Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25036
THEN: Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa 1 NOW: Eland's Bay (and points North), South Africa South Africa's a hell of 0 long way to go just to find yourself jockeying for position in a crowd of J-bay locals, A long desert coast surfari is the call, with Eland's Bay (a left-handed version of Jeffrey's) on the cooler Atlantic coast being the best place to consider a run into the hinterlands of Namibia, Season: Austral winter, Setup: This coast is known for its left pOint breaks, Conditions: 50s in the water, Hazards: in Namibia, lions come down to the beach and eat seals, at night Ulu Watu, Bali NOW: Lagundri Bay, Nias in the land of the left, the discovery and eventual public disclosure of Nias has been the gods' gift to natural-footed surfers, Season: Best in June and July, Setup: Reef inside a bay, Conditions: Warm and green, Hazards: State Department warnings can also be seen as crowd control. Make sure you've got enough larium to wait out the notorious flat spells, THEN: Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, Indonesia NOW: Republic of the Maldives, Indian Ocean With the continued US State Department warnings against travel in Indonesia, surfers looking for an island-hopping boat expedition, and who have the means to travel ten times zones for it, are opting for the exotic island atolls of the Maldives, off the southwest coast of india, Season: March to November, Setup: Moderately-sized, super-clean reef pass surf, Conditions: Tropical. Hazards: Unlike indo, the Maldives aren't cheap, and the Muslim government likes to keep an eye on its tourists, Monster Swell THEN: Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii NOW: Maverick's, Half Moon Bay, California For decodes, Oahu's North Shore was considered the only venue for truly big wove surfing (over 20 feetl, But Mark Faa's death in the massive, shifty, pea-green walls of Maverick's, and a new high-prafile big wove contest, has mode it clear that Hawaii no longer corners the market on extra large surf, Season: Winter, Setup: Huge waves over a deep, off-shore rock reef. Conditions: Low 50s in the water; a bit higher, if you're lucky, in the air. ..... ___ ..;~aH zards: Massive currents, on epic paddle-out and on impossibly thick lip contribute to the impreSSion that water is denser in Half Moon Boy, _ West Coast Scene THEN: San Clemente, Southern California 5 6 NOW: Santa Cruz, Northern California The emergence of a crew of unconventional surfers from Santo Cruz, with names like "Barney: "Flea" and "Skindog: have eclipsed southern California as the hotbed of west coast talent. Season: Fall and winter, Setup: The widest variety of surf found in anyone area in the state, Conditions: Cool to cold; wetsuits required even in summer, Hazards: Santo Cruz is one of the three pOints in what shark researchers call the "Red Triangle: Euro Style THEN: Biarritz, France NOW: Hossegor, France Biarritz has been the capital of European surfing since it was introduced to the continent by Californians on a film shoot, but it is the beach break barrels of Hossegor that attracts today's international crew of touring pros, itinerant surf bums and Californian ex-pats, Season: Late summer through fall. Setup: Fickle, but excellent beach break sandbars, Conditions: From warm to coid as the season comes on, Hazards: The permissive beaches of the PI age Sauvage can distract even the most dedicated surf check, Republic of Maldives