Fifteen minutes of inarguably beautiful surfing in
waves of real consequence. Not a line or rail out of place.
Beau Cram, son of the legendary Richard, dropped an
eminently watchable clip this week.
Cram jnr is a bit of a renaissance man. Travels the country in
an old van. Still works on the tools between trips. Doing odd jobs
to pay the way. A board design polyglot.
He’s a compact and stylish surfer with his Dad’s intense,
brooding eyes. Beau’s been bouncing in and out of the mainstream
spotlight over the past few years, and this latest release has
followed that staccato rhythm. A jarring, sudden surprise bestowed
upon us, like a punch in the nose on a cold winter’s morning.
“Enter the Cramverse”, which is shot by Tom Pearsall, follows
Beau on a road-trip through the north west of West Oz, visiting the
many razor lipped waves that detonate so violently along that
notorious continental shelf.
I rarely watch clips nowaday. Catch most of what I need to on
Instagram. Plus videos generally demand too much of my time or
attention.
Give me words or give me death.
However, I’ve been a fan of Beau’s surfing for some time now and
guessed this would be worth the investment. I was not wrong.
Fifteen minutes of inarguably beautiful surfing in waves of real
consequence. Not a line or rail out of place. All on what looks
like a quiver of Christensen twins (correct me if I’m wrong
here).
Refined twins work in good waves. It’s always been known. Part
of their origin story. But you can largely thank Torryn Martin for
the latest revelation.
Have you dabbled? Added a twin pin to the quiver?
Maybe something with a little contour in the bottom to add that
extra hold and drive? The equation in my mind had always been
simple.
Twin for the speed. Pulled-in tail for the hold. Doesn’t get
much easier.
I’ve had my trusty Campbell Brother’s Alpha Omega for a good
five years now. Ridden it in everything from two-foot slop to
heaving eight foot HTs. Never once missed a beat when I needed
it.
We’ve all seen what Torryn can do. And if the procession of
twins I saw doing the run around during the New Year cyclone swell
on a certain north coast point was any indication, it’s a secret
most of the surfing world has cottoned on to as well.
Nearly all the major shapers have jumped on the bandwagon,
releasing their own interpretations of the configuration. It’s
almost at the point of cliche. But all cliches begin with a
truth.
The only drawback I find is the predilection for lateral
surfing. Beautiful for laying on rail. But any sort of vertical jam
or pivot can be difficult. God invented thrusters for a reason, I
guess.
It’s hard not to compare Cram’s efforts here to Torryn’s.
But Beau brings his own interpretation.
There’s a fair chunk of his Dad’s style. A willingness to attack
the edges. To throw himself into situations most would never dare
go near. And all with that classic bow-legged trim stance.
High-line fever.
Plus there’s a secco of him threading throaty deep tubes on a
Beater foamy that must be some of the best finless surfing
committed to film thus far. At least that I’ve seen.
Only other person operating in that
realm would be Ari Browne.
Say what you will about fins-free; the ability to take off, set
up and negotiate the barrel using only your rail line is almost
beyond reason.
I do wonder what the crusty north-west locals think about the
increase in the “east coast guy in white van with expensive quiver”
pilgrimages, like what Beau’s playing at here. Especially with
borders opening back up post-Covid.
However it’s a certain breed of surfer who watches a clip of
heaving eight-to-ten-foot Tombstones and thinks it’s something
they’d like to get around.
The waves will very quickly sort the wheat from the chaff.
I can’t speak to the soundtrack, unfortunately, as I was
watching it lying in bed, back to my wife, each of us with our
phone on silent, absorbed in our own digital universes.
But I can leave that to you.
