NASSAU, BAHAMAS — It's been almost 15 years since a Bahamian national surf team last existed, and Abaconians Chris Albury, Joey Gale, and Luke Prosa will end that streak in potentially spectacular fashion on February 23 over the notorious reef breaks of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
The city hosts the International Surfing Association's World Surfing Games, where up to seven men's spots in this summer's Olympic Games are up for grabs.
"Our waves are similar enough to Puerto Rico, so that gives [us] an edge over more distant locales," said former national team surfer Tim Albury. Albury competed in the 1988 World Surfing Championships in Rincon, Puerto Rico, and was part of a golden age in Bahamian competitive surfing, which included Jeff Gale (Joey's dad), Scott Patterson, and other Elbow Cay natives.
The boomerang-shaped cay remains a driving force in Bahamian surfing, with all three surfers bound for Puerto Rico hailing from the eight-mile-long island. Chris Albury, 26, took aim at Arecibo a year ago as he streamed the ISA El Salvador event.
"I've always liked surfing; I've been doing it my whole life. I just want to represent my country, it's always been a goal of mine," he said.
Working with Joey Gale, 22, and in between work schedules, the two surfers have organized local contests in preparation for Puerto Rico and to generate interest once more in a Bahamian surf team.
"We've been trying to get it going for a while," Joey said. "Now is the right time to do it."
With strong community support, the island is famous for its 'Hope Town Strong' slogan. After all, the two surfers have helped fundraise the entire trip costs through contest cookouts, a GoFundMe campaign and even went door to door in Hope Town one day spreading word of the reborn Bahamas Surf Association and collecting donations.
"It sparked a lot of people, and we got ideas," said Chris, who partnered with friend Ben Patterson, part of the Bahamas' World Surfing Games support squad, to knock on some forty doors.
"It became clear early on that its very expensive to get to the required events needed to participate in for the chance to get the [Olympic] slots as they are spread all over the world," added Tim Albury.
With surfing now an officially recognized Olympic sport, most people interviewed hoped that funding would be more available to this generation of Bahamian surfers.
Current BSA Vice President Attila Feszt has bridged the gap between the Bahamas' last foray into international competition - 2009 in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica – to the present day where he's bent the ear of the busy ISA, assembled a functioning board and persevered to get the BSA official recognition once more.
"I'm excited about bringing our island nation back into the global surf arena and to remind the surf world we are still here," he said.
Feszt, 47, relocated to Hope Town from New Providence in 2005 and has taken the BSA interisland with Eleuthera and New Providence now developing surfers with one eye on future travel teams.
"Initially I didn't want to get involved," said Tom Glucksmann, who runs a surf school on Eleuthera, "but I thought at this stage of my life maybe it could be fun, and we've got junior surfers and more interest here too." Glucksmann, 51, another New Providence transplant, is traveling to Puerto Rico as part of the squad's support team, which includes Feszt, Patterson, and Chloe Sweeting.
"[It's] definitely gonna be crazy to be there with our guys representing," said Sweeting, a gold medalist sailor in last year's Bahamas Games and a behind-the-scenes force for the surf team.
Luke Prosa, 17, is the youngest team member and has been putting in recent big wave training sessions at the famous Garbonzo's surf break on Elbow Cay.
"I've never visited Puerto Rico, never surfed there," he said. "I'm gonna go out and have fun, represent my country, hopefully catch some good waves, you know, if I can."
Prosa was eliminated before the final of Saturday's Garbonzo's Masters contest, where Joey finished second and Chris fourth in bumpy 5 to 6-foot waves.
Once in Arecibo, the squad may have to wait over a week as contest organizers have a ten-day window and will hope for a big winter swell to create conditions similar to Teahupo'o, Tahiti, where surfing, making just its second appearance as an Olympic sport, will be staged as part of the Paris 2024 Games.
"Focused," Chris said about his current mindset. "It's been a lot of fundraising, and now it's surfing."
Click here to read more on the Eye Witness News website
