Otis Carey, Botany Bay, Sydney, Australia

For a coupla weeks now, Sydney, on Australia’s east coast, has been belted by rain and wind from the south. After an incredible autumn of consistently crisp offshores and groundswell, the first day of winter brought with it gloom and precipitation. And it ain’t let up yet.

Every beach is a mess of foam. Pretty grim-lookin’. But those with a little grit won’t be deterred. Like Otis Carey, pictured here. Yesterday, tired of the slop at his home beach of Bondi, Otis took a short drive over to Botany Bay, where y’can settle for a filtered-down swell, in exchange for a set-up that’s ten-fold cleaner.

Sharky area that the bay is, Otis was spooked at one point when a lone fin cruised by, very close. It soon revealed a round beak and a cheeky grin, but for a moment there, the dolphin posing as a shark struck fear into the hearts of the small Botany Bay crowd.

Otis’ style of surfing is aggressive and awesome. Kid goes for it, all the way. His areas of specialty lie above the lip and, when he’s on, his surfing is pure energy. This shot is a telling moment – tail up, hands up, blazing hard despite wave size.

On april 29, 1770, Botany Bay was the place that Captain James Cook landed for the first time on Australian soil. What’s most interesting about this photo is that Otis is a proud Indigenous Australian. The spray y’can see here on Otis’ sled (which appears on all his boards) are the colours of the Aboriginal flag. It’s amazing that, after 241 years and 17 days, Otis is surfing the bay where his ancestors first encountered the English sailor.