O'Neill Strike Missions: You Should Have Been Here Tomorrow

So, you check the charts and see a bombing swell on it’s way to Peru. What do you do?

You book your ticket and pack your bags. Right? Well, if you’re Ian Crane and Noah Wegrich that’s what you do. The goofy duo had locked in their flights and prepared themselves for some of the best left-handers this world can throw their way. Then Cristobal De Col calls to tells them there’s an even bigger swell just a couple days before their slated arrival. If they can show up a few days earlier they’ll be in for a treat. Of course! When Cristo hit them with the info they didn’t have any other choice. The boys rally and head out a few days earlier.

They arrived and had a fun day of surf to prep for what they were expecting to get the next morning.

Checking all the spots they were a little underwhelmed, still some incredible waves, but 3-4 and not 6-8+ like they were expecting. But hey, maybe the swell is gonna pick up throughout the day. “Tonight will be on fire!” turned into “tomorrow will be the day” and so on and so on…

Well as it turns out, according to Cristobal, there was some sort of current due to this damn El Niño we keep talking about that somehow cancelled out the swell.

We spoke to Noah a bit more their high expectations for the trip, and though they didn’t get what they had expected, they still scored anything better than the next few months of being at home. It’s about perspective.—Brandon Guilmette

Photos by Grant Ellis