Greetings fellow wave-sliding humans! Here’s a quick transmission from the glorious Telo Islands, where two guest groups recently had a fine old time at Pinnacles North Telo and Telo Island Lodge respectively. Shout outs to photographers Elise (TIL) and Shieldsy (PNT) and to superguides™ and superhosts™ Terri, Dingo, Wobby, Skye, Dom, Billy and crew.

First up, a Mid-May trip at Pinnacles North Telo. Moderate swell saw the good old E.R swell magnet come to the party, as well as sessions at The Left and Le-Ba. On to our easygoing and convivial Pinnacles guests!

Deke Botsford // A return guest: mellow, cheerful surgeon from Canada who surfed with an easy-on-the-eye style, and who appreciated his post-surf Bintang!

Eddie Sun // Ed spends a fair bit of time – possibly half of each year – in that ‘other’ surf paradise of Costa Rica. His surf fitness showed, with marathon sessions and an abundant haul of the best waves.

Ryan Smolarz // Ryan hails from the British Virgin Islands and this plucky Goofy-footed orthodontist takes out the coveted “Most Improved” performance award. It’s always a buzz for us here at PNT to see someone’s surfing catch fire before our very eyes!

Gary Wnorowski // The genial Alpha Dog of the bunch. Charged the hardest, and loved his fishing. Ripped.

Brett Thomson // A reserved, quiet fellow, who sees the funny and positive side of things and will have you laughing alongside him. The best kind of human to have on a surf trip. Reached sub-sonic velocity on his lovely green speed machine.

Noel LaPierre // Family Man Noel! Rock-solid goofy footer who surfs with a quiet authority. Part man, part fish, Noel logged a lot of time snorkelling around the resort.

Reid Winkler // Mild mannered fellow on land – voracious reader, passionate cyclist – wave slaying goofy footer in the water.  Another champion human.

Phil Johnson // A big, strong unit of a man with refined taste in Tequila, and a fondness for some practical extra foam in his shooters. A sure fire winning combo for an epic trip.

Thanks for coming legends!

Now, let’s bounce on over to Telo Lodge for a late May mission.

Telo Island Lodge, trip six. The mantra for this trip? “Sit deeper! Take off later! Bintang!”
You know it’s on the pump when you get GT’s on, three or four times. This guest group also enjoyed a few solo sessions at Max’s Left AND Right, and ventured over to the rather imposing “Dislocators”. All the while, Telo shone like the jewel she is under sunny skies. Come meet the epic folk who made TIL home for ten days!

Lee Deslauiers // The Bear! And just like those fearsome creatures back home on Vancouver Island, Lee stood up to anything GT’s tried to throw at him. He copped many hidings but the big fella kept going until he made it. Tore The Left as well. Engineer by trade and a constant stoked smile.

Robert Delfino //  Rob’s been reading these surf reports for over a decade and finally got to make it happen. Rob had a dream to surf GTs, and the dream came true! Dingo called him into one of the biggest sets, and though Rob wasn’t sure, he charged it and got thoroughly barrelled. The kindest, coolest ex school principal you’ll ever meet. Rob got more tubes than turns all trip, but reckons he was unable to keep up with Lee’s piña colada count, and despite his irrational fear of falling coconuts, reckons it was the best surf trip of his life.

David Short // A return guest who fits right in with the boys, and there’s usually much laughter in his vicinity. Shorty’s become a dad since his last visit and so the aura of stoke around him is even brighter these days. Had a special surf at Max’s Left one early morning.

Douglas Kazanjian // “Darth” is a well-travelled return guest who rates the Telos as providing variety above and beyond anywhere else on the planet. This legend racked up more water time than anyone. Small or big, windy or clean, the man was frothing! Extra points to this multi-talented fella for posting phenomenal pics and clips of his trip.

Pete Day // Cruisy NZ pilot touching down for a return trip to the Lodge. Pete has an effortless style and some interesting stories about flying over the Pacific, with some potential secret spots on his radar. (After an espresso or three, Pete shared classic insider stories about the aviation industry.)

Brandon Hitchcock // ENT surgeon, originally from South Africa, now NZ based. Elder statesman of the group, keeping the guys in check with his sharp wit. Definitely scored his share of waves – a man not about to let age slow him down.

Calum Wallace // Solo traveller outta New York who was initially adamant he wasn’t keen on going left…but like so many before him became a huge fan of Max’s Left: sneaking inside to hoover up a hundred in betweeners at that wonderful wave. Super nice fella, enjoying some well-deserved downtime between finance jobs.

We’ll leave the last word to the legendary Rob Delfino, who penned this summary between GTs barrels: “The lucky seven from the May 20-29th trip scored two proper swells during their stay with playful walls and heart pounding hollower options on the menu—rights and lefts, ultra glassy conditions more often than not, and very uncrowded or just us. Dreamy to say the least and nothing beats sharing a line-up with well-rounded, fun surfers, who kept the jokes going in and out of the water all trip!”

‘Til next time lads!