For those who chase unconventional surf, skimboarders frequently enough lead the charge, seeking out the world’s most bizarre and challenging wave formations. Recently,Blair Conklin,a surfer and skimboarder,ventured to Sununga,Brazil,to tackle its infamous novelty wave.

“I think I caught the largest bounce wave of my entire life this day,” Blair says. He describes sununga as home to “one of the most miraculous wedging wave we have ever seen,” explaining that “an almost unnatural looking rock wall converts the energy of a wave from one direction in to another with almost perfect efficiency. When one wave crashes in to the rock wall, another wave with almost the same energy bounces off and travels perpendicular to the beach. There is really no other wave like this in the entire world.”

Conklin’s trip coincided with a United Skim Tour contest in Brazil, where local surfer Lucas Fink emerged victorious. The Sununga wave,located in the Ubatuba region,is renowned for its unpredictable and hazardous nature,drawing comparisons to The Wedge in California,but with amplified intensity.

The Perils of Sununga

“I probably had my closest,almost in trouble,situation that I’ve had in a very long time.”

Even Blair Conklin, experienced in navigating challenging waves, faced a precarious situation at Sununga. He recounted nearly being trapped against the rocks during a rising swell.

“I probably had my closest, almost in trouble, situation that I’ve had in a very long time,” the Laguna Beach skimmer recalled. “It just got really big. I got one fun one, and I got kinda bated in. I whent out for another one, then a big set came. I tried to duckdive the first wave of the set, and I didn’t make it. I got ripped back in. There was a second, third, and fourth wave. By the time I got hit by the fourth wave, I was pretty winded and close to the rock. Thankfully I was also pretty close to the beach. I was stoked to be touching the sand. Two more waves on the head, I probably could’ve blacked out.”