So i went on that Oneill trip with some friends from Austria. I packed a 5.9″and a 6.0″, after that I drove up to Peniche and got another 6.0″ and a 6.1″, fresh out of the shaperoom, ready to surf whatever kind of conditions would expect me up in the cold north of Spain.

In the beginning we had some smaller fun waves where I could test my new smaller boards. But there was more in store for us on that trip. After the first week a nice swell showed up on the charts. We were all psyching and hoping for it to hit the right spot with the right wind and just the right conditions. Every night we sat in that one Pizza restaurant with free wifi and checked the updates of the arriving swell.

It looked awesome and our photographer who was traveling with us was always talking about that one spot which was supposed to go off like hell with that swell and that wind.

So the morning the swell arrived we packed our stuff and drove down to the spot our friend was talking about. As we were arriving a big set was rolling into the bay and I knew that this was going to be THE day for my new 6.1″ BOND. I was so excited. I haven’t surfed bigger waves in a few month. So I put in my fins all shivering and shit… full of adrenaline. We were lucky to have quite a big channel to get out. So I positioned myself in the line-up to get a closer look on the waves we were blessed with.

The first wave on a new board is always critical. It is hard to tell what the board is going to do and how it is going to react to the conditions and to the surfing style. So I paddled for the first wave just hoping not to wipeout on my first take off. Luckily everything went fine, I dropped in, I bottom turned and went up for the first turn of the day. Everything came together: the photographer was in the right spot at the right time and so was I. And he shot a good turn of me. The background is just so awesome and the light is really good on that one. We kept on surfing for 4 hours straight just getting one wave after another, having a blast.

What’s so special about that board is that I didn’t even need to surf it for some days to get the feeling for it. It immediately worked on this big day where I didn’t expect much. That was the only time I surfed it until now. I am hoping for more of those days to come.

Thank you very much and keep up the good work Gero.

Cheers
Paul Grey