Thursday, August 30th, 2007
The weather has been pretty ordinary in sou’ west WA for the last week or so with howling onshores and sporadic bursts of torrential rain, real fire-and-brimstone kinda stuff. So instead of trying to make bad surf look good I’ve put together a few shots from a recent nor’ west WA desert mission which I overlooked in the first edit.
Looking at these shots reminds me just how beautiful the north west of WA is at this time of year - sunny, blue sky forever, warm clear water…
But despite the tranquil surrounds, the surf is fierce.
You really get a feel for how heavy the waves are in some of these shots with the water draining off the reef, throwing steps and disfigurements into the wave face. Making a barrel on a set wave out here will muster all your tube riding skills. Mandurah grom, Jerome Forrest came seriously unstuck in July when he got pitched and the lip landed on his leg, clefting his femur clean in twain. East Coaster Dean Harrington, Hawaiian Mark Healey and local legend Dave Mac make it look easy…
It’s good getting to know some new people in the lineup too. You can rely on meeting mellow, down to earth crew in the water and in the camp. The bloke in the below shot is a middle aged accountant from Perth who recently picked up a surf board again for the first time in 20 years. He sat out the back of the pack waiting patiently for his waves, selectively picking off some of the best sets of the day. He paddled out past me after one howler with a big smile on his face and exclaimed that it was the best wave of his life…I was stoked to get it on film.
And how’s this grom - he’s a first year law student from Perth. You don’t see many law students charging barrels like this…
Things are looking a bit better for the weekend…some solid lumps on the horizon, yeww!
>>ww
