Did you know that the term ‘goofy footer’ comes from a 1930’s Disney film “Hawaiian Holiday,” where the cartoon character Goofy, goofily rides waves with his right foot forward?
The term is kind of ironic now really as some of the most stylish surfers ever to step foot on a board ride this way (Occy, Rob Machado, Gerry Lopez, Clay Marzo, the list goes on) and whilst left handers are favoured to the goofy footer, there’s a benefit to having your back to the wave.
Anyway, I was just trying to introduce our top 5 left handers on Ticket to Ride surf trips and am kind of going off topic now, so here’s my personal favourites (riding the waves with my back to them).
1. Bali – West Coast
Not sure why Jay’s wearing a wetsuit in Indo but don’t let that distract you
I first surfed this wave 15 years ago and firstly it changed how I surfed, but it also changed how I feel about surfing and my opinion of a good wave.
I’d been in Bali a couple of weeks and was getting frustrated with the crowds and smoked by the fast powerful waves, so when we found this spot with an easy roll in take off to 400m left hander, which slowly peels down the point it was a much welcomed surprise.
I found that my mind and motions slowed down on the wave, meaning that I could put into practice the bottom and top turns that I visualised in my head. Intermediate surfers just starting to ride their first green waves competently will really benefit from this type of break. Also, judging from the clip of Jay above, it’s clearly pretty fun if you absolute rip as well.
2. Marshmallow, Ahangama, Sri Lanka
View from the roof
The strange thing about this spot is when we started doing pop up surf camps in Ahangama over ten years ago we used to drive right past this spot and go to the more well know breaks. Just for the simple reason that nobody had surfed in so we just assumed you couldn’t.
Now we have a Surf House based right in front of Marshmellow and whilst it’s gained in popularity, we’re usually the first out there and our guests get the place dialled with the expert guidance from our coaches.
It’s the perfect wave for a lower level intermediate surfer to practice riding across a wave and linking up basic turns. When it gets over 4ft that’s another story and it’s definitely not mellow…
3. Sion, Ahangama, Sri Lanka
There’s also a run right off the left…
Before we opened the Surf House we would stay at the legendary Sion Surf Camp and run pop up camps several times a year with this wave right #onthedoorstep. It was a magical time, essentially a completely private wave that couldn’t be seen from the road, meaning we had it to ourselves daily.
Whilst Sion Surf is now a fond memory, and the spot has become a place to go, the waves themselves continue to roll in with consistency and that beautiful little wedge to them, peeling for 250m before hitting an end section. Great for intermediate surfers wanting to step it up a notch and advanced surfers wanting to launch.
4. Uluwatu, Bali
Thing of beauty
Uluwatu, or Ulu’s is the jewel of the crown in the land of milk and honey. Or to put simply, the most famous wave in Bali. It’s truly magical. Whilst it looks pretty gnarly when big, like in the clip above, it does have quite a fat shoulder on the face of the wave and even though it looks like a point break, when you’re actually out there it feels more like a load of wedges up and down a point.
Basically there’s lots of waves to go around and whilst we don’t ever ‘coach’ here on our trips, we will go for a day trip and encourage our guests to get amongst it as they usually come out with an ear to ear grin after snagging the wave of their life.
5. South Coast Sri Lanka
REALLY shallow
Whilst we weren’t the first to find this bonkers barreling wave in the South of Sri Lanka, we’ve been enjoying it and have managed to keep it under wraps for a few years now, but the gram has blown it up a bit so I’m not too concerned about sharing this clip.
Also it’s a terrifying closeout onto 2ft of sand for anyone other than a semi pro. Jake (semi pro) turned around to me half way through this clip and said “Bru, it’s like Pipeline out there!!”. Enjoy the clip.
The ratio of lefts to rights on Ticket to Ride Surf Adventures is pretty even. If you’re in the south of Sri Lanka it’s mainly lefts, the east coast is all rights. Indonesia is all lefts. Mozambique is all rights. South Africa is a mixed bag but home to J Bay so the rights will be the most memorable…
If you disagree with the above give me a shout in the comments below. I can take it.