“You can’t order surf when you travel,” Duct Tape founder Joel Tudor said about the conditions at the event’s latest stop in Ericeira, Portugal. While the ocean, unlike Burger King, may not always let us “have it our way,” perfect surf isn’t required for a good time. And at each Duct Tape event, fun is just as much a constant as the single-finned logs—regardless of what the ocean gifts to, or withholds from, the venue. The first stop of the Duct Tape’s 2019 season was far from a skunk though. The section-y and head-high crumblers that rolled into Ericeira were more than contestable for the invitees.




While Kaniela Stewart and Chloé Calmon board transferred and cross-stepped their ways to champagne showers at the Invitational, some of Vans’ team riders were busy mowing foam. One of the ways the Duct Tape Festival gives back to the local surf communities is by allowing locals free reign on the boards made by the Vans team. Designs from fishes to mid-lengths materialized at the hands of Ivan Florence, Harry Bryant, Ainara Aymat and James Parry. Local test pilots of the quiver said the boards were fun and super good—the type of detailed feedback every shaper likes to hear.




The Iberian coast is riddled with nooks and crannies were wedges lurk. Aerial maestro Nathan Fletcher snuck away from the festivities with a crew of Vans’ shredders to hunt some ramps. After breaking down the difference between magic and shitty boards in the most black-and-white way possible, Fletcher put a snub-nosed quad to work in the punt-able surf.




Hit play to watch the good times roll above and stay tuned for the DTI’s next stop at the US Open.