There is generally an aura of inspiration that comes after watching Braveheart. Not necessarily to rebel against the English monarchy, but perhaps a vacation to the Scottish highlands. And after watching Mel Gibson’s 1995 classic, Mason Ho was inspired to go several steps further.
Flying with a quiver of boards featuring blue and red warpaint, a nod to William Wallace’s bloody battles for Scottish independence in the late 13th century, he even brought his own Robert the Bruce – good friend from Hawaii, Sheldon Paishon. The trip was a gamble given the conditions, but the result is Caveheart, which will likely leave you scratching your head as to how these two escaped from Scotland unscathed.
Mase and Sheldon recently sat down with SURFER and shared some tips and tidbits about their attempts to find “surfable” Scottish wedges, adapting to a neoprene-centric lifestyle, and how some conversations are just lost in translation.
Hawaiians have history in Scotland
Sheldon explained that he first heard about surfing in Scotland from his friend and longtime Hawaiian standout Charlie Carroll, who went there with Sunny Garcia to compete in the O’Neill Coldwater Classic contest. Mason only backed up his claims.
“When I was growing up, the only thing I knew of Scotland was my grandpa,” Mason said. “We have Scottish ties. Then when I’m watching Braveheart or other movies in Scotland, you can see little waves. But I never wanted to surf it. Then when I went for the QS and I thought it was one of the funnest spots because of all the waves. And it’s close to the reef, which is what I like. I didn’t really think about going back until I started traveling east a bit with my girlfriend. She was in New York, so I started checking in again and it was just as fun as I remember.”
“I surf with Sheldon all around Oahu, and we have a surf spot we call Scotland. And that was before I went back. I went in 2022 for a Rip Curl trip, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Sheldon. So, this year we stacked the cash, we went and gambled on a shitty forecast.”
Frame: Rory Pringle
Watch for the wildlife
“I think they’ve both got their different dangers,” Sheldon said of comparing Hawaiian and Scottish lineups. “There was this 200-pound seal staring at us the whole time. I’ve never had to worry about seals bothering us before. The reef is kinda different too. We have more padding with the hoods and the boots. It’s not a crash-dummies test, but it’s kinda like that. Hawaii is a little more sketchy with the lava and the sharpness.”
“The seals popping their heads out was way bigger than anything we’ve dealt with,” agreed Mason.
Frame: Rory Pringle
With wetsuits, give yourself some time
How do surfers used to spending every session in board shorts deal with wrapping five millimeters of neoprene around their bodies?
“Dedication,” Sheldon laughed. “And die by the sword.”
“That was pretty crazy for us,” Mason added. “Going over there, I had a few things I wanted to witness and laugh about. And that was one: Watching Sheldon put on all the armor and the gear. Usually here in Hawaii, he beats me out there. But over there, I knew he’d be in shock at how long it was going to take to put on the suit.”
Eventually, the two got it dialed, even if Sheldon pulled a rookie move putting his booties on before his wetsuit. Somehow he still managed to get his feet through and he got used to the routine. Although both had three-millimeter gloves, they had just one pair of five-mill gloves between them, which were traded off every other session.
“We’ve been getting closer, but we’ve been late almost every time,” Mason recalled. “By the end, we were going early and sitting in our suits on the reef and not missing one wave.”
Pidgin and Scottish accents don’t always mix
“Between Sheldon talking Pidgin and people talking in the thick Scottish accent, I have some hilarious video,” Mason said. “Sheldon would try to order food on his phone or say hello, and they’d always think he was parking them and hang up. Or they’d start asking us suspicious questions or getting mad. The more we’d order, the madder they’d get.”
Frame: Rory Pringle
Get the lay of the land
“I told Sheldon, ‘You have to trust me. We might show up and might not catch a wave,’” Mason explained. “Of course, I want to go all that way if the odds are high (of surfing), but based on a few things it looked like we were going to get skunked. When we first got there, we got a few baby swells. That was my fourth or fifth time there, so I had a basic understanding of tides, swells and where the spots are. So it took a few days of Sheldon and I running around spitballing and running ideas to each other. Because Sheldon is a surf scientist as well. He probably doesn’t have a notebook, but if you put him by the shoreline he knows what’s going to happen when. It was like a science project to play with.
It felt like a true Search. We’d pull up to spots with our car on, windows open. One time I left the car on and boards outside. And we’d surf a peak that’s a five to 10-minute walk away. That’s a true Search.”
“We were working out. It was gnarly,” Sheldon said. “Just getting out to the session was gnarly. “If you got hurt over there, it would be so gnarly with just us two. True Caveheart style.”
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