Martin Daly (born 1957)[1] is an Australian Captain and surfer who is known for his surf discoveries aboard the M.V. Indies Trader and is known as "surfing's most iconic boat captain".[2]

Martin Daly
Martin Daly looking out from the Wheelhouse of the M.V. Indies Trader
Born (1957-05-25) May 25, 1957 (age 66)
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Captain, Surfer
Known forCaptain of MV Indies Trader

Early life edit

Martin Meg Daly was born on the northern beaches of Sydney, but moved to Queensland at age 11 where surfing isn't possible.[3] By age 16, he left home and lived in New Zealand. By 1981, he left to South East Asia doing marine diving jobs.[4] In 1981, he worked with friends Jeff Chitty and Ross Hannon, and they began working with a salvage diver and boat captain, Dave Barnett, on his boat The Rader.

Surf Exploration edit

One Palm Point Discovery edit

In April 1983, Martin and his friends Jeff Chitty, Ross Hannon, Robert Wilson, and Wylie convinced Dave Barnett to explore some potential surf breaks aboard The Rader, and found waves at Painatan, in Sunda, Indonesia.[5] Martin paddled out alone and caught the first known wave at the surf break. They called it One Palm Point, because there was one palm tree in front of the line where surfers would take off.[2]

The M.V. Indies Trader edit

In 1990, with Dave Barnett's boat, The Rader, falling into disrepair, and trouble with local authorities off of disputes of treasure the crew found, Martin borrowed money from everyone he could, and purchased The Rader from Dave Barnett.[6] Renaming a boat is known as bad-luck to sailors, so he kept the original Rader name, by adding Indies T-Rader. He painted it blue to disguise it, and was the now registered as the M.V. Indies Trader.[4]

Lance's Right edit

In 1991, Lance Knight hired a local man in a canoe to explore the Mentawai Island chain, and found a surf break. After a couple weeks of surfing it alone, Martin Daly and the Indies Trader stumbled upon Lance, and Martin named the break "Lance's Right" after him.[7] One of the crew had betamax video footage of this encounter, was not shown publicly until 2009.[8]

The Quiksilver Crossing edit

Supported by the United Nations, Quiksilver organized a seven-year trip around the world, discovering new surf breaks, as well as checking on the coral health around the globe. The Crossing has been heralded as one of the most groundbreaking moments in surf history.[9] The voyage took them to 56 countries and 26 states and four territories, they discovered more than 115 new surf breaks,[9] as well as going over 160,000 nautical miles, the equivalent of circumnavigating the world 8 times.[4]

Film and TV Appearances edit

Martin Daly, and his boat Indies Trader boats have been featured in many surf movies and TV shows.

References edit

  1. ^ "Daly, Martin". Encyclopedia of Surfing by Matt Warshaw. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Discovering the Mentawais with Martin Daly in 4K". gopro.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  3. ^ "The Surfer Interview: Martin Daly". SURFER Magazine. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "INFLUENCERS: MARTIN DALY". Surfline.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  5. ^ balisurfstories (2 January 2012). "Guest post, Robert Wilson: First (known) surf at One Palm Point, Panaitan Island". Bali and Indo Surf Stories. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Mentawais Surf Charter in Indonesia". Indies Trader. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Finding The Perfect Wave With Lance Knight". Tracks. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Martin Daly". ESPN.com. 19 July 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b Woodsmall, Michael. "Quik Crossing Eco Survey "The Greatest Surf Adventure Ever"". The Inertia. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  10. ^ "October '05 - Surfers Of Fortune: Quiksilver's Young Guns 2". SURFER Magazine. 23 August 2005. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Surfing Mentawais Red Bull Minor Threat Photostory". Red Bull. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Em Busca do Último Paraíso". Globosat Play. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  13. ^ Proximity, retrieved 5 March 2019
  14. ^ "What Happened To The Best Surf Film Ever Made?". Stab Magazine. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  15. ^ Nuclear Sharks, retrieved 26 March 2019

External links edit