NATHAN EADES / ENGLISH VERSION / MOROCCO TRIP

FROM WALES TILL MORROCO

The story of another great surf trip. Great surf, huge pics and a trip that makes us jealous...

PROFILE:

Name: Nathan Eades
Age: 25
Nationality: Welsh
Occupation: Design and Technology Teacher
Competition records: Top ten at last worlds, but I consider myself a travel surfer not a competition chaser!
Website: www.dbxclusive.co.uk
Sponsors: Dbxclusive, Zeal optics, Lobster Bob Ocean Wear, Nookie kayaking wear, Robson Paddles, Shred Ready helmets.
Morroco Team were (name and country):
Nathan Eades; Wales, Marc Holland; Wales, Joey Hall; USA, Spencer Cook; USA.

"I think it is so important to get the right crowd on a trip to prevent stupid arguments and disagreements. These guys were the best company on the trip I could have possibly hoped for! Marc is just the most modest guy you can ever meet- he absolutely rips but you’ll never hear him talking himself up, he just quietly gets on with it pulling into some amazing waves and tearing them to pieces!! Joey is pretty well known in the surf kayak scene as a bit of a joker and trouble maker… His sense of humour had the entire van in stitches for the whole trip and his surfing speaks for itself! Spencer joined us for 2 weeks in Morocco so wasn’t along for the whole ride which was a shame as he’s such a great guy!"

Nathan Eades

Hi Nathan, after Teahupoo in 2003, Sri Lanka in 2007, Morocco in 2008. Main differences between these adventures...

Well the major difference this time was the lack of flying. We drove down so the only travel other than road was on a ferry! The achievement of getting to Morocco in the first place was cool, but then to surf for 4 months strait just made the trip even better!! There were a few more differences that spring to mind about the surf side of things too though:

• Tahiti and Sri Lanka are home to super hollow, shallow reef breaks which really leave very little margin for error while Morocco is renowned for its long point breaks.

• Van Life- living in a van with two of your friends and a pile of kayaks and surf boards for four months certainly helps you get to know one another’s dirtiest of habits, and with long periods with no one in the van washing, the smell became pretty unbearable at times!

• Going away in the company of other kayakers was a little strange for me at first too- on my past two trips I’ve gone away with board surfers only and this is what I’m used to. Hanging out with fellow kayakers out in the line up just gave us way more opportunity for banter humour out on the water!!

And the local people… received you well?
Yeah they were all pretty cool to be honest. I’ve got used to people looking at me as if I’m some alien now so the first

looks of amazement or surprise at a kayak paddling out into the line up don’t really faze me any more. Moroccans are generally friendly and although I went to the country with my van kitted out like a safe on wheels with padlocks all around it, I found the place to be really safe and we didn’t experience any crime!

Where did you go surfing?
Man we went everywhere! We took a long time to get to Morocco, surfing as much of Spain as we could, and of course Portugal! We met up with top Portuguese Kayak surfer Andre Punto surfed Ericeira together which was amazing and got some big days in at Peniche, the venue for the next worlds! Andre also took us for a very funny night out in his home town, Lisbon which I don’t think we’ll forget for a long time! Before we got that far south though we scored some amazing days a bit further north at a place called Afife- if you haven’t surfed it yet you should really soon! We had a great time in Portugal- that place has some great waves! When we got to Morocco, we had 2 months left so we managed to surf every break we wanted to and got some incredible waves! Our favourite spots had to be Sidi Kauki, Sidi Tafadna and Immsuane. We scored some amazing waves at these places and had them to ourselves which is one of my main reasons for surf travel! Finding an amazing wave is easy- finding one that you don’t have to share is the hard part!

Did you saw anyone there doing kayaksurf?
When we were in Portugal we met up with Andre and drank some beer (ok a lot of beer) and went for a surf. He’s a great kayak surfer so he counts as one right?? The second was a local Moroccan that had quite a basic wave ski by RTM but could surf it pretty well. Other than that it was just us!

You already surfed in many countries (Brazil, Basque Country, South Africa , Tahiti, USA, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka). Now, after Morroco, what is the best country to surf?
You always ask me this and it’s the same answer I’m afraid!! I’m still searching for the best spot! The day I can give you that answer is the day I stop exploring! Every country has incredible qualities to offer; culture, climate and waves unique to each one… It’s simply to hard to choose!

And your Fusion… how is "his" career? Are you working in any new surfkayak model?
Ok so the first ‘Fusion’ was going really well and I loved surfing it…. But the new design, the Fusion 7’7” is just amazing. I love surfing it! It is very, very fast, really nice and easy to turn and very forgiving when you’re landing big moves. It’s great on big waves, it’s great on small waves, it’s great on steep waves and great on sloppy waves! I almost gave up kayak surf last year when I started surfing a ski. The 7’7” has helped me get more air than the ski ever did- I love that boat… I am well and truly hooked on kayak surf again!! The latest world championships has given me a new interest in the competition scene and I found myself enjoying the International class so when I got home I put some time into designing a new International class kayak- check it out on the DBXclusive website

Imagine I want to go surfing to Morocco… what kind of advices do you give me?
Take a Fusion 7’7”!! Like all third world countries there is a real risk of getting robbed so be very careful and keep your third eye open at all times! It sounds harsh but don’t trust anyone and assume every one you meet is trying to rob you. You’ll have a few pleasant surprises of genuinely nice people who really do want to help you too but as long as you keep your wits about you- the bad ones won’t manage to rip you off!

The best memories you keep from there…
Hanging out with Andre in Portugal! Waking up every morning and opening the van door to see how the surf was, then eating an egg sandwich before going surfing. At the end of each day, enjoying fresh food cooked on a bar b q and watching the sun go down with great friends after a long day of surf kayaking! Surfing on both my Birthday and Christmas Day this year!

And the less better…
Sharing the van with 2 other smelly surf kayakers, 3 kayaks and a pile of smelly wetsuits!

You missed the World Cup in Portugal… when do you plan to come till here?
The whole idea of the world cup event is great, and the hard work that is put into the organisation of these events is essential- I think all Kayak surfers should take more time to thank the guys in the world surf kayak committee. They are after all volunteers and put a great amount of time and effort into the sport! I was hoping to go to this years world cup event, but it looks like It’s going to collide with the next trip abroad unfortunately. For me trips come first, and competitions come after that if I have time, life for me right now is about seeing as much of the world and surfing as many different waves as I can!

Last words for all the surf kayakers that are going to read your interview…
Go surf! Try a Fusion 7’7”! Search for what makes you smile, then do it as much as you can!!!

Thanks Nathan! Can't wait for your next surftrip!

SEE HERE ALL THE PHOTOS AND VIDEO:

http://www.kayaksurf.net/Nathan%20Eades08.html

Text - Luis Pedro Abreu
Photos - Marc Holland / effort.tv
Vídeo: Dead Man Productions
Published : 09.10.08