Basil and the boys head down south.
When Basil has his hand in organizing a trip down to Baja and wrangles some of the heavy hitters to tag along, you know it’s something you probably don’t want to miss. This trip was proof of that. Basil and a handful of the pals loaded up the gear, packed the coolers, checked the weather, put eyes on the swell, and drove a handful of rigs south for a top notch chunk of days. Believe it or not, every rig in the group – Basils Garage had a helping hand in the build process. This is the why.
We all know there is something special about Baja - and when you add a great group of people to it, it is just the recipe for a memorable experience. The goal was simple for this one, head south, be safe, be respectful with our visit, have fun, and find surf.
The crew crossed the border and immediately crushed some miles south in order to get out of the madness and deeper into paradise. With a four rig caravan winding through Mexicali and into San Felipe, the crew was craving an initial taco stop and decided to hit the Malecon. With a variety of options and everyone having their go-to spot, we went with one of our common lunch stops and everyone piled the tacos up and threw a couple beers down. Lunch was served. The crew caught up, talked game plans, handled their appetites, triple checked weather and swell, and continued south.
With full stomachs and the urge to see some more coastline down south, the crew loaded up and got back on the road. Winding through cactus fields, deserted coastlines, and multiple washed out portions of the barely paved road, everyone trickled into our next pitstop. With one of the fellas wanting to check in on the families secret spot we decided to make it a single night layover where we got a decent dinner, good nights rest, and a early jump start towards the pacific coast.
It always pays to have contacts in Baja. Whether it's places to eat, places to sleep, a trustworthy mechanic, or just a place you know you can safely crash for a night. After all you never know what Baja may bring. Luckily for us, this was a planned stop over at a buddies house, where we soaked in the hotsprings, and got some much needed house chores done. We only needed one night for now, but we’d be back.
The next morning everyone was pretty amped knowing we would be hitting dirt in a few short hours and heading to find where we’d post up for the next few days - with one goal in mind. Surf.
The crew eventually go to the pacific side of the peninsula and onto dirt. Right where we wanted to be. Everyone got out and stretched the legs, aired down tires, snagged a cold drink and set eyes on the coastline ahead. Radios chirped with Baja static and inappropriate jokes as we winded down the stretch paralleling all the different surf breaks until we reached the one we were after.
I knew we were getting close. While listening to the hootin’ and hollerin’ over the radio and watching my map slowly scroll across the screen as we approached the point we were after, everyone’s excitement grew. There was one issue with the point we elected… there was some extremely sandy portions of the access we had to navigate. With four rigs, multiple people, various tools and experience, we were confident we could navigate the obstacle in hopes to have one of our favorite surd breaks all to ourselves. With Basils rig being the most capable for this scenario with just its size, power, and capability we sent him through first to scout it for the rest of us. We remained up top in radio communications, with eyes on him, eyes on the surf, and we couldn’t be more stoked for what we knew we were in for.
Once we got the go ahead, the rest of the rigs poked their way through the dunes and eventually popped out onto a one of a kind point that we had all to ourselves for multiple days without interruption. Everyone found a level place to park their vehicle, grabbed a drink and ran to the edge to see what the water was doing. Some people set up camp, some got in the water, and others popped a chair out to watch it all.
Once the boys got settled in, everyone enjoy two minute long waves, perfect weather, great company, and really just a typical Baja experience. Although we had our private point, a break to ourselves, and the nearest camper set up a m mile away, we did have the occasional guest. We had some travelers paddle in to check in and say hello, we had a local come bring us firewood, and we had various birds, fishing boats, and motorcycle go by on the horizon. The sun would go down, fire pit would start, the group enjoyed dinner and old stories followed by long peaceful nights of sleep. From the last goodnight to the morning birds and coffee makers starting up, there was no noise or interruption outside of the sound of waves and the occasional middle of the night pee break.
Then we surf.
Words by Gregg Boydston. Photos by Gregg Boydston, Drew Martin, Basil Lynch, and Cade Vlacos.