Photo 1
Over the years, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in West Africa and keep returning to this little fishing village. This peak is one of the better surf spots in the area, and I was surprised no one was out—empty freight train rights, one after another, going unridden. Before jumping in the water to shoot, I wanted to get that beautiful Mosque into a lineup shot. So I hiked up this sketchy bank, and there it was. It’s unfortunate that a tree is blocking the left, because it’s a really fun wave, too.
Photo 2
I strayed from the usual spots in Bundoran, Ireland, to check the surf further north in Donegal. There’s a lot of sheep, rolling hills, and craggy bays up there. Poke your head over any field, and you’ll see a lineup. Plenty of fun beachbreaks and slabs if you know where to look. This little bay looked good for longboarding, so I paddled out. The waves had some size, were cruisy, and peeled all the way to the rocks.
Photo 3
Noah Lane knows this Irish slab better than anyone. It was just him and Mikey Wright out this session, and it was absolutely incredible watching them surf. Mikey would take off under the lip and knife these giant slabs—the best backside tuberiding I’ve ever seen. I’d been bodyboarding all morning. I don’t like stand-up surfing when it gets this heavy, so I returned to my prone, slab-running roots.
Photo 4
Liam Turner is a lovely English gentleman from Devon and arguably the best British backside tuberider. He manages Hollow Trees Resort and has lived on-site for many years. This day started stormy with enough wobble in the wave to scare off the charter boats. The wind swung in the afternoon and the surf turned solid—some 10-foot sets. It’s the best when surfers staying at HTs get the wave to themselves.
Photo 5
Mickey Smith discovered Riley’s. He was the first person to surf it and gave it its name. He’s thoroughly documented this Irish slab for the past 20 years, and no one’s taken better photos of it than he has. He first took me to Ireland to surf it when I was 13. Over our decade of traveling together, he taught me so much about photography, waves, and life. This session was during a three-day run of swell with only him and me in the water. I’m so used to Mickey shooting me over the years that it was nice to snap a few photos of him in action, especially there.
For more of Jack Johns’ work, pick up a copy of TSJ 35.1.
