One Shot: Nicholas Melman.
This session went down on a recent, unusually toasty winters day. After finishing the Sunday morning errands I checked the conditions and headed to one of the more fickle waves on my list with high hopes. Upon pulling up at the headland I immediately saw two nice runners come through. Decision made, I drove on to the parking spot to suit up.
I jumped in and began the long paddle out, swimming on my back looking up at the clear sky, distracting myself from the tales of what lurks below in the waters of the area. To my luck a ski driver was taking a mate in and offered myself a lift out halfway through my travels to the line up.
Greeted by all the regulars in the line up and some punchy, lightly offshore groomed 3 footers, I swam across and found my position on the midpoint of the reef. Shooting wide I was aiming for mid-barrel shots but with a second swell causing a bit of wobble in the lines. It was hit and miss for most of the day, but the weather was too glorious to let down anyone out.
During a flat period I headed to the other side of the reef, in hopes of shooting a left peak or a shot looking back into the rights, this proved fruitless and didn’t last long so I started heading back to the right when the wave pictured came in as I was sitting in dead center of the reef. Being caught off guard having the housing barely above water helped create the dramatic look of the wave.
Local legend and good mate of mine Jesse Landrigan had been chasing elusive ramps all day, this wave had some easterly wrap on it that often provides a hefty bowl so it was all go for him. Unfortunately all day the waves were deceiving, what looked to be a mellow section would draw all the water from the reef, the face would jack up and become a dry bottom slab…this wave was no exception. Shortly after this frame he fell from top to bottom with his arms and legs flailing waiting for the inevitable slap. He got washed in and as always, came up with a grin and laughed it off.
Shortly after we all called it a day and began to head in, unfortunately I tried to bodysurf a left and my camera leash snapped, a frantic swim was made to rescue it, before the next swell sent the housing into the exposed rocks on the inside of the reef. I reached it just in time but at the cost of having leg cramps for the remainder of the long, non-ski assisted paddle in.
