There’s an art to successfully pulling off a serious surfari exploit. The painstaking preparation, condition analysis, and squad coordination, it’s all essential. Hell, most of us have problems leaving the house with matching socks. Not Dale, he’s got it down to an art. The mans a pro surfer, maverick with a drone, and is one of the best tube pigs and mission specialists in the country.
He’s an idea’s man, he thrives on enthusiasm and as a direct result of his adventure attitude, he has already submitted some of the more eye-watering, jaw chattering entries into the SHC18. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that he rides magic carpets, skillfully shaped by one of the co-sponsors of the SHC18 – Hurricane Surf.
In addition to submitting regular entries (highlight reel below) in his quest to be crowned king come finals night. Dale ‘Ducky’ Staples has found the time to combine his passion for filming, traveling and surfing to cut and present a supermodel sexy edit of a recent Mozam mission for your viewing pleasure.
In response to his oozing levels of froth, we took the liberty of getting a ‘tech report’ on the performance of his Hurricane Surf equipment. If the edit and the interview don’t inspire you to pack the van, pick your trail and go surfing, then you may need your pulse checked, boet!
(Zag) What inspired the recent Cape to Mozam trip, and how did the planning and prep happen?
(Ducky) My girlfriend and I had been planning on making a trip to Mozam and getting out of cold Cape Town was the perfect opportunity. Everything fell in place, and a couple of mates jumped onboard, and we were all super amped. We took the jetski, motorbikes, fishing rods and the whole trip just panned out perfectly.
Give us a breakdown of the trip?
We traveled from Cape Town through the Garden Route where we met up with my family to pick up the toys. Then through the Transkei and on to Durban where we stopped off for a night. We headed to Ponto but didn’t get much surf there, so we headed all the way up to Tofo where we got some super sick waves. The sand was perfect, and everyone was stoked. From there we cruised to Pomene, and after hanging there for a while, we drove straight back down to Cape Town. We covered about 6000 kays altogether.
You’ve been flying a drone for years now, what is it that amps you about it?
I’ve been flying a drone for about five years now. The reason that I enjoy it so much is because South Africa has so much to offer, so many beautiful landscapes, and it inspires me to keep looking for the next shot.
Hurricane is your board and equipment sponsor, what is it that you love about working with them?
It’s fantastic working with such a great brand like Hurricane. They’ve got everything under one roof; surfboards, board bags, leashes, and grips. Knowing your equipment and working closely with the shaper and the brand makes a huge difference and helps me to push the boundaries and surf bigger, heavier waves. Hurricane is amazing, and they make me feel right at home.
Which of their models and product equipment gets you from A to B?
I ride all their surfboard models depending on the conditions, but my favourite is my model, the Duckstar! We’ve been perfecting it for a quite a while, and it goes really good. For the juicier stuff, we glass it a bit heavier, and I’ve also recently got my hands on a 6’3″ Twig model which has been going really good in some solid 6-8 foot, even 10-foot waves.
What does a competition like the Striped Horse mean to you?
It’s a really great event. It brings all the best waves and surfers from around South Africa and showcases it on one platform. It’s incredible to have a home to display all your rad clips and enable everyone to see it in the easiest way possible. Obviously, winning an international trip to Hawaii is pretty epic, too!
Lastly, have you got any upcoming trips planned that might produce big barrels?!
I’ve got one or two trips planned, just around SA for now. There’s a big one coming up, but I can’t say anything about it yet! You’ll see the evidence in the next month or so.
Hopefully, for Dale, there’ll be a winning SHC entry in there! See the edit from Ducky & co’s epic road trip below:
Cape To Mozam from Dale Staples on Vimeo.
