Surfing in the Arctic
In 2019, I saw a video of Craig Anderson surfing an Icelandic point break surrounded by snow-covered fjords.
My mind was blown, it looked like he was snowboarding through the ocean. From that moment, it became my dream to find and surf this wave for myself. Five years later, in August 2024, I boarded a one-way flight from Aotearoa to Europe. Landing in Copenhagen, I travelled to Denmark’s northern town of Hirtshals, where I boarded a cargo ferry - the MS Norröna. A 36-hour passage across the North Sea led me to an isolated archipelago of 18 small islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, collectively known as Føroyar / the Faroe Islands. After spending three weeks as a mountain goat, hiking the various trails along the dramatic fjords of Føroyar, I reboarded the MS Norröna and set off on an 18-hour voyage to the East Fjords of Iceland. Arriving in the quaint town of Seyðisfjörður, I hitch-hiked a ride to Norðurland - the northern coast of Iceland, where my Arctic dreams came true.
The road to Norðurland.
Nordic Religon.
Winter has arrived, two weeks after summer ended.
The wave of my dreams.
Making new friends with the locals.
Surfer - Cameron Stuanton.
Tropical paradise in the Arctic.
Days were spent surfing with a group of new friends, and evenings together under the Arctic skies.
The most memorable surf of my life. I woke up to a fresh layer of snow over the fjord, and had this dreamy Arctic point break to myself for the morning. Photo - Marc Zotes.
Surfing in the Arctic. Photo - Marc Zotes.