Ryan Hipwood, Cape Solander, NSW

Ryan Hipwood is a modern day thrill-seeker. He and tow-partner/good pal Mark Mathews have a real kink for waves that strike fear into the hearts of normal men. When they ain’t in the water, their time’s spent combing the weather forecasts for any bumps that could result in a brief but intense foray into the ocean at it’s most powerful.

But some spots command more of Ryan’s attention than others. One of those spots is Ours, aka Cape Solander, in Sydney. On thursday, Ryan sessioned the place with Mark, Taj Burrow and Kelly Slater, the latter of whom’s performance had Ryan a lil’ spooked. “I feel like he can control the ocean,” he said of the champ.

Yesterday was day of the year so far on Australia’s east coast. Early-morning Ours was met with big crowds, but mostly on the cliff, watching the backwashy and warbly lineup. Most bailed to other breaks by 11am. But Ours was as good as it gets, trucking at six to eight feet.

Ryan towed a few but mostly paddled. The wave you see here was just one in his myriad of tubes through the day. This was autumn at its best. The sun was shining, the weather and water were warm and the onshore zephyr puffed ever so lightly at around 4pm. Expect to see a lot of photos and video from these sessions up and down the coast.

Photo: Jason Corroto