As im sure you all will have heard, Noah Lane was recently crowned king of the winter session, banking a cool $20K for his troubles. Although this may sound like easy money, he has put a lot of time into making these sessions happen.
If you don’t know Noah, he’s a pretty un-assuming bloke hailing from a little place in Queensland called Rainbow Bay. He embarked on a journey through Europe a few years ago, landing in Cornwall for a summer before heading out to Ireland for a quick trip. Since that ‘quick trip’ he fell in love with the place and now lives there with his girlfriend Tara, spending the summer working and the winter waiting for windows like the vid below.
Noah has a certain flow with the waves in Ireland which make it a treat to watch. He has a very nonchalant attitude towards the slabbing waves, one that you cant really learn, you just have it or you dont. And he certainly has it. Give him a follow on all the usual social media outlets to keep up-to-date with him and check out the vids and pics on his team page.
We caught up with Noah after the dust settled to see how he feels after becoming the 20k man!
BB: So now the dust has settled, hows that big fat cheque feel in the back pocket? And how much was left over after that night?!
NL: Yeah it kinda hasn’t sunk in yet. I’ve had a pretty good week. Just spinning out mostly with how many people have gotten in touch to say congrats and stuff. Its really cool to think that many people care enough to send me a message. The good people at Shore Shots and The White Hag Brewery happened to put beers on the bar that night so thankfully my pockets weren’t totally empty the next day.
BB: That session looked pretty epic, hows this winter stacked up against the last few? Did being a big El Nino year affect the waves much this side you reckon?
NL: I don’t think I’ve really been here long enough to judge, plus us surfers have a short memory that tends to warp how good prior years were in retrospect. But I don’t think this year was necessarily the best. Definitely not for getting places like Mullaghmore. But I can’t complain, I still managed to get in the water a lot and enjoy the windows that we got.
BB: So since we first met, you seem to be a bit over the competing side of life (cant blame you) but has this left that winning taste in the mouth, maybe got a bit of hunger back? Or the opposite? Or is it just a nice bonus after putting in the hours?
NL: Yeah I suppose the contest thing doesn’t really get me going any more. I enjoy competing but if Im honest, I’d rather spend that money on going somewhere and hanging out for a while trying to get good waves rather than just what’s on offer during the waiting period of a contest. It’s definitely a nice bonus to share with Guy Mac and for sure will stoke the travel fire but that’s about it really.
BB: Whats the plan now?
NL: Summer is just around the corner and surfing time is kinda over for a while so it’ll be putting the head down for the next few months so I can get busy in the autumn.
BB: Now the real big question, having a ledge like Tara in your corner, what did you buy her out of your winnings?!
NL: Basically every one of my friends was there on the night they announced the Winter Session prize except Tara and it was a bummer for both of us. But she was off having a girls weekend in London so I know she had a good time regardless and probably did some celebrating on my behalf anyways. We’re having a BBQ with a bunch of mate this afternoon so that can be her party!
BB: Ha i hope they are some hellish steaks! Cheers Noah.
Check his vid here – https://www.vimeo.com/151652345
