Stab Magazine | Mick Fanning, Snapper Sandpit, Gold Coast

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

177 Views

Mick Fanning, Snapper Sandpit, Gold Coast

“Tonight was one of the most hectic swims of my life,” says photographer Trevor Moran. He ain’t kidding: the current at Snapper Rocks was really ripping down the beach, and the fact that the Roxy Pro had been run all day in fluoro blue perfection meant absolutely everybody was itching to hit it. “After watching empty waves drain across the banks all afternoon, by the time the final heat of the Roxy Pro hit halfway, the beach and rocks at Snapper were packed with frothers hungry to get a chance at the briefly empty lineup, which has been mind-surfed a hundred times before even paddling out.” Mick Fanning asserted his local dominance, cleaving through the crowd and picking off all the best waves. Most sets like this one, he was packed inside. But he wasn’t alone. “All the world’s top pros were out there picking off bombs, and as they quickly discovered, they weren’t alone,” continues Trev. “I can’t even begin to put a number on the herd, but I can safely say over the course of two hours I swam about half a mile from Snapper past Greenmount and at no time was I any further than two feet away from another human being, often within arms length of five or more people at once. I can’t sit on a high horse though, as I was part of the problem, a traveling, budding, struggling-to-be-noticed professional, but I can definitively and proudly say I didn’t put anyone else’s life in jeopardy nor cause any bodily harm to another person. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for a lot of people forming the long line of ants dotting the shoreline.”

full frame // Mar 8, 2016
Words by Tony Heff
Reading Time: < 1 minute

“Tonight was one of the most hectic swims of my life,” says photographer Trevor Moran. He ain’t kidding: the current at Snapper Rocks was really ripping down the beach, and the fact that the Roxy Pro had been run all day in fluoro blue perfection meant absolutely everybody was itching to hit it. “After watching empty waves drain across the banks all afternoon, by the time the final heat of the Roxy Pro hit halfway, the beach and rocks at Snapper were packed with frothers hungry to get a chance at the briefly empty lineup, which has been mind-surfed a hundred times before even paddling out.”

Mick Fanning asserted his local dominance, cleaving through the crowd and picking off all the best waves. Most sets like this one, he was packed inside. But he wasn’t alone. “All the world’s top pros were out there picking off bombs, and as they quickly discovered, they weren’t alone,” continues Trev. “I can’t even begin to put a number on the herd, but I can safely say over the course of two hours I swam about half a mile from Snapper past Greenmount and at no time was I any further than two feet away from another human being, often within arms length of five or more people at once. I can’t sit on a high horse though, as I was part of the problem, a traveling, budding, struggling-to-be-noticed professional, but I can definitively and proudly say I didn’t put anyone else’s life in jeopardy nor cause any bodily harm to another person. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for a lot of people forming the long line of ants dotting the shoreline.”

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 3, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025

Houshmand Bludgeons Field To Win Second CT — Molly Picklum Tastes Blood, Snatches World #1 In Brazil

You can't argue with big surfing — that's Saquarema wrapped.

Jun 29, 2025

37 Years Old And World #1 — What’s Changed For Jordy Smith?

On rediscovering decades old surfboard templates, having a personality on the CT, and why this…

Jun 27, 2025

Tom Lowe Stars in ‘Let Me Live’

The wild, improbable ascent of Britain’s best big-wave surfer.

Jun 27, 2025

Saq Wrap: Italo Celebrates Mid-Heat, Griff Drops A Freestyle, Jordy + Yago Continue BBQing 20-YOs

Top seeds sow ruin, Final 5 starts to crystallize.

Jun 27, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 2

Our seven surviving surfers confront an oddly large California beach break.

Jun 26, 2025
Advertisement