Kitesoul Magazine #24 International Edition

96
ITW
Willow-River: Here's the One-Eye's story
Willow River
HERE'S THE ONE-EYE'S STORY
INSIDER KNOW-HOW OF WILLOW-RIVER TONKIN, PROBABLY THE MOST WELL-
KNOWN FACE OF THE WORLD-CLASS SPOT ONE-EYE AND AT THE SAME TIME AN
ABSOLUTE INSIDER OF THE WAVE SPOTS ON HIS HOME ISLAND OF MAURITIUS IN
THE INDIAN OCEAN.
Where does the name
"One-Eye" come from?
The legend says that way back in
the 70s, there was an old farmer
that owned the land around Le
Morne and he only had One Eye...
So, when the Australian surfers
came to Mauritius to explore and
find some waves, on the way to
the spot they ran into this One-
Eyed man before getting in the
water and so they ended up naming
that wave ONE EYE.
What does One-Eye look
like on a small day?
On a small day One Eye can be
very, very deceiving. Many people
will go out thinking it’s small and
nothing can happen. But when it
is 1 or 2 or even 3 meters, it is
breaking right on the shallowest
reef. So, when something goes
wrong, you end up directly on the
reef.
What does One-Eye look
like on perfect days?
When it´s perfect it gets super
long with never ending spitting
barrels and steep peaks!
And on small and medium
days, it gets quite crowded
in the line-up. From four
to five meters it becomes
more selective, right?!
Yes, on small days everyone
thinks it’s super safe and nothing
can happen, so when it is small
it gets super crowded with people
that don't know the dangers
of One Eye and don't really know
what they are doing. But as soon
as it gets big, there are very few
people willing to go out to charge
some gnarly waves and score a
couple of stand-up barrels.
So, what about you, when
will it be scary for you?
Once all the channels start closing,
it becomes very scary because
I know that if something
goes wrong there is no way for
anyone to rescue me and it´s