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\u201cIt\u2019s kind of the way I like to travel,\u201d he says. \u201cJust leave it open ended. See what the waves do. See where crew reckon will be good and just kind of go off that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standing around Nathan and Kipp are a crew of groms, some of them bodyboarders, the others tow-surfers whose mates are out there on the skis. One of the groms offers Kipp his inflatable suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy Mum would kill me if she knew I wasn\u2019t wearing this. You can use it if you want, but,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At some places on this Southern Australian coastline, Kipp and Nathan, with his GoPro and cameraman, Zoard, might not be met with such a friendly reception. But it\u2019s hard to be hostile to Nathan; he\u2019s smiling, shaking everyone\u2019s hand, and he\u2019s aware of the importance of treading lightly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are some places we just don\u2019t go. I get the crew who live there want to protect those waves, and that\u2019s cool. I respect that. I don\u2019t want to blow anything up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bodyboarder, Stoney, is the first to paddle out. He has flown down from the Sunny Coast, where he works as a concreter, for this swell. He lives for the death-defying thrill of stuffing his shaved, tattooed melon into twelve-foot glory holes. At these underground slabs all around Australia you\u2019ll find boogers like Stoney, ruling the peak and pushing the limits of what is actually rideable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the line-up, four jetskis idle in the channel. Jerome Sahyoun and Dylan Longbottom are one team, trying to get a read on the waves. On the other three skis are local tow-surfers: Sammy Logan, Jake Harman, Nathan Brookes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boys have paid their dues in fuel money and drowned jet skis and heavy wipeouts getting to know this place, but they\u2019re still stoked share it with a small crew of out-of-town pros. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool to have the boys here and validate what we\u2019ve always known about this place,\u201d says Jake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tim Bonython is also here filming for his Big Wave Project, and he compares the intensity of this wave with some of the heaviest in the world. Every now and then, a big set breaks wide and closes out the channel, sending the skis scrambling out to sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s super scary sitting on the ski getting the shot. On par with the intensity at Nazare. The waves are incredible though. Seriously, a Teahupoo style wave right here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wave is tricky to read and terrifying to paddle. The best ones break deep on the reef and almost look like a closeout. With all the water drawing off the reef and up the face, you can see the shallow kelp-covered rocks beneath you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kipp paddles the wave of the day, taking off deep on an eight-footer, setting his line and pulling in, hands free and styling, flying out into the channel with the spit, everyone hooting and screaming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n