10 April, 2014 10 April, 2014

Desert Riders (Zag 31.7)

“You go boy. You grab that rail and you pull in.” Gunther, our surf-guide and local hellman, is amping on the rocks.

Stan Badger steers his fragile 6’0” into the mandibles of a lurching eight-foot pit, holds his line, guns the first barrel and rushes into the surging second section. He’s got speed and for a second it looks like he’ll make it. But the teetering cavern fails to comply and collapses, annihilating him in a wash of foam.

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Dave Richards drops into a big wave on a small board in Namibia.

“Hey, it’s so good to see guys charging out here,” froths Gunther as Dave Richards follows suit and flies down the face of a bomb. This wave is crazy. It’s like Outer Kom and Kalk Bay reef gave birth to a little mutant with a mussel-infested rock shelf for a birthmark. Solid chunks fanned by the gentle morning offshore, contorting into pressure pocket barrels that we could easily park our Pathfinder inside. Easy eight-foot. A couple bigger sets on the outside. Some stray ten-footers. Heavy.

The guys are charging even though all the bigger boards have been left at the Backpackers. Frankie’s already lost his board after getting caught inside by a rogue set and Simon’s on the beach clutching the bottom half of his brand new stick. Welcome to Nam.
– excerpt from ‘Desert Riders’ by Brendon Bosworth – Zigzag issue 31.7 (2007)

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The Desert Riders crew in Namibia – circa 2007.

Before Skeleton Bay gained worldwide notoriety and became the place to visit in Namibia, there was thousands of kilometers of rugged coastline just begging for surf exploration. Well, there still is, most just choose to visit one particular sandspit that barrels for over 2km – and who could blame them?

But as Zag discovered during this particular trip in 2007, there’s a whole lot more to Nam than endless sand. Read the full article below by clicking the images to view larger.

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1 Comment

  1. x_NAM
    11 April, 2014 at 10:22 am · Reply

    You guys missed Point in Swakop…You should go back and finish the trip!!!!

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