Yikes.
Cape Solander, that terrifying mutant breaking oddly close to Sydney’s airport, is one of the waves I do not want to surf. Derek Rielly, on the other hand, has been barreled out there though it is uncertain if he was in the water, days ago, when the slab roared to life.
Well, Derek or no, the filmmaker Scott Gudahl was there for the show and penned:
One of the scariest waves in the world woke up this week and the crew from Sydney and beyond showed up. It’s like a gladiator pit. Standing just feet away from chaos. 20’ waves breaking just feet from the rocks. Truly what slab surfing embodies. Guts, grit, and a whole lot of chaos. When a swell like this lines up on the east coast there is only one place I want to be watching and it’s on the cliff of Cape Solander. I Want to give a huge shout out to everyone that showed up this day. Truly one of the greatest shows on earth. Pictured on the thumbnail is Lucas Chumbo, and showcased in the video, Lucas fink sending it at the slab on his skimboard!! Hughie Vaughn, Kipp Caddy, Lex Oconnor, Tom Myers, Jughead, jackisbaker, Xavier Stark, Jesse Polock, Dylan Longbottom, roodot, Max Mcguigan and many others! Been a crazy month of swell here in Australia! Feeling blessed to call this place home.
Watch now.
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I think I watched the wrong video because I didn’t see any 20′ waves orrrrrrrrrr OZ 20′ is different than HI 20′. either way I want my money back.
Now for the real surfing stuff.
Shocking news out of Margaret River.
Tyler Wright has pulled out of the competition due to an injury….who’d of thunk?
It’s just East Coast Oz that does that, but still please accept an apology from us southern and western heathens.
Xox
At 3:59 someone got an epic photo.
kinda shit that used to make magazine covers. That you blow up and put on a wall.
Trump at it again, posting AI photos of him with celebrities. Jared Leto, I think? Chas would say Dylan Graves though.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
That’s some creepy ass man love/bumhole fingering shit going on there.
A grand tug sesh was had!
Xox
actually , Jesus would forgive donny…..but then donny’s actions would betray the forgiveness……the outcry from the white right evangelists about trumps blasphemy….the best is from hesgeths pastor …..the crusader culture church…….calls for him to stoned to death for blasphemy…….so trumo went a got a bong and is trying to stone himself to death…LOL
Does anyone still call it “Ours”
The Maroubra crew likely does, just not the lids they stole the wave from.
Think its now know as Everybodys. Out!
I put it to you that riding a jet ski at speed, within a few metres of paddle surfers, in order to snake them with your mate towed behind is the biggest dog act in surfing.
It’s basically saying-“ Sure, there’s a chance we could kill or maim you but the desire to catch your waves is greater than my care for your health. Your life is a price we are willing to pay for a wonky , fucked out photo opportunity “
That doesn’t even factor in the wake, the noise and the supreme entitlement of the act.
0/5 stars.
Time flies so this may have been 10 years ago but I remember some pretty famous Australian pros and their shapers blasting through the crowd on a bigger day at Kirra.
More recent than that. Happens every massive swell. Part of the game now, it seems.
Seems like its accepted at Ours since the paddle crew typically can’t get into the waves they tow into.
I am curious if that is something you would say to the face of Richie Vas or Koby though?
Dont think Koby gets out there much these days.
Yeah, that’s not the point of the question.
Just a comment. Not an answer. Apologies.
No apologies, just mucking around messing with Gila as yesterday he said he would never post anything he wouldn’t say to a persons face.
If you paddle out at Ours you’re willingly putting your ass on the line that makes getting buzzed by jet skis less offensive than at a big day at Kirra.
edit: Also I’m not saying shit to the guy at the top of the pecking order at his spot for stuff like this, regardless if he could kick my ass or not.
The answer to your question is both simple and complex.
Whilst I haven’t been out Solander, I imagine the crowd dynamics are not unlike other places frequented by skis. There will be guys in the paddle mob that have/ had a ski and they’re totally cool with the idea of someone else doing it that day.
