After that, Davos gave them both barrels in full French as he described his journey to Malaysia, especially the bit where he got totally lost and made five return journeys on the underground train linking the two airport terminals. Naturally, the two English speakers understood hardly anything he told them.
They’d found him even more strange when, after a late session on their first day on Nias, Davos had turned up for dinner with his ear plugs still in! But with every passing day, they managed to understand a little bit more about their strange Frenchie friend, enough to have them wondering who in their right minds at Bic could have had the ridiculous idea of producing a “Davos” signature pro-model board? But that was before they’d seen the man himself in action, charging the huge hollows and waves in his own inimitable style. It was just a question of time. As I’m wish-washed around in the beautiful water of this stunning bay, I can sense the immense power of the Indian Ocean in each passing wave. I’m out with my trusty camera safe in its watertight shell, paddling out to a spot next to the impact zone, where the surfers are large-ing it in the perfect tubes. I can make out the huts and shacks of the village in the background as the sets continue to roll in.
On the water, on his board, Davos is showing his true colours. A couple of paddles and he’s away, sliding at speed across the smooth-as-glass water. He’s careful not to let the wave overtake him, which means fast forward speeds, something that’s not always so easy on a stand up. No problem for Davos, he’s perfectly placed after a round house cutback to nail a huge bottom turn, racing back up the face to smack the lip off yet another one…
