Watch: Kelly Slater, Koa Smith Surf Pumping Skeleton Bay
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By now, the dust has settled on the great Skeleton Bay pilgrimage of 2023.
In August, hordes of the world’s best surfers descended upon Namibia to surf the world’s longest sandbar lefthander after years of hibernation from the mythical spot.
Koa Smith returned to the wave; Kelly Slater surfed it for the first time.
“This place has changed my life and introduced me to different feelings that I didn’t know existed,” Koa Smith says in the edit above.
We’ve seen nibbles of Koa’s trip to Skeleton Bay, but not the full course meal. He is, after all, one of the pioneers of the wave – getting more barreled than almost anyone out there.
Like, for example, the sampler we saw a few months ago, which showed Koa and a near one-minute barrel; here's what he had to say about that:
“On my journey to my goal of getting the ONE MINUTE BARREL! This one felt close! Technically I would say I came out of the barrel around that 25 sec mark which resets the time clock!
“Let the drops on the lens reflect the tears in my eyes that I did come out 🥲😂. In real time it all felt like one long blurry friggin TUBE!
“So funny to see my mind trying to comprehend what just happened at the end there! It’s a feeling that words just fall short trying to explain. But if I had to try I’d say it’s like jumping off a big cliff and cuddling someone you love at the same damn time 😂!! for now… The mission for the 1 min tube continues!!!
“Riding a 5’6 @albumsurf Disorder Asym twin fin”
Slater, on the other hand, had a little tougher time with the wave.
“90 percent chance I don’t see you again until tonight and we’re eating dinner,” he told Koa.
Yep, pretty much.
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