Matt Wilkinson

Moments before this shot was taken, Matt Wilkinson was uncharacteristically held up in the lip of a fierce wedge and slammed hard into the shallow bank. He came up with a look of surprise.

“I just got pumped,” he said laughing. Also saying, albeit with intended hyperbole, “this is, like, the hardest wave to get to your feet ever.”

The wave is an anomaly. Situated in the middle of Australia’s largest surfing population, it relies on a rare build up of sand, rarely breaks at bigger than six feet but warps the smallest swell into severe nuggets. This was one of the far smaller and mellower ones but Wilko still had to pinch it from a gaggle of boogs hogging the wedge zone. After negotitating a sucky and frothy take off, he raced out of a dredging section before finding the wall and gaffing.

Shortly after, his surfing partner and fellow Central Coast native, Damien ‘Dom’ Wills took off on a bomb only for his board to snap mid pump. Amazingly he was able to navigate his way to the top of the wave and kick out. The sled broke in two as he flew off the back.