datrip: yeah, I already noticed that there´s a growing number of Danish surfers in the water now and their level has definitely improved! What´s the reason that it took that long before a larger number of locals started to surf?

Eno: As I see it the main two reasons are first the whole Danish west coast environment and culture which has been evolving around the fishing industry and has suffered from a bit of conservatism. You actually don’t see that many real locals that surf but fortunately the number is growing. The second thing is that it took some time to figure out how many good days we actually have due to different wind and swell directions. 

datrip: Bad thing is, that most danish surfers came too late, concerning crowds. The days of constantly empty lineups are definitely over. How do you and the other locals deal with the situation of being a minority at your homebreaks during too many weekends of the year?

Eno: We still have so many days of uncrowded surf during the winter and also because we know exactly where to go in different wind and wave directions.. but off course it can be frustrating to surf everyday during the winter and experience the crowds getting heavier coming closer to summer. But if visiting surfers just respect the lineup and the few rules in the water then it´s all good..

datrip: Yeah, lineup rules and respect, that’s a thing that at least north German surfers who regularly travel to your shores would like to see there a lot more. This is a problem with “young” surf nations, too many people who don´t know anything about the rules. We hope you locals get soon numerous enough to control lineups. I´m not talking about localism but about installing a hierarchy that helps giving order to the lineups.

Eno: Yeah I´m definetly not talking about localism in the bad way. I remember surfing this break in Sumbawa and due to the small amount of traveling surfers to this region there was a healthy lineup and everybody was taking their turns. Off course the locals where on it bit more but they where still sharing.

When I first arrived I was soo hungry for waves cause I had not been surfing for soo long and the waves where just perfect soo I was being a bit too aggresive in my hunger for waves not really remembering I was a visiting surfer and then this guy paddled up to me and politly told me that I was being a bit to agresive and maybe I should relax a bit. This experience made a big impact on me and I really felt kind of embarrassed but I ended up having the best stay, meeting some really cool people which I wouldn´t if I was not respecting the lineup. You get what you give and it´s the same with Klitmøller and I hope that it will be a place that has a good karma both from the locals and from the visitors..    

datrip: How´s your relationship to local fishermen? Do they respect what surfers do or do they think they’re crazy?

Eno: Both! The majority are opening their eyes to the dynamic situation it has brought to the region both in terms of the increase of tourism and new settlers in Klitmøller and area. But yeah we still get the evil eyes once in a while but I just try not to get provoked from it and smile back.

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pictures on top: Melina Mailand