Ben Gravy on his first novelty wave expedition since undergoing bicep surgery. Photo: Ben Gravy//YouTube
Ben Gravy is back! In late June, the YouTuber and novelty wave hunter made a cautious return to surf after a brutal bicep injury rendered him land-bound for four and a half months. With a recent expedition to surf a tanker wave, Gravy has finally gotten back to his novelty wave bread and butter.
The target for Gravy and crew’s strike mission was a tanker called the CSL Tacoma. Surprisingly, the ship was more of an elusive quarry than its size would suggest. Due to the vagaries of shipping lanes and schedules, the Tacoma only creates a surfable wave a few times a year. This wasn’t even the crew’s first time tracking it down, but Gravy himself had never gotten a shot at the wave the first time around.
“This is it. All the stars have aligned. Everything’s in our favor,” said Ben, as he excitedly waxed up a foam board. “We’re going to be riding a tanker wave in Philadelphia today. What a way to be welcomed back to novelty surfing.”
In the end, Ben’s optimism was only partially rewarded. While the crew managed to snag a few ankle-high waves to stand up on, it was nothing like the full-on peelers of the first mission to the CSL Tacoma. On the other hand, as Gravy explained afterwards, “Tanker surfing is kind of about the hunt. It’s about the mission, and it’s just a bonus if you actually end up scoring a wave.”
Afterwards, Gravy took the viewers with him on a trip to the doctor. There, he was reminded of how far he’s come from the injury that seemed like it might take away his passion and livelihood, and how far he still has to go. “Definitely another reminder of how injured I actually was,” he explained to the camera. “It’s really easy to forget. I have to go back again eight weeks from now to get the all-clear. So I’m on the right track, everything’s going well, but I am not quite there yet. [My doctor] does not want me in heavy, heavy surf. So, kind of wild.”
From there, Gravy turned introspective. ”I’m super stoked. It’s been good for me,” he said. “If you’re dealing with something like this, right now, just embrace it. You’re going to come out on the other side looking at life from a better lens, just a more positive lens. If injury is what it takes to keep me staying positive all these years, I’ll take it.”
