"Deadly Perfect:" How SURFER Revealed a Top-Secret Indian Ocean Military Base
The United States Air Force is currently deploying a number of B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers to the tiny Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. A show of force in the volatile Middle East, "this unusual movement of stealth bombers may indicate preparations for potential strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen or serve as a deterrent message to Iran," reports ArmyRecognition.com.
In full transparency, no top secret war plans have been sent to any of the editorial team at SURFER via encrypted group chats. Additionally, we are not currently in communication with any of the leadership at the U.S. Defense Department or Homeland Security ... but I'm sure they have our numbers if they want to loop us in.
Point being, Diego Garcia is holding some A-plus surf, and in 1982, about the same time President Ronald Regan was setting his sights on Iran, SURFER received an unlikely dispatch from the middle of the Indian Ocean. At only 11 square miles, Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago, but besides secret U.S. and British military personnel, nobody's allowed on the island. Which is a bummer because there's a reef break there that looks a whole like like Cloudbreak in Fiji.
"In 1975 a young sailor from Palos Verdes named Tom Cress became the first person to surf Diego Garcia," wrote Mike Perry in the August 1982 issue of SURFER.
"Carrying his trusty 8'6" pintail he was fortunately equipped for the down-the-line tube. Diego Garcias has little else in the way of surf. Coral reef points and angled staghorn coral shelfs offered waves that wound for 100 to 150 yards. Never under four feet and very often too big, the waves were deadly perfect," wrote Perry."The main hazards were no other surfers, shallow coral, fire coral, stonefish, and a variety of hungry, nosey sharks. This guy had more shark encounters than you could point a bangstick at," described Perry.
"I joined the Navy as a screwed up kid and got out with a trade. I also got to surf Diego Garcia and I'm hoping this piece might help some other poor grunt headed that way," conceded Cress at the end of the piece.
Funny side note, there's a special thanks to Daryl Diamond at the end of the magazine piece for connecting Perry and Cress. Diamond was a pit boss for Clark Foam and a key player in the Dana Point Mafia scene. Today, his son, Eric, is the pit boss for the Dana Point Surf Club, has run the Cosmic Creek Festival for over 20 years, and is a true ambassador of stoke. He's also one of the little babies in the opening scene of the Jimi Hendrix movie "Rainbow Bridge," which is rad.
As for Diego Garcia, you'll have to enlist and or get an invite from a top secret group text to get on the island. But should you find your way to that tiny speck of sand and stealth bombers in the Indian Ocean, pack a pin-tail. It's holding.
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Buzz Feed
20 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
34 Well-Known But Misunderstood International Dishes
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My favorite is sweetened whipping cream as a dressing for equal parts chopped apples and Snickers bars." "Akutaq from Alaska. Dried and pulverized moose or caribou tenderloin blended with moose fat until the mixture is light and fluffy." "It is then whisked with berries, especially cowberry, bilberry, cranberries, bearberry, crowberry, salmonberry, cloudberry or low-bush salmonberry, raspberry, blueberry, or prickly rose or mild sweeteners such as roots of Indian potato or wild carrot. It may be eaten unfrozen or frozen, with the frozen variety vaguely resembling commercial ice cream."—wootentoo "The first and only time I have ever had Vegemite was not good. I was hung over and my roommate said: 'Here, have a bite of this, it'll clear your head.' It cleared many things, but not my head." "I used to have Italian flatmates, and they would lose it when I opened the kimchi jar. 'Que Puzza!' Then, they would go and make risotto with a pound of parmesan that stunk the whole place." 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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Celebrities and rugby stars complete cycle for MND research in Dublin
Sports stars and celebrities have completed a cycle around the island of Ireland to raise funds for research into motor neurone disease (MND). The 555-mile cycle set off from Belfast on Sunday in memory of the late Scottish rugby star Doddie Weir. Weir died of MND aged 52 in November 2022, after years of campaigning to raise awareness of the condition and funds for research. Scottish rugby star Kenny Logan and broadcaster Gabby Logan were among those who took part in Doddie'5 Lions Challenge, cycling around 100 miles a day for six days. The husband and wife said thinking of how the 'cruel' disease takes away a person's control of their body inspired them to keep going along the most gruelling parts of the cycle. There were joyous scenes in Dublin as the team completed the journey, celebrating by popping bottles of pink prosecco and ordering rounds of Guinness. Among those who crossed the finish line in Stillorgan were ex-footballer Ally McCoist, actor Jamie Bamber, former Harlequins player Mel Deane, and cancer campaigner Iain Ward. The journey will continue at the British and Irish Lions' 1888 Cup clash with Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, with the cyclists delivering the match ball which travelled along the 555-mile cycle with them. McCoist said he had a view of the ball at the back of Kenny Logan's bike 'going up every hill'. He added: 'I know for a fact the one thing about these people over here, they love their sport, they love their rugby, and they love good people attempting to do good things, and I think when they get with that match ball tonight, I think the reception will be absolutely fantastic.' Speaking to the PA news agency, Kenny Logan thanked the people of Ireland for cheering them on along the way by beeping horns and donating any amount they could. He said: 'We went to one coffee shop, told her what we were doing. She said 'My uncle died of MD'. She gave us 50 coffees and all the food for free. So it's been amazing.' Gabby Logan said the final day was 'really physically challenging', as they climbed 1,250 metres in a few hours, but also provided a profound moment for the cyclists through stunning scenery in Co Wicklow. 'There was quite a lot of solitude today, because we weren't going through villages and towns, we were going through beautiful scenery. (It gave) a lot of time for people to think about why they're doing this today, and you can see the outpouring of emotion at the end,' she told PA. 