I'd been wanting to shoot fisheye out there for a while, but there's a size limit to the surf you can do it safely. With fisheye you've got to get close, real close, to the surfer and that means getting very close to the wave, and it's real dangerous getting caught in the impact zone there.

I figured a good eight foot would be the perfect size to shoot fisheye. After that there's a lot of current moving you around, pushing you into places you don't want to be.

The morning started off around eight foot so I put the fisheye on and swam out. Yet not long into the session the sets started getting bigger and bigger - ten foot, twelve foot, maybe even bigger - and it was utterly perfect. Not just big and perfect either, but consistent. There was a space there of about an hour, say between 8am and 9am where it just didn't stop.

There was a heavy crew just non-stop getting barrelled.

It was beyond what I wanted and I had to be really careful with the swell growing. I had my ski in the channel with another lens but it meant swimming there, then cleaning and drying everything down, and though it wasn't ideal it made more sense to stay and shoot what was happening right now.

That wave of Josh, it stood up and he just spun and went. He's probably about two metres away from me in the shot. It was heavy. I didn't see him afterwards, didn't see him come up or anything though I had to worry about myself. 

I spoke to him on Instagram later and he said the wave ripped off both flippers and the leash wrapped tight around his legs. He got flogged.

Later on the local boys were calling it the best it's been in seven years, as good as Mad Monday back in 2014.

If it ever happens again I'll be there and ready, next time with the right lens.

// LANCE MORGAN
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