While Queensland’s surfers wake up to a dawn patrol at 5 degree temperates this week, fortunate surfers from all over the world are chilling out in a different way, they’re hitting the Mentawai Islands. We’re jealous.

“In June of 2014, we spent 11 days surfing the Mentawai Islands. The conditions were perfect the entire trip with light offshore winds and plenty of swell to go around. I was able to capture some pretty interesting angles using Phyllis (name of my drone). Enjoy the highlights of our trip and experience the beauty of the Islands from above.” Says the man known only as ‘The Bird’ from Sydney.

As you might have deduced, ‘The Bird’ flies a drone (or a quadcopter, or UAV, whatever). Which is fast becoming the norm for all good surfing movies thanks to the stable platform, unique (well, it used to be) viewing angle and ‘swooshyness’ that film-makers of yesteryear could only dream of. Blue water, tropical islands and white sand are the perfect recipe for aerial videography, so prepare yourself, jealousy is immanent. The surfing’s not bad either.

Don’t get too used to this aerial footage however. Aviation regulatory bodies all over the world are cracking down on the use of ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ for any use, including recreational filming. The FAA in the U.S.A this week announced new laws which effectively ban the use of all small UAV’s (it used to just be for commercial purposes). Australia isn’t far behind them, and neither is Europe. Breaking these laws involve some hefty fines, confiscation of the equipment and even jail time in the US, but things in the Mentawai Islands aren’t as heated just yet. Will this be one of the last great aerial surfing movies?

Check it out and see for yourself.

#News #Surfing