 or 10 kms from the wave. And the drive to that town from the international airport isn't a particularly long haul. Mick Free (regular poster on here) surfed it last month so he's got the drill on flights, accom, etc.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 at 8:34pm

I'm with you Samsy. This joint is doing my head in.. Gotta get there

kerry1's picture
kerry1's picture
kerry1 Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 12:24am

This is Barrel City! It is a City that you will never want to leave and this wave just about keeps you there. I am going.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:03am

The ASP has just put the Big Wave World Tour event at Dungeons on yellow alert. Skeleton Bay works on the same swells as those that spark up Capetown's big wave spots such as Dungeon's, Sunset, Outer Kom etc so looks like we may see more Skeleton Bay footy surface soon.

I expect there'll also be a rush of surfers booking flights into Windhoek from all quarters of the surfing world.

mothart's picture
mothart's picture
mothart Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:04am

Had to watch that first barrel again this morning. Watching shit like that can make your day go either way. Wonder how crowded it will be next swell.
In it's slo-mo state it goes for two minutes, I asked on the other thread about real time, for it to be a 20 second barrel it would have to be slowed down by x6.
I don't reckon it's slowed down by that much, & we are looking at 30-40 second tube maybe even closer to a minute. Is there any way of working it out? A beach view or ask LNF to show us a real time cut of this P.E.D.s enducing wave.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:06am

The Inertia claim in real time its just over 50 seconds.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:10am

On Surfline Koa said he roughly timed it at 27 secs and he was frantically pumping the whole time. The section when the camera goes wacky is cos he had ot mouth mounted and had to yell at the fella trying to drop in on him. 

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:16am

Wondered what happened there, jeez you'd be filthy if he didn't get through that section, was tricky as it was without the chandeliering.

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:17am

That footage is from May 28. Its going to be pumping there next Tuesday. Go ride the donkey!

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:20am

Yep, gonna be on, only issue is local winds, but surely with a weak pressure gradient you'd get a local land breeze. Pity the swell is peaking during the afternoon when the onshore really kicks in.

Samsy's picture
Samsy's picture
Samsy Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 5:01pm

Hey Mick ,
How were the crowds when you were there is it a hassle. R there locals as such . I imagine with a wave that long it'ed b either a massive paddle or walk around which would keep the line up reasonable!!!! How much did it cost u.

Samsy

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 10:43pm
Samsy wrote:

Hey Mick ,
How were the crowds when you were there is it a hassle. R there locals as such . I imagine with a wave that long it'ed b either a massive paddle or walk around which would keep the line up reasonable!!!! How much did it cost u.

Samsy

The next time it will be breaking there will be crowds. Think the whole world has awoken to the wave. There was only 4 surfers the day we surfed it. Swell was only 3.5m WSW. Two of them locals, we didn't really have a meaningful chat too busy running or swimming. You have to walk back up the point which is over a km. Current is hectic, and just paddling is a losing battle. If there is a good swell crew will fly in from everywhere, heard Camel talking about guys also flying in from WA. Everyone in Jbay are watching the charts too for a swell so will come in from Port Elizabeth which is a really expensive option. I had pre-booked from Sydney - Cape Town and flew up from there when I saw the swell. All up it was US 2k each airfares only. At last minute you going to pay more. We were staying with family so didn't pay accom. But $50 a night will cover you. I understand the localguy at the backpackers will take you out there, otherwise need a 4wd. Best to hire in Windhoek and do the search. Good luck.

Samsy's picture
Samsy's picture
Samsy Tuesday, 19 Aug 2014 at 2:05pm

Cheers Mick.

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 9:02am

Long way to go for a one day swell but.....super strong though its pushing all the way to Angola. Its really exposed so wind blows it out easy

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 5:13pm

Also I just checked the 16 day Mentawai WAMS which bring up Africa

http://www.swellnet.com/reports/indonesia/sumatra/mentawai/wams

......there is a much bigger swell for the following Tuesday but the winds look onshore for Donkeys but Dungeons will be on with light winds for the Tuesday through Thursday with 20 - 30 footer. Its a long way out though but if it holds yikes

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 6:29pm

Well money bags mickfree , get back over there a and don't forget my bottle of brand slang thank you. Take note of the cape coloureds this time, they're the ones without the money. :-)

shoredump's picture
shoredump's picture
shoredump Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 7:33am

@mick-free do you think it needs a swell to break properly? I'm just wondering about consistency, and how to manage a visit. Strike mission is always the best option I realise but I wonder what you'd get out of a pre booked week in the wintertime.

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Sunday, 17 Aug 2014 at 10:17am

@shoredump. Yes you need a big swell for Donkeys to break minimum 3.5m. Here are a couple of photos of other waves in the area. One is a point break and other reef break. Both were breaking on 1.5m swells. So there are a heap of other waves along the coast if you lock in a week. Winter is better as you have offshores every morning from the East. Cold water though 12 degrees, so bring some rubber.

shoredump's picture
shoredump's picture
shoredump Sunday, 17 Aug 2014 at 12:49pm

Tah, I thought so, but that's even bigger than I realised. They don't pop up every week do they. I have to book my holidays a year in advance unfortunately. I know what I'll do, just book a month off in season and watch the charts from home. I'm not dying till I've made a 50 second barrel. Sorry, but I'm not. It's a bucket list thing...

yogii's picture
yogii's picture
yogii Sunday, 17 Aug 2014 at 8:39pm

I call bullshit, some fancy editing there...

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Sunday, 17 Aug 2014 at 10:07pm

Yep bucket list for sure. Its fickle, only broken two times in the last 4 months but it will be on Tuesday and next week.

yogii what do you mean?? I wouldn't know how to edit them.

oldman's picture
oldman's picture
oldman Monday, 18 Aug 2014 at 12:58pm

Goofies only.
Reckon you would struggle backhand.

walter-r-white's picture
walter-r-white's picture
walter-r-white Monday, 18 Aug 2014 at 2:03pm

I've seen a few videos on Skeletons where the surfers have suggested the natural footers have had a bit more success using fast boards, grabbing rail and using their hand to slow themselves down. Perhaps a non-board GoPro perspective is a bit difficult with no free hands unless you use a mouth piece the whole way...

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Friday, 31 Oct 2014 at 6:23pm

Koa won $20 k for his tube footage.