Today, the Basque’s favourite big wave hell cat Laura Coveilla has just dropped a new YouTube short and it’s a bit of whirlwind. Called Tropic Fever, this gem features big Nias, warm water barrels, Mach 5 speed outta tubes and at least one middle-aged dude with the drop in of the century. Yeah, Laura isn’t one to hold back on the meanest waves around.
That’s something we’ve come to expect from Laura, if there’s thick-lipped, reef-destroying bomb somewhere, she wants to be close to it. And when a Nias swell pops its head above the parapet, you bet she’s got one eye on her passport.
Indo is for turns, not just barrels!
“We were supposed to go to another place in the Mentawais for this swell, but when I saw the wind was going to be perfect in Nias, I didn’t hesitate to change all my plans at the last minute and even miss a flight to go straight to Nias instead.”
As a wave, it’s one Laura feels pushes her limits. “It’s quite perfect and not as shallow as most of the rest of the waves from Indo, but it’s brilliant,” she said.
And the gent burning her?! “To be honest, I paddled back out next to him on my way back to the peak and he didn’t even say sorry or if I was ok. But he was kind of an old man so I just kept going my path without saying anything. Probably if he was younger I would have said something.”
Next image from the cover above. Ooooee!
Big, heavy waves are a Coviella staple. “If the waves are good I just don’t really mind what I surf,” she said. “If you put me in powerful waves (big waves or barrels) I’m happy, but if you put me in small perfect waves to rip I’m also the most happy girl in the world.”
Although a bit of a cold water stalwart, warm water’s where Laura thrives. Hence the name of this slickly-packaged edit. “Being super honest, I just hate the cold,” she said.
And what people should associate Laura Coviella with: “I think I would like that people see me as like a reference or a role model in women’s surfing world, and to inspire the new generations too.” Hit play above for a warm water hit.