There will be guys that are mates / acquaintances of the blokes on the ski and who don’t want confrontation, or to upset the cool kids or are maybe hoping that the ski guys will throw them a crumb or two by towing them in a time. Some people don’t want to look like worrying old women by voicing their concerns at the danger and in some rare instances the blokes driving the skis are actually violent thugs who use intimidation to silence dissent.
So it’s not hard for potentially life threatening behaviour to be excused or at the very least tolerated with a fake smile.
Meanwhile the reality is that someone could very easily be killed. It’s only a thin margin of user error preventing an accident causing death. Sure surfing is inherently a risky business but this isn’t surfing. It’s driving a motor vehicle at speed amongst pedestrians.
No way that the ski drivers who think it’s all good and to “ trust me, bro” would be cool with you doing burnouts in your car amongst their kids playing in the schoolyard during recess but the potential outcome is exactly the same. The only difference being who is on the receiving end when shit goes wrong.
As to your question would I specifically call out Koby Abberton on it? It depends. If it was in his area I would probably just go in and let them have their junky urban shit. If it was in my area…well it just so happens that the Bra boys come here from time to time and are pretty well behaved. I haven’t seen Koby specifically. There’s no need to call them out because they don’t act like fuckwits. In fact a mob of them come here annually and are quite gracious when surfing the waves around here. Friendly, polite and appreciative of what the area represents. But if they put my life in potential danger I would spark up immediately, same as anyone.
There are ski cowboys who I’ve surfed with and have called out. It’s actually quite difficult because they are driving a noisy, fast vehicle whilst you are paddling slowly. Thing is that the guys on the skis are not invincible either. Violence is not a one way street. They may have no idea who they’re driving around until they face the consequences.
There was a case around here not that long ago where a tourist got called out for driving like a muppet ( and taking photos) , tried to run over the bloke paddling when he didn’t like the criticism and wound up getting the fuck punched out of him.
Skis are one of the worst things to happen to surfing. I got one just to compete with the arms race in the lineup because it was getting pointless paddling amongst them. Soon realised I hated them and just avoid them where I can now.
They doubtlessly open up incredible opportunities to catch waves you might not otherwise look at or be able to access. And ironically enough, unbeatable when it comes to rescues and water safety. Not my scene though. Give me a board and a silent, wake-free lineup everyday of the week even if that’s a bit more restrictive.
Such a shame.
Damn G, I was just messing around but that is a very detailed response. I don’t necessarily disagree with any of it. Onya!
(I still don’t think you’d say anything to Richie Vas regardless of where it is) 🤣😂🤙
Why not? Not like we have to duke it out. He might well be a reasonable bloke.
Richie V is a great bloke….more than reasonable and also understands he’s a bit of a weapon…so will always talk thing out…..
here I am ,LOL!
Ok in a sense you are right , there was an unwritten law amongst the First tow crews…if paddle surfers were out, stop and pull up the rope.
Once at Margs , my mate and I were waiting for s super low tide to tow the Margs bombie…..10 -12′ perfection…..a guy paddled out so we stopped and went elsewhere…later in the car park , the guy came uo to us and went..” hey why didn’t you come out and tow ,I paddled out to watch you….so 3 hrs of perfect surf missed….but , we went somewhere else for the first time….and surfed what I consider the best wave Barrel fest in the SW region.
We were very conscious of the negativity with Jet Skis…..and a lot of people don’t understand that the world of Tow allowed a whole new dimension of surfing/design in waves never attempted before so the pioneering of new waves and equipment became my F 1 testing M O….what an adventure and the results speak for them selves in the testing of fins/bottom contours/ and of course the surfing of waves that had never been done before……..so there’s the purist side of towing..
what we are seeing now is PWC’s used as taxi’s/step offs , breaking all the maritime laws…so is it greed that surfers want more , or is the better surfers trying to beat the crowds , or they are towing for photo’s/sponsors…and therefore consider they are working??
The big question is…..if there were no cameras allowed…..how many surfers would there be out there.
PS when someone finally gets really hurt or dies….then the shit will hit the fan and probably be more regulated as you would probably go for manslaughter…or be culpable for any injuries/costs…
Ain’t no Cardiff by the sea Charles
I surfed Cardiff Reef 3x last week, didn’t see Chas once.
I’m convinced he’s the one pursuing ballet