Kelly Slater Surfs Skeleton Bay for the First Time (Clip)

Kelly Slater has another “first” to add to his multi-paged résumé.

After the Corona Open J-Bay, and everyone went to their respective homes to prepare for the Tahiti Pro, the final official contest on the 2023 Championship Tour, Slater stayed in Africa. He, and a handful of other tube-hunting desert rats, headed for Skeleton Bay.

Now, we have the first clip – a taster – of Slater’s first time at the world’s longest sand-bottomed, barreling lefthand pointbreak. Hit play below.

The clip comes from ZigZag, South Africa’s leading surf magazine. It shows Slater pulling into one draining section, coming out for a gasp of air, then going back in for seconds – although he doesn’t quite make it out.

As we previously reported, there’s a slew of surfers in Skeleton Bay right now, and this run of swell is following the inaugural Skeleton Bay Shootout, which featured 45-second barrels.

In addition to Slater, Jamie O’Brien, Koa Smith, Harry Bryant, Craig Anderson, Benji Brand and a host of others are (allegedly) there, too.

Of course, despite an elbow injury, Nathan Florence is there as well; the other day, he damn near clocked a marathon while surfing, paddling, and walking back and forth up the point.

But what about Teahupo’o? The event window for the Shiseido Tahiti Pro opens just days from now – August 11th – and Slater is cutting it close with his Skeleton Bay side trip.

With hopes of making the cut for the Paris 2024 Olympics, also to be held at Teahupo’o, Slater’s current CT ranking (23rd) isn’t looking good.

The forecast for the Tahiti Pro isn’t ideal; but it wouldn’t be the first time Slater’s pulled off some last-minute, clutch performances.

And some think, a Skeleton Bay warm-up session is exactly what Slater needs for a good result in Tahiti.

Stay tuned for more Skeleton Bay action, and to see if Slater shows up in Tahiti.

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