A couple of years ago I built a virtual surfing program with a company called Peakteams We use the program to help businesses train their staff in areas like relationship management, leadership skills, dealing with fear and pressure etc. When this swell popped up on the charts I was in NYC delivering the program to a group of investment bankers. As part of the program participants have to analyse swell forecasts, organise sponsorship budgets, and make decisions on whether or not to chase certain swells.
Anyway it was the second day of a three day program when i first spotted the potential of this swell on the charts and I thought who better to analyse the forecast for me than a bunch of NY investment bankers that have never surfed in there life!
I had trecked across to the right five times already this year, and had not scored it good once! That coupled with the fact that it was going to take 4 flights and 3 days of travelling to get there really had me second guessing the forecast.
Luckily my banker friends had some perspective untainted by 5 past failures. Within an hour of me handing them the forecasts all 6 teams had me booked on flights the following night with hire cars and jetski options all in place.
This shot is from the afternoon I arrived in WA. We got there just in time for the late. It really is so hard to position yourself to get deep at this spot. The waves out there actually stand still for a couple of seconds when they first break. There Is so much water drawing of the reef and up the face that the lip is actually stops falling momentarily.
So to get deep in the barrel out there you have to be in a position where you really feel like your too deep and your not going to make it. It’s almost going against your bodies natural survival instinct, it’s just so hard to let go of the rope early and set up behind such a massive lump of water. My first wave this afternoon was a bomb. But I just couldn’t fight that survival instinct and I held on to the tow rope for a second too long. I got barrelled but I could have been 5 feet deeper and that 5 feet would of made that wave one of the best barrels of my life...
Full photo reports : Chasing Chalk
Photo credit : Calum Macaulay
