Bad Boy Club
The 75-foot Indies Surveyor approached the dock where I stood waiting in a light rain. I had been aboard one of Martin Daly’s other boats, the Trader Too, a 54-foot sport fishing vessel that is “Martin’s baby.” The crown jewel of his fleet.
I returned to our island home ahead of all the other boats because the Trader Too is the fast boat that Martin can (and does) whip around at will, regardless of the passengers aboard and what everyone else is doing or planning to do on other boats. If Martin is ready to go, the Trader Too goes. If you’re still aboard, well, you’ll have to grab your shit later. You’ve been abducted by a real life pirate.
The waves had been good that afternoon and vibes were high. Clean, 4-to 6-foot reef pass waves were on offer all afternoon and everyone had a blast. We almost ran the NST event but decided to wait it out as a larger swell was forecast the next day along with nuking North wind — but (hopefully) you all saw how our gamble paid off.
Back on the dock, I waited for the surfers to return on The Surveyor, the “athlete” boat so I cold get my things. I could already see a pretty raucous scene aboard the boat as it approached. The 2-hour ride back had turned into a booze cruise with Harry Bryant on the ones and twos. The party was lit. Eithan Osborne was covered in beer suds and wearing his signature Gath drinking helmet. Not bad for the day before the event starts…
Alan Cleland Jr. in Micronesia for the inaugural Natural Selection Surf event. Photo: Ryan Miller/NST Surf
The first guy off the boat was Al Cleland Jr. He was in festive spirits and during the crossing had sunk his fair share of Pacific Blues — an Asahi brand lager we hydrated with throughout the trip. Al approached and gave me the biggest hug and high five ever for no reason before spotting a juvenile black tip reef shark next to the dock. He instantly dove, fully clothed, directly on top of the shark shouting, “I’m going to bite you!” We’d been told these sharks are juveniles and, yes, they are smaller, but they are also extremely aggressive and will bite just about anything. Not unlike Al. The shark got away and neither man nor beast were harmed. But the evidence was clear: Al Cleland is here to save us.
We really haven’t had a spirit like Al in our culture in some time. Characters like Al have been washed out by well-oiled professionals who say the right thing, take care of their physiques and ride exercise bikes at wave pools. He’s not a traditionally marketable hip freesurfer either. Al has a gold capped tooth and chain to go with a mischievous sparkle in his eye lurking just under the brim of his Quiksilver hats. He’s usually shirtless, shaking hands, engaging with everyone, being totally respectful when appropriate, but he can’t help but be a raw, emotional, fun-loving surfer. He is the life of the party and he backs it up by being the life of the trip and as we saw at NST, the life of the event. A wave-riding warrior who is as unpredictable as he is kind. Someone said he surfs like Chris Ward and I can’t unsee that. It’s spot on. They both glisten when they’re sweaty and shirtless(which is often).
Today marks the first time in a few solid years where I appointment-viewed a specific WSL heat. I woke up this morning, timed up the hour Al surfed and I blocked it on my calendar. “Don’t call me I’m busy!” He didn’t win and it didn’t matter. He is who I wanted to watch. I turned off the webcast and I am certain I saw everything I needed to see. I’ll probably watch the finals.
I’m happy to report that Quiksilver seems to be embracing their Mexican rock star as well. Letting him kinda be…well, him. A Mexican surf star who surfs like Wardo. Al is a kick in the ass for our culture. He shows up. He’s on time. He’s respectful. He’s a winner. But he’s a fucking loose and reckless good time.
We needed that desperately. I needed some surfers on tour who would scare my family members a little bit. I need Al to remind “Good Morning America” viewers that we’re still a little bit savage. A little off. We’re not all sterilized by chlorine and ice baths. We’re surfers, not athletes, or talent. We’re flight risks who chase waves around the world and occasionally jump on the back of sharks and ride them.—Travis Ferré
[Above art: Kujo — Flying Dog, 2001 by Ralph Steadman]
