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Sandy Slays Shippies
You probably saw it plastered all over commercial television, news readers in their ties and suits liberally throwing around words like ‘insane’, ‘monstrous’ and ‘biggest ever’, without really having any idea of was actually going down on their monitors. To them it was guys on skis, covered in rubber, being launched into big, ugly-looking walls of water. Dangerous, yes, but nothing they ever have to worry about inside their four city walls or at Friday afternoon ciders in the beer garden. For us, well we understand a bit more. We not only saw the words the newsreaders used, we felt them. As a surfer you know the effort, timing and organisation it can take to score epic conditions at your local reef, you know what it takes to get into that little secret break you know of that works every few months, and you know what sort of a beating even a two foot beachie can dish out if you fall the wrong way.
So as surfers we got the feeling as to what went down at Shipsterns Bluff on May 17th, 2011. Regular everyday blokes; tradies, teachers and surf store workers threw themselves into some of the biggest slabs surfed at the break, not for the notoriety dished out by a Channel 10 news bulletin, but for the feeling that can’t really be described. Our man Sandy was there front and centre with good mate and tow-buddy Marty Paradisis, and here is his insight into how it all went down…..
“It was only the day before that I realised what was happening with the swell. Within a few phone calls at work I’d hooked up with the Tassie lads, and was booked to fly out that evening. I just knew something special was on the cards”.
“As soon as I landed we were getting ready even though it was late at night. Had to find oil for the ski, I guess we weren’t really that organised. I stayed at Danny Griffith’s place, and when we woke at about 5am I was so nervous. Marty and I started the drive, and the whole way we were getting these phone calls about different breaks and how big they were. Some places were breaking that no-one had ever seen break before! We were freaking a bit”.
“It was the same on the ski trip out there. There were waves breaking in the bay, which is normally like a lake, and all the way out we were seeing waves we had never seen before. As we got round to Shippies we saw a set break, couldn’t tell how big it was, but it was so mutated and looked not even close to rideable”.
“A second boat arrived with a few of the Tassie lads and some photographers, but everyone was a bit apprehensive, as it really wasn’t looking safe. But Marty wanted straight into it, and I remember asking for any tips on towing-in, as it was only the second time I’d ever driven a ski!”
“Marty’s first wave was a monster, everyone was screaming when he let go of the rope. He got smashed, but I picked him up quickly and he was straight out the back for more”.
“After a while it was my turn. Just before I was about to head out the back I did that interview in which I claimed it was ‘not very user friendly’ when asked about the conditions”.
“My first wave was a good one, I got barrelled and made it out to safety, but the second was the worst wipe-out of my life! It felt like forever as I fell off, then got picked up and smashed down again. I bounced along the reef and got my longest hold-down ever, and actually had to climb my leg rope to make it back to the surface”.
After some more waves, plenty of watching and chatting, sandy got back to shore, bustled onto a flight and was back for work by 9am the next day. When quizzed on how the whole experience felt, he doesn’t hesitate in describing how humble a wave like that makes you feel, how much more you respect mother nature and the ocean, and just how good it is to survive such a situation! He also wished to thank the other guys that charged that day; Tyler and James Holmer-Cross, Rudy Schwartz, James McKean and especially Marty Paradisis.
