Watch: Alex Gray // Sardine Sandwich
Last northern hemi winter, Alex Gray swapped Hawaii and California for the far shores of the Atlantic. He booked a one way ticket for an expected seven day stay, that ballooned out to a month when a series of swells - five in total - provided big surf under stellar conditions.
The following edit was filmed by Ari Frapwell, Bastien Bonnarme, and Amine Nader, spliced with Alex's own POV footage.
Watch closely for a masterclass of speed management in serious, hollow waves.
Comments
Oh man that is so perfect.
Wouldn't wanna fall though, looking at that shoreline...
How good's the stabilisation on GoPros now.
Wonder how the locals felt about him blowing in with his go pro? Seemed to be a fair few out on what appears to be a day of days and catching a lot of good waves.
Good point.
A lot of them do appear to be way out on the shoulder...
Maybe unlike the gold coast they are happy to take turns and have enough surf sence to stay out of the way.
Yeah I was thinking that maybe they are loving watching a bloke who can surf the wave to that ability...………..although I doubt it, I'm sure the locals do just fine
Pros like Alex show up with a larger crew at the spot with skis and get dropped off way up the line up and take pretty much all the waves. This spot in particular has been getting a lot of attention lately so it ends up being a common thing every time there's a big swell
I thought Alex Grey was an artist.
By the looks of that tuberiding Jack, I think he is.
Great clip.
Anyone surfed it? Surfer mag did a piece on it about a decade ago with the Gudang bros.
Cool track too, New Order.
I surfed it a few years back. Excellent wave. Fickle though.
A-Grey, and most of the other fly in pros, take off waaaay up the point. Consequences of falling up there can be serious. Billy Kemper broke his hip there the season just gone.
Saw a guy get pinballed through the rocks - was like watching a car crash in slow motion. He got lucky with a break in the sets though and managed to get out relatively unscathed.
Would love to head back there one day.
Saw some other great potential setups in the nearby industrial zone too but I value my health too much for that.
Yeah 2005. About the same size, maybe slightly bigger on sets, but only a 1 day swell, that happened to occur on a sunday FFS, so was busy with locals. Also another problem was there was a french 'local' on a jetski growling around the the lineup and policing people from going too far up the point to where the juicy section is leaving it only to his French pro surfer mates stuffing their faces on the sets. So I sat downline a bit picking off the wide sets they missed, problem was I was taking off on the double up. There was the rest of the pack further down on the 'corner' where the wave went softer but still round. So anyway I broke my board after a couple waves when I had no choice but to free fall, got washed into the rocks, and was forced to watch from the car park until the tide came in and killed it. Next day it was smaller and blown out. I always vowed to return to surf it and get my waves. I defo get jealous seeing these guys get the good ones. Helps to have a cosy relationship with the local hierarchy. I recall in a surf mag...think surfing life back in the 90s did a piece on it with Ross Clarke Jones and Kong who went there and it blew their minds. Better than Kirra they said, but heavily localised. Not sure if it got a heavy local rep now or if its calmed down a bit. To compare it to anything in Oz I'd say its very close to a reverse certain left break in the NW, for length, power and the sound when the sets start marching down the point.
What's the track title zenagain? Looked online but couldn't find it.
Ha! Sorry Bob, Joy Division. 'No love lost'.
Here's a better version than the one in the clip. Great driving song.
Thanks zen, and yes, I'd certainly drive to that. Gonna cover it. Love the late 70's punk.
I can’t watch anything with this guy in it. Cringeworthy seppo
I watch most of these things with sound off... He's bad is he?
Read this comment above and felt the need for the first time ever to take it up to a keyboard warrior. Alex is an inspiration to many in his community who have suffered significant loss, as he and his family did. He has gone on to scratch out a life dream career and now uses his learnt coping skills and knowledge to talk to at risk teenagers around his hometown, amongst other volunteer roles.
Seppo definitely, but nothing even remotely near cringeworthy about Alex.
Seems fair that I answer you as you took the time to direct your comment to me.
And yes I’m aware that commenting, and directing barbs at someone, under an anonymous name on a forum like this probably does make me a keyboard warrior.
But! Please let me elaborate... if you’re going to put your life out there in social media and in public you have to expect some criticism.
1. I’m aware that Alex’s brother died of a heroin overdose. That’s a horrible thing to happen to anyone and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I wasn’t aware that he is a role model around his home town and he should be commended for that.
2. I’ve thought he’s a cringeworthy person for a long time but a recent clip of him filming himself surfing a wave and talking into the camera and naming what turn he’s going to do next confirmed it. Surfing shouldn’t be about that! That’s just screaming please look at me and make me relevant so I can keep milking this dwindling pro-surfing tit.
I know you’ll say it’s just a bit of fun so relax but it’s just so far from what I think surfing is/should be that it makes me want to spew.
And I’m not singleing him out, there are fucking shit loads of pros who are just as desperate for attention. He’s one of many.
Anyway, all the best bully. Look forward to the response
Yeah he has reached out to me and my daughter for no other reason than he could.
Not sure if that link will stay but it is his Greatest Wipeouts interview from 10 years ago. I enjoyed it again. Cheers.
He’s a madman in big surf. No doubt
I have a friend that Alex helped out for no other agenda than Alex is just a nice guy.
Nice! Fill us in on the details
Female surfer. He facilitated her to get a couple of waves. He didn’t try to crack on and she hasn’t seen him since. But it was appreciated.
He did a FIFO trip to a right in the North Pacific a few years back and me and a mate were there for a couple of weeks. Was courteous in and out of the water, sat deeper and further out under the ledge with his mate Wassell than anyone else (lots of other pros flew in for the swell there too) waiting up to an hour for the meanest, ugliest ones that noone else wanted, hooted the average Joe on their waves of their lives. Him and Wassell goofed around in the boat like randy teenagers and would stop to hoot at sets as they pitched and rolled in and looked to others in the boat saying how stoked they were and how lucky they were to be there. Shared beers on the boat rides home and at the nightclub each nite too. Was good vibes all round from those two and plenty of laughs.
There were a couple of other pros there that didnt have the same level of courtesy or engagement - and that's fine too. One particular surfer who was a fave of mine for many years was there coaching the current female world number one and brought his son along. It was all about business for him, and his behaviour in the water made that obvious. Pushing his son onto set after set and blocking/paddling for waves that he didnt go on so his student could were a couple of examples. I didnt care that he got 3 10s at kirra back in the day, he was being an arse and that left a sour taste in my mouth!
Were his initials Shane Beschen?
how'd you guess? ha ha
he might have been having a bad 3 or 4 days at work or something, heard those pro surfers have trouble adjusting to live after the Dream Tour. I did watch him up close threading a bunch of (to average Joe) unmakeable tubes on the smaller days, front foot waaay forward, back heel up and weaving (style for days). but yeah, wouldve like a gday mate or something rather than daggers as he paddled inside everyone, again!
Not hash point......
What a beautiful looking wave. How's that glass at 2:20 or so....
That was sick, some very good surfing in heavy sections there. Have no idea where the spot is but nice to watch it.