Hello, and welcome to issue 218!

And what a packed issue it is. While in the last issue we reflected on travel and the world that opens up before us after we ride our first green waves, I think in many ways this issue really highlights the widespread appeal of our shared stoke and experience. And also why we love sharing those stories.

We catch up with the surfing and shaping legend Maurice Cole, from Victoria, Australia, who tells us of his adventures, scrapes and achievements over six decades. Then a few pages later British and Irish groms including Josie, a 12 year-old triple champion from West Wales. And if you look beneath the surface, their basic loves and motivations are the same – to ride a few waves well. If you go down and hang around any local in Britain or Ireland, you can find the same thing – groms eloquently discussing waves and surf conditions on equal terms with septuagenarians, and even beyond.

In ‘Here Come the Crews,’ we set a world record by squeezing 28 surfers into an article on Indo boat trips. On board frothing surfers, surf dads and a couple teens from all around the UK. Usually, if these were shots of top pros we’d weed out the best and just run those, but everyone was so excited we couldn’t leave anyone out… Well apart from poor Tommy Benfield who caught Covid on the journey out and missed all the best sessions. (Our thoughts are with you!) Photography-wise we uncovered the story of Megan Gayda, who left home in Essex at 15 years-old to travel to Ireland. Her photos of huge waves now stand aside some of the world’s best ever photographers, whose shots and incredible stories feature our ‘Power of Three’ feature.

With such diverse circumstances, yet the single-minded quest of all who feature in this issue, I was trying to figure out what it is that sets our common experience apart, and why are all just chasing the moments, split seconds in, or on, waves that so profoundly touch and guide our lives in an evermore chaotic and angry world.

And all I could come up with is that it kinds of feels like flight, but really it tastes like freedom.

Steve
Editor

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