Jack Robinson steers through The Box, WA

The Box, in WA, is backup venue for the Margaret River Pro. It is also visible from Margies. And yesterday, while the 34 best surfers in the world were scuffling in the chubbiness of Margies, Jack Robinson, pictured here, was across the channel steering through waves like this. Jack is 16 and has grown up learning this ledge. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that, in spite of his adolescence, he runs the show out there, even when there’s a flurry of pros in the mix.

“Everyone was watching from Margies,” says our photographer, Tom Carey. “Everyone was just watching Josh Kerr and Jack Robinson get these bombs. “Then I decided to paddle out. As soon as I got out there, Kerr came in, but Jack, Sea Bass and Bottle (Jay Thompson) were getting every set. It wasn’t perfect Box but there were so many nuggets, and I was the only guy with a fisheye out there, so I didn’t have to battle guys.”

You’ll notice that The Box isn’t real close to shore. At all. And given the, uh, looming spectre that no one is too thrilled to speak about, what was Tom’s vibe on swimming the spot? “It took me a solid 20 minutes, maybe half an hour, to swim out there. On the paddle out, you’re thinking about bad shit the whole time. Once you’re out there it’s fine. But, getting out there…”