Flo: The snowboard skills help when you start surfing. Especially in medium sized and not too fast waves, that give you some more time, me and my snoboard pretty quickly learnt to surf decently. I remember, that in these conditions at the beginning we caused some surfprise when telling the other surfers how short our surf experience was. But the motorics aren´t compeltely similar and as snowboarder you have to work to get more activ, loose and flexible with the hip and shoulders, especially in small waves.

And I realize again and again how much more difficult and time consuming it is, to learn reading a wave. At mechanical pointbreaks I usually feel good pretty quickly but when surfing a beachbreak once in a while I still feel like a beginner.

datrip: How much do you make the constant changing and movement of a wave responsible for the addictive charackter of surfing?

Flo: The need to adopt perfectly to the constanct chance definitely has addictive potential. If you manage to adopt, you´re in sync with the elements, you play with them and find the flow. To experience this again and again, that makes addicted.

datrip: You tend to choose areas with serious waves for the "leave the track" projekt. Can everybody of the crew handle these waves?

Flo: The level of this years participants was pretty equal. Allmost everyone allready had experience with shallow reefbreaks. Sure, there were some days with waves being too heavy for the one or other. I remember especially one day at Tarimbang, a wave with a scary take off. Here it´s been just three or four of us who regularely charged the big ones. I surfed that break for the first time and I had enormous respect and huge difficulties to handle the conditions. But it´s not every day that big and during the trip we found something for everyone.

datrip: Do you choose the locations only beacause of the wave quality or is there more reasons to make those off the beaten track trips? Especially Madagaskar doesn´t offer easy access to the waves together with comfortable lodging and and the guarantee of enough cold beer.....

Flo: This year the focus definitly lay on finding uncrowded waves and having a good time on a boat. I have to admit, that despite the perfect waves the trip lacked a bit the adventure factor. Mano of us just love it, when there is a little mission besides surfing, when certain things aren´t granted and when you have to put some effort into getting access to the spots. It´s allways a huge award having found a special place together with some friends.

datrip: I´m looking forward to see the film! How did you shoot(digital or film)? How do you plan to present it (cinema or DVD)? For whom did you make the film? Is it more for the participants of the trip and their friends / family or do you intend to show it to the growing german speaking surf market? When will it be released?

Flo: The film has been shot in hdv and is a segment of the dvd "The Preparation" of Seppi Dabringer, that mainly shows spectacular freeride shots from Alaska. We only had a minimum budget and therefore it became a shortcut that mainly works through beautifull images. If somebody´s interested you can get the film via www.blue-tomato.at or www.hoanzl.at. We also plan a movie release tour in April / May 2007. All infos can be found on www.austriansurfing.at!

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