At Your Own Risk: Finding Waves In Dangerous Waters

Reconciling the perfect waves and terrifying truths of Runion Island's shark-laden coast.

- Words and Photography by Alan Van Gysen

It was just a few days before our departure to Réunion Island when we heard the news: 13-year old local surfer Elio Canestri had been fatally attacked by a bull shark on the island’s west coast near Saint-Gilles. Every surfer on the island knew Canestri, and the tragedy struck a painful chord within the local surf community. “Elio was one of our best up-and-coming surfers,” said fellow Réunion native Jeremy Flores. “Words can’t describe how sad and angry I am… It’s heartbreaking news.”

Canestri’s death sent shockwaves throughout the island that were still being felt when I stepped off the plane with California surfer Dillon Perillo and South Africa’s Brendon Gibbens. Outside of Roland Garros Airport near Saint-Denis, we bumped into a Réunion local who eyed our board bags incredulously. “You here for surf ?” he asked in his thick Réunion-French accent. “Er…yeah,” replied Gibbens hesitantly. The man put his hands in front of his face, opening and closing them in the universal symbol of a shark bite.

I could almost see the blood drain from Gibbens’ face as he turned to me. He was silent, but his eyes spoke volumes: “Why did we come here?”

Perhaps the non-refundable tickets had something to do with it. Most surfers would have reconsidered going on a surf trip to Réunion in light of the recent events, but we knew there would be inherent risk even before we booked our flights. We went against the urging of our families and our own better judgment, tricking ourselves into thinking that Réunion’s world-class waves were worth the risk, the same way the handful of core locals still rationalizes paddling into those troubled waters.