MAURITIUS – THE LEGEND OF ONE EYE

One Eye – that’s the name of the legendary wave in front of a reef surrounding the lagoon of Le Morne on Mauritius. It is one of the world’s fastest and cleanest windsurf waves, right in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

The first time I’d ever heard of One Eye, I didn’t even think that I would ever windsurf in a wave like that. It was a story about the Windsurf-Trilogy, a three-part, invitational event in the mid-90s, carried out in different wave spots all over the globe.

Story  Klaas Voget  // Photos Daniell Bohnhof

I woke up early and checked the conditions around 6 a.m. The wind was already filling in and the surf was already pumping. To score epic, un-crowded Lanes you really have to get super lucky. Days like Christmas day or the morning after the Super Bowl would fall into this category – and that’s if there are smokin’ conditions on those days. Well, for some strange reason this particular day was one of those days. A perfect lineup with not a soul on the water. I started to immediately freak out calling Robby Swift and screaming at him to get down here immediately. I’d decided to book a helicopter as well, which made me even more stressful,

“ IF YOU WINDSURF A LOT IN ONE EYE, YOU’LL PAY THE PRICE FOR IT ONE DAY ”

BONE-CRUNCHING
What I’d heard about One Eye is that – even now, 20 years later – it can deliver one of the worst windsurfing wipeouts of all time. (The next two sentences are not for the feint-hearted!).  There’s this rumor that one participant got a double fracture of the lower leg, because One Eye’s lip threw him onto the flats and he couldn’t absorb the hard landing from his aerial. His leg just buckled and the broken bone went through the deck into the core of the board. With this horror story in mind, you have to have a lot of respect, even just looking at the wave. And yet One Eye is such a unique beauty viewed from the channel. On good days, the wave breaks as such a perfect tube for hundreds of metres alongside the reef and allows incredibly fast rides and huge airs. Whoever knows how to read the wave – and doesn’t take too much risk – will kick out at the end with a big smile on their face heading back to the peak. One Eye can give you the fastest ride of your life, but if you miscalculate it, you’ll feel the full power of the Indian Ocean. Crushed equipment and reef cuts included. At low tide, the reef is an insurmountable razor-sharp obstacle for windsurfers and home to sea urchins with the size of a grapefruit with pointy needles. There are better things in life than swimming after your stuff in those shallow waters, with your harness ahead to protect you from the coral.

REEF TAX
If you windsurf a lot in One Eye, You’ll pay the price for it one day. On my last trip it was a sail, a mast and an extension, as well as some skin on my feet and legs. But I got off lightly in view of the many reef touches I had on this trip. I‘ve never had so many on any previous Mauritius trips. It must’ve been the presence of the boat, on which our team was positioned for the perfect shot. I was there with a group of Chiemsee riders, two photographers, a videographer and the Chiemsee crew to shoot the 2015 summer collection in action. If you want to catch extraordinary wave shots, One Eye is the place, but you have to take certain risks here. You have to ride the wave deeper and turn as late as possible, directly under the lip. Countless times the thick lip of One Eye got me and carried me towards the reef. Once you pass the shallow bit, you’re pretty safe, floating in the calm lagoon swimming after your gear – or what’s left of it.

PAYING THE REEF PASS TROLL
One Eye is the heaviest wave in Le Morne, but the biggest danger here is elsewhere. If you look at pictures from above, you can see that the entire lagoon, with everything that grows in it, directs towards one large exit. The waves push the water over the shallow reef and all that water leaves the lagoon through a massive channel. Once you break your gear nearby, you have no chance other than getting rescued. Swimming against the current with an outgoing tide is hopeless. If you break stuff close to the middle reef, or far out in Manawa, there’s only on direction: Out to sea. Sounds like a horribly dangerous and pretty hardcore place, but actually, if you follow a few simple rules, you’re going to have the time of your life in Mauritius – no matter what sailing level you bring. From freeriding in the crystal clear lagoon, bump and jump conditions at the middle reef, sideshore wave riding at the outer reef of Manawa, or the hollow speed rush that One Eye offers, there’s a place for every level. If you never go sailing alone and just during the times the lifeguards are on duty, there’s always someone who can catch you when you need it. The guys from the Club Mistral station usually make a round through the lagoon with their boat around 5 p.m., that’s the time to leave the water – even when the conditions are on and it’s just too tempting to stay out for that ‘one last wave’.

During this trip, I had my private little charter, giving me the option to stay out until the sun was gone. After getting drilled by One Eye several times on our last day, the amount of remaining gear was reduced and the wind got too light to even float out through the channel. I convinced the captain and one of the photographers to give me one more ride out into the lineup. As my 5.0 was destroyed and my 76 Quad was too small to catch waves, I borrowed an 82 from Max Matissek – who was freestyling in the safety of the lagoon – and took my 4.5 m., 3-Batten sail – the only option I had left to catch that ‘one last wave’. When we reached the break, the sun came out through the clouds and some massive sets pulsed through with just enough of a breeze to pump onto and give me some unforgettable rides with the spray creating rainbows behind every wave. Of course I also finished this last session on the reef and had a fun time disinfecting the cuts with hydrogen peroxide later in the Hotel.

FREEDOM DELUXE
Through a cooperation between Chiemsee and the St. Regis Mauritius hotel we stayed in the best place you can possibly stay, right on the beach with the best view into the wave – with superb food and butler service. There are a few Hotels with a good standard right in the lagoon, but you can also find cheaper places in Le Morne village or further up in La Gaulette. Now, about two months after our trip – all the wounds are healed – I just remember the good times this incredible wave brought me. What power it can project into the board and how fast you can go along the face.

The remoteness of this spot, far outside of the lagoon, gives you this feeling of absolute freedom. Most of the time I was alone in the break, from time to time some dolphins showed up and joined our boat on the way back to the peak. The wind’s usually on the lighter side and the water is glassy. Sometimes it takes a little while until you catch the right wave, but when you get one and approach the reef, it sucks up the chop and forms this perfect, clear halfpipe of water. When you look down, you see every single coral head and gap in the reef. But don’t enjoy this view for too long. Within split seconds the halfpipe becomes a tube, unloading onto the shallow reef. The closer you get to the lip, the more intense the ride, but also the greater the danger. It’s an addictive game, between pleasure and pain. KV

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