Quick newsflash before we rip in: Telo Island Lodge has availabilities in the prime month of June! So if it’s been in the back of your mind to hit some Telo perfection, this is your chance. Email Gaz here straight away to find out about making your 2023 Indo dream a reality! The primest of prime windows here is 8^th – 18^th June. You will not regret it.

OK, so, an epic group of guests this trip. Eight Cali buddies who’ve been surfing together for up to 25 years at their hometown break affectionately known as “North Reef”, plus two Aussie mates as well.

Surfwise, this trip pumped: A shoulder-high welcome session at the Left, kicked overnight and turned on Max’s Left AND Max’s Right. When you’ve got The Right firing out front of the Lodge, it’s a reminder of just how special this place is! Between south swell pulses, Kindies challenged the crew with steep drops and clean up sets.  The second Southerly pulse was swell of the season so far and lasted practically the whole trip, with Le Ba, Max’s Right and The Bubble as good as they get.

Le Ba proved to be the favourite break. Something about that wave gets under your skin, and so every morning the call would go up, “Let’s go back to Le Ba”. (It’s hard to tear yourself away when The Right out the front is firing though!)

And if that’s not enough, the crew scored pumping Max’s Left on the last morning of the trip, and by the last afternoon, everyone was too surfed-out to get in the water, happy to enjoy afternoon beers watching Max’s Right with no-one out.

Life does not get any better. Let’s meet the lads.

Andrew Wright, California // If anyone deserves an epic wave or 50, it’s Ando! Organised this trip as part of his celebration for overcoming a multi-year challenging illness. A creative fella who loves his painting, waited patiently for the bombs on his Von Sol surfboard. Nobody gets more stoke from a session with his friends than Ando!

Steve Jackson, Australia // “Jacko” is a recently-retired woodwork teacher, who had the canny knack of sweeping up all the unridden inside waves, even airdropping on a few questionable bombs at The Left. A fella who prefers to let his surfing do the talking.

Brad Witchard, Australia // Family man from NSW, goofy-foot fan Max’s Left. Always cracking jokes with Jacko. Every surfer has a magic board, but Braddo had some voodoo going with the shooter we christened the Banana Split. Thrills and spills!

Nick Speiss, California // School teacher, always keen. With decades of surf travel under his belt, Nick hasn’t stopped charging like a demon. One solid day at the Right, Nick had missed a few waves when the bomb of bombs came through, and there was no way he wasn’t going, despite the double up. Nick got to his feet just in time to be totally detonated. Unsurprisingly for anyone who knows Nick, he simply paddled back out for another one – here he’s ripping on one of Max’s Right’s tamer sets.

Jeff Leuras, Hawaii // Distinguished himself with a fishing effort at Le Ba, landing the second fish of his life, using only a piece of tortilla as bait. Paddled out and topped it all off with a take-a-bow head dip, to much applause.

George Walker, California // Enjoyed documenting everyone by taking photos and videos. George Shapes boards part-time and shaped one for his son Hercules, which Superguide™ Dingo rode and gave it full marks. George rode his best wave out front of the lodge. A bomb he won’t forget soon.

Hercules Walker, California // Like father like son. Herc was the youngest of the group, hungry for the sets, and managed to get the wave of his life out front of the lodge with Dingo’s encouragement. Ripped every place we surfed.

William Glaser, Hawaii // “Skip” had the smoothest style of the group and dialled up excellent waves wherever we surfed, but really came into his element on the biggest day of the trip at Max’s Right. Top fella, always up for a chat.

Matt Halliday, Nevada // In his early 60’s Matt is still a whirlwind of positive energy, who probably caught the most waves out of everyone. He even gave 34-year-old Herc a run for his money! It may or may not be documented that he rode a total of 187 waves, and he was consistently providing entertainment for the crew tearing up the waves in front of the Lodge.

Michael Harth, California // A return guest who came with his family in 2019 to Pinnacles North Telo, but opted this time for a mates’ trip at The Lodge. A stellar fella, generous and humble. Mike got his fill of waves out front on his new 7.0 FireWire and also appreciated taking a session off here and there. Dominated the lineup out at Pinnacles towards the end of the trip with some beautiful stylish waves.

Yeah lads! Pumping surf, epic crew, good times. Thank you so much for coming out! Let’s hit Le Ba! Yes!

And finally, presenting TIL’s prestigious “Smoko” award. SuperGuide™ DIngo doesn’t get a tea break when he’s on the job, so sometimes he’s got to throw down a gasper mid-shift. (Note, Dingo pocketed the butt)