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Right Foot Forward

“I was feeling a bit disappointed because I thought it was going to be a full on barrel fest!” said Luke Hynd reflecting on their first stop. And yes, as the picture attests, the barrels were there. However, pictures can be deceiving...
With over 100 guys in the lineup at times all chasing the same tubes, avoiding the speed humps and even finding the takeoff became next to impossible.
“It stands to reason that on an island like this there’s got to be other waves around and maybe people don’t look past what’s in front of them,” said Jacob Willcox applying some great teenage logic.
“...So we pretty much just hopped in the car and headed in the opposite direction.”
“And we followed a dirt road as long as it would go,” said Harry setting the scene.
“We had no idea where we were going. We just explored off the beaten track...”
What the boys found was their own little left – probably no more than an hour away as the crow flies - from the perfect but packed reefs several windy bays away.
“Its got a nice corner ramp and orrrrrr the thing just pitted in the same spot every time,” said Luke of the setup.
Now where do we take off?
Luke Hynd has had his fair share of perfect Search waves in 2015. So he’s learned firsthand that with some time up your sleeve, it’s possible to just keep going until you find something new and inspiring that stands out.
“It’s such a progressive wave. To know before you take off that your gunna get a little pit and then hit a snowboard jump that breaks in the same place every time..."
“...In my eyes that’s something so rare to find.” Luke Hynd.
“Having one idea in mind and them stumbling across something completely different ends up being way better than what you expected.” Luke, rail game.
Jacob Willcox has been off The Search for a while after breaking his ankle running for the bus (true!) earlier in the year. This was a nice trip to get him back in the swing of things as he prepares to have a real crack at WSL qualification in 2016.
Jacob Willcox heads down the line after a long year out with injury. How much would you like to be sitting pretty there right now?
Each time the boys paddled back out they would see their mates pull into a pit and do a huge punt. “We were pretty much screaming the entire surf!” Jacob Willcox sheet / oil glass.
“I was happy to be doing a few little airs,” said Jacob Willcox, the young West Australian with tube skills built on the far northern reefs of his home state...
“It built my confidence as I broke my ankle a couple of months ago. I was probably being a bit naughty trying too many airs, but it felt fine.”
Harry Bryant is a great Queensland surfer who has always flown the Rip Curl flag well. This was his last Search trip with the boys before taking up residence in another surf team. Finding new waves seemed a fitting way for the guys to say goodbye.
Harry’s tube skills are based on timing.
Positioning...
And balls...
And we say “Cheers!” and wish him well on his own personal Search in the future.
As is often the way, Luke Hynd (who doesn’t say much at all) has the last word. “This trip has really opened my eyes to searching around the corner. I just want to drive around the next headland because you never know what you are going to find...”

There are levels of surfing perfection. At the highest level everything comes together.
1. Wind.
2. Tide.
3. Swell and
4. Crowd – or more importantly a lack thereof…

You can have the first three factors just right and you’re stoked, but if the fourth and final is on overload then you’re on the frustrating lowest of low levels. You’d rather it be less than perfect and uncrowded than the stuff dreams are made of and never get a chance to actually ride a wave, right?

Young Rip Curl Searchers Luke Hynd, Jacob Willcox and Harry Bryant got together to chase a swell at a couple of the better known spots on the surf adventurers bucket list not long ago. When they got there all of the above happened – especially factor 4 – and the crowd simply pushed them out and into a better place.

Instead of hassling, they hustled. A quick re-pack of the boards, a sniff of the wind for which direction to go in, and then they were off happy to see what they could find. They scored. A private Idaho in a populated land…

Pictures by Andrew Shield. Footage by Darcy Ward. Clip Edit Scott McClimont.