On the Wild Edge

“First off, it’s rugged.” Gary Downie takes a sip of coffee, adjusting his hat. We’re at the coffee shop, walls hung with the ocean-themed oils of a local artist, discussing the intricacies of Alaskan surfing. “It’s fucking amazing with an emphasis on fucking,” Downie adds. “I can tell you a bit, but I can’t tell you everything.”

Downie’s great-grandparents came from Washington to Alaska in the early 1900s. His great-grandfather logged the road that leads out of town, and his family homesteaded on the island where he catches waves today. They had a horse named Midnight, and perhaps the only cow in a 500-mile radius. “You look at this landscape formed thousands of years ago,” he says. “It’s beautiful, but you’re in Alaska. Which means there are so many variables to make it come out just right. It’s like a mathematical formula to get a perfect session.”

Read the full story:

https://www.surfersjournal.com/editorial/the-knowledge-on-the-wild-edge-in-alaska/