Canada is big, beautiful, and wild.
And although it’s a far cry from the postcard perfect ideal of surfing – turquoise water, bikinis, cold coconuts on the sand post-session – it’s home to some epic waves.
That is, if you can tolerate the cold and avoid the bears.
In the latest clip from Rip Curl’s ongoing series, “The Search,” we join Canadian surfer Reed Platenius on a hunt for waves through the wilds of Vancouver Island.
As the video’s description reads:
“Navigating the surf scene on Vancouver Island is no easy feat. It’s a science involving reading charts, understanding weather patterns and ocean tides. It’s also understanding the land and the surrounding waters. It’s being ocean savvy, and having a willingness for exploration.
“The island is like nowhere else. It’s cold, stormy and unpredictable. Surfing here isn’t necessarily hard; you can just roll up to the beach in Tofino like anywhere else and paddle out. However, finding new and uncrowded, higher quality waves involves a whole lot more. Long drives, long boat rides, open ocean, and unpredictable weather. A lot goes into putting a piece like this together. Sometimes we’ll travel 9 hours one way and come away with nothing. But for Reed, it’s the drive for exploration and adventure that keeps him motivated.”
It’s a gorgeous piece of surf cinema. And it’s always a nice change of pace to see the cold water surfing experience, versus the idyllic warm water stuff.
Oh yeah, and there’s bears to deal with, too.
“One time we were camping and we heard animal noises all night,” Reed said. “When we woke up a bear had chewed one of our wetsuits to bits. It must have smelled the pee or something.”
You hear that? Bears. Yet another reason why Canada is not your average surf destination.
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