Ain’t No Wave Pool

words by ben stephens

Ya’ boy Michael Eugene Fanning AO has started 2017 off in classic White Lightning style.

Since signing with the Aussie surfing giant that is RipCurl in the late 90’s, Mick and the Curly team have been on The Search for the perfect wave. Actually, not even for the perfect wave. They’ve just been going on big old surf trips and charging it back to the company credit card while surfing whatever comes their way.

The hottest piece of surf content to hit the waves of the web this week is without doubt Mick x RipCurl + a secret location.

What it equals is the below:

From the excited face of Michael, the rushed leg rope untangle, to the first shot of that perfect little right-hander, this clip goes a long way to almost end The Search for the RipCurl team. Thankfully, that’s not the case and the team will continue to outdo perfection until the end of time.

Now, of course, you want to know where that break is. The entire internet seems to be asking the exact same question. Mick dropped this on his Facebook:

Secrets about waves like these are hard to keep so don’t bother asking haha I wont break!!

So there is a 0 chance of anyone involved dropping this secret spot, which is maybe for the best. You know, to keep the search going and what not. You could trawl through the absolute tripe that is the comments on this video. A lot of them are saying Mexico, some say Southern Sri Lanka and others claim this is on the Gold Coast.

Add this to Fanning’s 2016 and you end up with a killer year on year performance. From taking a relax approach to the world tour, winning the J-Bay Open and burying the shark attack hatchet to surfing under the northern lights, it’s been quite the trip.

Now with the start of the 2017 World Surf League Tour about to kick off on the Gold Coast in March, it’s time for eyes to fall back on Mick to see what his year will look like. Will it be guided by commissioner Perrow? Will it be another year of some of the best free surfing being captured on another rendition of The Search with the Curly Crew? Will he produce a pale ale with the Balter Boys?

With so many questions, only time will tell ?