The Rhodes Less Traveled

With introductions done, it was time to head to what would become our favorite breakfast spot, Cake Box, with great coffee and amazing food – I can highly recommend the butter croissant and any of the fillings which come with. This spot became the morning meet where we would plan the day, making sure we made the most of it with the conditions at hand.

Next up was strapping the boards, getting the foils assembled and making sure the wings had booms on. But when we arrived at the beach, the team at the center had already unboxed and prepared the gear for us – another great start to the trip! The beach at the center was also a great start for the shoot, clear blue waters and the afternoon wind was already kicking in. Just needed our daily gyros at lunch and off we went. Little did we know though, that each day would be eight hours on the water, riding until dark. Not sure this was exactly favored by the center staff, with us coming off the water an hour after they had closed up…  although it looked like they enjoyed watching the action with some beers after a hard day's graft in the beautiful sunshine Greece offers.

After a few days of flat-water action at the center, it was then time to get the rental cars and start exploring new spots around the island. We had a pimped out van to transport the equipment and then a VW Polo to get the boys around in, the rental car man was very excited to hear who we were and that we would be doing some filming on the island. He then went on to tell me how our passion for water sports was how he felt about cars, hire cars in particular. Each to their own I guess. When he showed me the Polo, he told me it was the cleanest in the fleet, although he didn’t mention we could probably run quicker than it drove. Anyway, with our wheels, we were on the move with DJ Takuma on the Bluetooth hitting us with some big tunes – if you didn’t know, the Japanese really know how to party!

Highlight winging day for me was using the hire cars to get ourselves to Elli Beach, which is the furthest point north, to what seemed like a heavily touristy beach, but in fact turned out was an unreal spot with some of the best fast rolling swell I’ve winged in a long time. All I could see was lines upon lines for miles downwind, and boy was it easy to read, all made super easy with a Flying Saucer and MP Foil underfoot and a Pure wing in the hands – I could have winged all night! When I eventually came back in, we had attracted a very interested crowd on the beach who were amazed to see it, turns out no one has winged before there – feels pretty cool to christen a spot, which I’m sure will become a little more popular now. We rounded the day off at a Greek Restaurant near our apartments, the Greeks really know how to make some good food for some hungry wingers!

If you asked any of the team for their favouite moment, I’m sure the evening sunset shoots would be right up there and I can’t argue with that. The sunsets are ridiculous, the wind still blows into the night and the water is empty. Always something special about that, having the water to yourself. It was the perfect way to wrap up each day, almost like a reward for the hard work in the day.

As the trip came to the end, it was pretty apparent none of us wanted to leave this place. With an abundance of GA/Tabou 2026 kit to hand, weather to dream of, amazing people and fantastic food, it really was the perfect trip. After seeing some of the photos and videos it was pretty clear we had achieved a lot and the location was perfect.