Straight off the plane from Nazare and Tim Bonython is into the maelstrom that has been the East Coast. First stop, Cape Solander on an east-northeast swell, squaring up against the rocks and offering little escape.
The dark and foamy water adding to the sense of foreboding.
"That board felt like the starting point for a new life."
The inner mechanics of Russell's mind.
Sniffing out the bounty on land and at sea.
From a day with a low wave count yet high consequence.
Like a hundred social media clips joined together but not on social media.
Seeking darkness on a sunny day.
And Matahi lifts the bar yet again.
Bite size humans in king size waves.
Comments
Another great video. I would like to know how many injuries get sustained during these swell events?
'Jet ski encounters with paddle surfers' might need to be a new category of injury along with 'shark encounters' methinks.
Unreal..F#ckers are Mad
WSL Give Cleveland a go on the Mic let him call a couple of Bells heats
Big Wayne and Strider together would be Gold..
Unreal footage but wrong swell direction means less tube time and more racing, outrunning the barrel..also more deadly.
I agree Udo Wayne sounds likea funny bastard..dont think he is from Cronulla though i think hes a Bra lad.
Didn't look like they were motoring till they get airborne on tube exit
Didn't look like they were motoring till they get airborne on tube exit
Thats entertaining !
Would love to see it close up in the flesh.
It looks a lot more deadly in person in the flesh.
In the 90's it was rarely surfed and was seen as a death slab almost unridable by most surfers.
I cheked it often along with suck rock and voodoo, merries reefs in the 90's and 2000's and never saw anyone out except my older brother.
I Preferred suck rock or voodoo on similar swells and lowtides.
When koby tried to take over and ban lids my brother started surfing it at night..
Great footage. Corny music.
Yeah,gota take some lickins to get some sick one's!!
Fucking embarrassing those these peanuts towing in around paddle surfers.
Basically all those waves could have been paddled by very good surfers.
They shouldn’t be given any press, only fines for being kooks.
Kirk Flintoff @ 16:03. Ouch!
15:24 the most relatable moment in the flick for me. Got that move on lock
Cheers for the surfing (sort of), thumbs up for WC commentary.
Jeers for that God-awful music.
Hey Tim.
Your cinematography skills are excellent but your choices of accompanying music are generally appalling.
Luckily the viewer can control that.
Cheers,
Ringa
Nice groundy
Yeh,I dunno,its a nauseating wave and I think the soundtrack goes with it.
What are they feeding those other camera guys.
Tims lunch?
I sympathise with the boogers out there. They basically pioneered the place before a bunch of schoolyard bullies took over. Now they have to put up with people towing in. I reckon if you're not up to paddling in then best to leave it to the boogers.
As far as i know Ox mckinley, shark island local and shortboarder was one of the first to regularly surf it in the 90's. It was surfed before him in the 80's by kurnell kneeboarders but then left alone for a while and was mostly left unridden. Ox started surfing it before gav proctor (bodyboarder) and other lids.
My brother didnt surf it untill the 2000's i think.
In my opinion it was too backwashy for me and i couldnt figure out a way to get out of the water once id finish surfing it. thats the major problem with surfing it, getting out of the lineup safely.
Also its almost always backwashy.
Suckrock voodoo and shark island are way better waves and i didnt have any trouble scoring waves at those waves so didnt bother surfing the cape.
I just liked watching it.
Few sore throats red eyes and ear infections after that sesh I reckon... crazy waves!!
Ground swell if crew were surfing it at night thats pretty nuts. Particularly liked the report of slater and dorian surfing by themselves at restaurants with no one. Love hearing stories like this. Got any shots of ox?
I once shared shots of Ox surfing shark island but cant find them. there are vids of shark island with ox getting all the best waves surrounded by lids kooking it but not all time shark island..its pretty hard to find good vids on youtube of shark island at its best.
Ox is the only surfer allowed to surf shark island at the same time as the shark island challenge.. (bodyboard comp)Terapai would also be allowed as he is the best cronulla surfer but is often away on musician trips around australia.
just had a look at the Cronulla surf history site. nice work
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So why is anyone towing right next to paddle surfers? That Kip Kaddy guy seems to be the biggest culprit, right next to the other peanut Dylan Longbottom. Isnt he a Canguu local now?
Surely those guys are good enough to paddle it. and they should be given ZERO press for the dog act of towing through the pack of paddle surfers.
In my late 60’s now and I’ve travelled and surfed with a lot of people I wouldn’t want to surf with again. Kip is one of the most respectful and low key high performance and capable surfers I’ve ever met! From what I’ve experienced and witnessed there is really great communication amongst those out at Cape.
ol fella doing o.k. and busy doing East Coast Deliverys
Carefully cropped out the paddle surfers he would have towed between. He obviously has the ability to paddle those waves. he should put the ski away
I can't speak for everyone there, but in general the crew all know each other. If someone asks for a rope they'll get thrown it even if they're paddling.
It's a little scene unto itself so there's no real need to get angry.
Also, trust me, the wave is far harder than any video makes it appear, and that's especially so in east swells. The issue isn't the rocks that spectators stand on but the shelf directly in front of the takeoff zone. It's not dry, you can't see it on video, but it's only a foot or two deep and if you go down you will hit it. Every single time.
fair enough Stu, and i can understand that to an extent. Ive never seen the wave, im sure its crazy.
I guess its more an issue when the absolute kooks take their skis out at 3 - 4 foot Goldy after watching this and do the same thing.
I surfed Kirra two weeks ago, it was 4 foot max and a ski pulls up next to the small crowd and starts towing.
No sweep, tide was still high so only the larger waves were really doing it. It really kills the vibe.
Yep, can understand that, but at this point at least, there's no real equivalence with the Goldy where you have a broad pool of paddle surfers and a handful of skis taking all the sets at paddle-friendly waves.
Haven't surfed the Cape in a while, and the last few times I didn't like the wake and fumes, but I was very clearly the odd one out. The culture there largely accepts it.
After a minute and a half I had come up with thirty reasons not to go out. Stopped at that point. Just the poisonous foam was sufficient.
This is mental gear, no question. Bodyboarder dropping in on bodyboarder was funny, probably had a legit excuse that he didn’t see him in the foam.
Haven’t seen a Dylan board I didn’t drool over, just a little bit.