Learning the intricacies of a new wave can take time. And when it’s a heavy slab far out to sea with sharp coral heads and treacherous currents, it can be flat-out scary.
Nathan Florence and his brother Ivan visited a remote slab at an undisclosed location somewhere in Asia, showing that even for the pros, there is a learning curve when surfing new waves. Nathan got rag-dolled and pushed onto ankle-high reef his first few attempts at bagging a backhand tube, and then snapped his board in half on his third try. Their water photographer also took a beating on the reef.
“I saw one 10-foot easy, and it was so thick and round, like a full Teahupo’o looking wave,” Nathan said. “But I just happened to catch that one on my head because I fell on the first one and got absolutely annihilated. So, kind of a rough session for me.”
The crew headed in for lunch to regroup and try to tame the slab for an afternoon session. While they also got their share of beatings during the second go, Nathan found a perfect one that “made (his) whole trip.”
“I just glided in, not a (drop of) water out of place,” Nathan said of his wave. “I set up and just went. That was insane — the vision. It was turquoise water.”
For the envious surfer at home watching the perfect waves that the Florence bros surf, it was a good reminder that the body pays a price for pushing limits at remote slabs. Nathan said he nearly slammed his head on the reef if not for a lucky placement of his hand, and the photographer got the length of his entire body scraped up after getting caught inside by a set.
“Any wave anyone has fallen on out there, they hit the reef,” Nathan explained. Definitely a wave for experts only.
