I’m going to be honest here: I’m not super into professional surfing. I’m super into surfing, but the points and judges and everything that comes with it just doesn’t turn my crank. What does turn my crank is classic surf adventures. Surf adventures that involve more than surfing. Surf adventures where the surfing is the icing on the cake, and the cake is made of the search for the icing. Surf adventures like those Torren Martyn and Ishka Folkwell embark on.
In their latest film, Southern Edge, the duo — who are responsible for some of the best surf films in existence, like Lost Track: Atlantic, Calypte, and Thank You Mother, to name a few — attempted to circumnavigate Tasmania in two 18-foot sailing kayaks on a quest to surf remote waves. Torren and Ishka are a perfect partnership. They’re best friends, yes, but the creativity they offer both in front of, and behind the lens is unparalleled.
“What starts as a novel idea to accomplish a sailing feat soon evolves into a rare opportunity to connect on a deeper level with the entire coastline of Tasmania over a few months of slow travel,” Need Essentials wrote. “The film portrays the uniquely diverse landscape, wildlife and ocean energy of this rugged island coast while connecting with people that share their love for this land in the Great Southern Ocean.”
This is a bit of an aside, but it’s an interesting little note about Need Essentials, an Australian wetsuit brand and the backers of Torren’s many adventures. You might’ve noticed that you don’t often see too many advertisements from Need. That’s because they don’t produce print advertising, swing tags, packaging, or sale promotion material. Instead, they choose to invest in adventures and the making of the films that can be made from them.
Southern Edge was not an easy project. Tasmania’s coastline is rugged, to say the least, and tackling it in kayaks was an undertaking.
“As predicted, the West was wild and was no place for us in our plastic vessels,” Martyn said after they had returned home safely. “We spent three nights taking refuge up river and then pulled the boats out of the water and retreated down to the far south east to ride the back of the system up the coast. After six weeks and over 700km of sailing, peddling, tacking and gybing our way around Tasmania, it’s time for a break to be back with our families who we have missed a lot and to give the bodies a rest.”
Now, the film is here. And it is, like everything Martyn and Folkwell put out into the world, very worth watching.
