In this context, how do you feel growing up in Cape Town shaped your big-wave experience?
Between Dungeons and Sunset is the most incredible proving ground for big waves. The waves are so raw and unpredictable that if you can learn to read the ocean here then when you go to reefs like Jaws, Mavericks, or Waimea – where the waves will get bigger but are also cleaner and relatively predictable – you feel much more confident. And the reason why Dungeons is so unique and unpredictable is that the area where the wave can break is roughly the size of two rugby fields. You see the horizon starting to cap when a big set rolls over the two outer reefs; the horizon literally breaks, the wave re-forms, and then you have about ninety seconds before the set hits the Dungeons reef. And it can form a huge barrel, it can be flat, it can be a ledge…you never know what you’re going to get – you have to be prepared for anything. So I reckon I have confidence in those big waves because of my upbringing at waves like Dungeons.
What were your first few years as a big wave surfer like?
I had quite a drastic entry into the big wave surfing scene. I’ve always enjoyed pushing my boundaries and surfing bigger waves, but contests were my focus. However, I felt like my passion was being slightly squandered in the contest scene. I loved surfing – but I didn’t love the high-performance surfing in smaller waves. Then, when I was seventeen, I had my first session out at Dungeons. I was totally unprepared. I enjoyed the thought of big-wave surfing but I never trained for it, nor did I have the right equipment. I thought it would be just another day pushing my boundaries.
Out in the line-up, I got caught inside the biggest set I had ever seen in my life – five twenty-five-foot waves. I thought I was going to drown. I had made up my mind to get out of the water and was paddling back towards the channel when something extraordinary happened. Because I had paddled wider, I happened to be in the right place at the right time when the next big set came. The wave broke over the crowd; I spun, paddled for it, and I remember standing at the top of this huge bomb, dropping in, and feeling speed like I had never felt before.
I rode the wave all the way to the channel. When I pulled off, everyone was cheering; it was the most incredible feeling. That was the turning point when I decided I wanted to be a big-wave surfer. I knew I needed to start doing some proper preparation for it; I needed to train, I needed the right equipment, the right mindset. But that’s when it all set off into a big-wave career.
