The Right Is A Frightening And Majestic Being

“It was a way out of the head fuck I was dealing with and a chance to clear the mind and reset,” recounts Jake Osman, the man locked in the hollow space above. Say what you will about the tow game – we get it. However, Western Australia’s most feared rock shelf produces a form that demands motorised assistance.

Jake and his cohorts saw an opportunity to dabble. Eyeing the forecast they made the overnight dash to capitalise. They scanned their feeds, hoping that others hadn’t deciphered the same code. Arriving they looked for skis. Nothing. Just one other photog, Anj Senmark, shooting empties. “There’s definitely a couple, just bit of a wait,” he told them as they pulled up to the deserted lineup. Jake grabbed the rope.

“The first closeout I pulled into was heavy,” he said. “There’s this sense of emptiness and pure silence, you get when riding this wave. You become hyper focused and time slows right down. You can’t recall hearing anything. This wipeout was a completely different experience however. When the whole wave shut down over the top of me I heard this piercing crack that was so loud. It was the first time I’ve heard that sound surfing here.”

“Anyway, the sequence was either my second or third wave from the session. It was just me and Henry out the back waiting, it was a long wait between waves and I think this wait was hitting the hour mark. In those situations you’re usually pretty hyped up but also trying to talk about anything else to try and keep the fear of what you’re doing at bay.”

“So a wave finally comes and it looked like it was going to be one of the better ones for the day. I was experimenting with letting go of the rope earlier to see if it would give me more time to line up that big first section that throws out there. At the time I thought I did pretty good and had vision the whole way but looking back at the pics it always hurts when you see you could’ve run even deeper. I look at photos and sit with that feeling before a session to psych myself up to push it harder.”

“After this wave, the lulls were extending and we could tell the swell was decreasing,” lensman Ari Wolfl adds. “There were a couple more… but nothing like Jake’s first wave…. this one.”