A sizzling, wind-driven swell hit the southern tip of the island on a Sunday, meaning only one thing: Surf… and lots of it.
Messy, confusing and shifty at first, with a huge current making it challenging for surfers, but we’re all stoked to have slightly sore muscles the morning after.
We worked for it.
St. Thomas Bay was what it was. Resembling a washing machine in the early parts of the day, but peek slightly left, and lines were forming at Fajtata. Beautiful. And holy shit, a little barrel appeared out of nowhere too…
Time to dominate. Hadrien enjoyed the surf spot to himself as the peloton stayed in St Thomas. He scored early rides, making the trade worth it and was soon joined in the sea by Italian Carlo Gravina… who was hungry after having spotted the early barrel. That became his mission and he hung around the left side waiting and waiting, pocketing beautiful rides in between…
And suddenly, from the beach, some onlookers cheered… was it true? A barrel? Did he manage? F*ck ye! This time it’s verified with witnesses… we had a barrel ride on this crazy Sunday, which gave us everything.
Fajtata was fire. Carlo was stoked. Hadrien charging since the very start of the day, joined by Valerio, Bray, Basile and more surfers, but yet the peloton stayed in St Thomas Bay.
Later in the day, the wind dropped slightly. St Thomas was tamed and grew slightly more predictable slightly easier to navigate… however as it sits over a shallow reef, it tends to squeeze the line up in a small patch. Scoring rides to the right of that group was fun, but perilous due to the reef, with a couple of surfers emerging with blood, or sea urchin spikes, pricking through the booties. Still, worth it due to the longer, more playful rides.
Check the insta: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4WJcSFIcDc/?img_index=1
Such was the current; getting taken into the rocks meant it was sometimes easier to loop back on foot, creating a conveyor of surfers running and jumping back in as the wind continued to dominate.
What was that we counted, 15 surfers in the water at one stage? How many drop-ins? Party waves? We won’t get into specifics, but everyone emerged with huge grins… and the happy faces soon headed to Zion for a well-earned pint and burger… or extra cheesy pizza as Tonio learned.
The next morning, as we type this, the wind moved offshore… and if the conditions stay on, a sunset session is definitely on the cards for those working.
It’s what Mondays are made for aye? Sunshine and surf…
