Gallery: WA’s Best Pe’ahi Impersonation

Margaret River, Western Australia has received it’s fair share of media coverage for all the wrong reasons this past month, but that didn’t stop the masses from ascending for the first serious swell to hit the coast last weekend. 

From the middle of last week through to Sunday, the South West of WA was bombarded with multiple heavily groomed swells. Saturday was the peak of these, which resulted in what Shanan Worral, 2017 WSL Tube of the Year winner and founder of Shark Eyes deterrents, described as the best swell to hit Cow Bombie in three years.

As the likes of Taj Burrow, Jack Robinson, Jay Davies and Creed McTaggart tried their like at 8-foot plus Norths – whilst yours truly scrambled towards the shoulder before eventually retreating to land – Cow Bombie was quite large tubes a few kilometres from the overcrowded carpark. 

In years gone by, sessions at Cow often go down without a pit being packed.

Tony Warrilow, the photographer on site, argues that recently surfers have given up their barrel dodging mannerisms in favour of a more pocket-laden approach. And the above photos – despite missing the best wave of the session as everyone’s SD cards were jammed – highlight the newfound approach of some of WA’s best big wave surfers.

The South West waters may be eery and shark ridden at the moment, but when the waves on offer are of the above consequences, there’s bigger worries on your mind than what might be lurking below.

We’re also certain that the chopper seen hovering above was doing more than searching for big fish on it’s daily coastal shark patrol – who wouldn’t help themselves to a little bird’s-eye viewing along the way anyway?

The last shot snapped before all SD’s cards were jam packed. Shanan Worral on wide one.

Photography

Tony Warrilow