'It's about finding cure and a solution to a terrible, terrible disease which just rips away people and their lives and at the moment, there's no hope.' Asked about the cruel effect the disease has on a person's control of their body, the couple said it helped get them through the tough parts of the cycle. Gabby Logan said: 'When you're out there and you're on the bike, and it's tiring, your body's aching, and I think 'how lucky am I that I could do that', you know? So that's why you keep going.' Kenny Logan added: 'What Gabby said, think 'you can do these things, people with MD can't'. 'The mind is so powerful. If you get your mind right, your body will follow you, and the one thing with MD, you can have the strongest mind in the world, but your body ain't gonna follow you. 'In those dark moments, when you're up the hills, and you're really struggling sometimes, I just think I just want to get off my bike and I was determined not to off my bike because we can move our legs, we can control ourselves. 'So it's been amazing. Everybody has been amazing. It's just incredible.' Asked what Weir would have thought of on Friday, he said: 'He'd think we're idiots, genuinely.' He said it was 'amazing' to have Weir's wife Kathy on the cycle on the final day, and to have Doddie's son Hamish following the cycle for the week, who was originally meant to take part but had broken his shoulder. Gabby said: 'He'd love this now. He'd love what's going to happen next with everybody going to the game tonight. 'He was so synonymous with the British and Irish Lions and loved in this country as (he was in) every country that he went to. Doddie was one of those people that just really resonated with people.' The challenge has raised more than £557,000 for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which Weir set up in 2017, a year after being diagnosed with MND. Kenny Logan said: 'When he first started the foundation, he was thinking 'how can I find a cure?' 'And very quickly he realised it wasn't about him. He realised it's his job to try and find a cure for the person who will get it today or tomorrow.' McCoist, while holding a celebratory pint of Guinness, said that they had been well looked after while on the journey. He said the scenery of the island was a highlight, saying that it reminded of home. 'I'm a west coast of Scotland man, and it's so similar, absolutely beautiful, green – in some places it's almost lunar with the rocks – it was fantastic. The weather we've had last couple of days, beautiful greenery over the Guinness Lake,' he told PA. 'So we're gonna come back, no bikes involved, I'm gonna take the car and we're gonna do a little bit of tour. No bike next time, I can assure you.' Asked about MND, he said: 'It's arguably the cruellest and most horrible of diseases when you see what it does to you, it eats away at you. 'Big Doddie, what a figure, not just in the rugby world throughout the UK and Ireland, all over. He's just a lovable, big character, and it shows no mercy, the disease. 'You see what it's done to a lot of people, you know, top sports stars, and it doesn't matter who you are, any walk of life, it doesn't pick and choose. It's a horrible, horrible disease. 'I think we're all duty bound to attempt to do something about it. If we can help, no matter how small you might think it may be, you've got to do it, because we have to find a cure for it.'
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Teen goes viral after bringing 200 tortillas on Texas flight
When H-E-B heard about the teen's TikTok, the company chimed in: 'Gotta keep those in the carry on. Don't want to chance them getting misplaced." A TikTok user has gone viral and sent thousands of people into laughter after sharing a video of herself bringing 200 tortillas onto a plane in Texas. TikToker Anna Jones recorded the video in the early morning hours of June 14. As she stood in line at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, she captured footage of her fellow unsuspecting travelers. "All these people and no one knows I have 200 HEB tortillas in my backpack," Jones wrote, referring to the grocery supermarket chain H-E-B. Once she made it onto the plane, the bag of tortillas was quite the heavy lift. 'I struggled to get that in the overhead carrier, but it went OK,' she said. USA TODAY contacted H-E-B and the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport about tortillagate. Here is the story on tortillagate and the laughter that ensued once social media users got wind of it. What's with all the tortillas? Jones is 17 and lives in Nashville, Tennessee, she told USA TODAY on June 20. She had previously flown to Texas to visit her father and the University of Texas at Austin campus, she said. Because there is no H-E-B near her in Tennessee, Jones makes sure she stocks up when she visits Texas, she said, adding that she and her father have done this at least three times. Jones is part of a family of six, and they go through tortillas quickly, she said. Last time, her dad got her about 200 to 300 tortillas, and they lasted a few months, she added. 'We bring them home, and we can freeze them, and we just use them until they run out,' Jones said. 'They normally last about two months.' Jones said she usually always gets flagged by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for carrying tubes of toothpaste that are too big, but she wasn't stopped for her tortillas. 'I just went on through,' she said. 'Nothing happened. It was pretty obvious that it was tortillas. This is kind of normal for them, I guess.' Southwest Airlines, which Jones flew with, states that TSA has a list of approved items travelers can put in checked or carry-on bags. Bread and other solid food items are permitted, per the database. 'TSA officers may instruct travelers to separate items from carry-on bags such as foods, powders, and any materials that can clutter bags and obstruct clear images on the X-ray machine,' TSA said on its website. 'Travelers are encouraged to organize their carry-on bags and keep them uncluttered to ease the screening process and keep the lines moving.' H-E-B: 'Gotta keep those in the carry on' Jones said once she makes it home to Tennessee with her H-E-B tortillas, she likes to make them with pork, lime crema, and also quesadillas with beans, cheese and chicken. When H-E-B heard about the post, the company chimed in: 'Gotta keep those in the carry on. Don't want to chance them getting misplaced.' Jones replied and let the company know she could always use more tortillas. As of June 20, she hasn't heard back. The social media response her post garnered has been fun to be part of, Jones said. 'I immediately texted my dad because he grew up in Austin, so he loves H-E-B,' she said. 'He texted all of his friends from high school. I thought that was pretty funny.' She also said it has been funny seeing folks debate about the quality of tortillas and what makes them tasty. Some TikTokers shared their own stories about traveling with food. 'I had 75 pounds of food in a suitcase to NYC,' wrote one user. 'I need yall to restock the cold/hot bags please. Going on a run again this month.' Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
