CULT OF THE ONE TRUE FIN
Utilizing only single-finned equipment and loads of inherent style, contestants like Matt Cuddihy (pictured here) make an annual pilgrimage to Bali to surf in the Deus 9 Foot and Single event.
Under the gaze of a colossal beachfront statue depicting the Hindu goddess Gajah Mina, a hulking right-hander is detonating into the Pererenan river mouth in southwest Bali. According to Hindu mythology, while the sky and the mountains are the realm of virtuous gods, the ocean is home to the ill-intentioned spirits of the underworld. These insidious entities prevent those occupying the middle world — us, that is — from traversing the oceans. But the Gajah Mina, depicted here in Canggu as a nearly 20-foot-tall elephant-headed fish, has long bestowed believers with the courage and spiritual fortitude necessary to navigate treacherous waters.
It seems fitting, then, that Gajah Mina should be watching the lineup on this overcast June day, with well-overhead waves shutting down over the sand-covered reef. A group of more than 30 alternative-surfcraft devotees from all corners of the Earth have converged here for a surf exhibition called the Deus 9 Foot and Single, put on by Bali-based surf/motorcycle brand Deus Ex Machina (Latin for “god from the machine”). At a glance, the conditions seem perilous for the surfers in the water, who are armed with wide, heavy, single-fin surfboards. Yet all day they’ve pushed their logs into critical positions, sweeping into the pocket with stylish cutbacks, driving through the trough with Windansea-style bottom turns and locking into perched noserides.
Surfers like Byron Bay’s Jack Lynch, Kamakura’s Yuta Sezutsu and Noosa’s Zye Norris work the entirety of their longboards, gracefully connecting each maneuver with the aplomb of someone riding much smaller waves. Others, like California’s Jared Mell and Newcastle’s Lewie Dunn, opt for highlines instead, grabbing their outside rails and threading thick-lipped barrels.
As the wind turns onshore and the tide backs out, the competitors are punished repeatedly by the inside section, their leash-less boards catapulted onto the black-sand beach. Yet after swimming to their boards and inspecting them for damage, the surfers shake it off and paddle back out with resolute conviction.
Although not a cult in
