The best wave of Jake Patterson’s life

Words by Morgan Williamson | Photo by Duncan Robinson  Dear Jake ‘The Snake’ Patterson wrangled what he’s claiming to be the best wave of his life. And when a man with a wave resume like Snake makes that claim, we’re inclined to believe. It went down in WA, and it’s a proper screamer. “There’s two sections you can surf up there,” he tells Stab of the well know wave that we’d still rather not name. “ Every now and again on a big swell there are the odd waves that you can ride from top through to the bottom – lots have tried it but only a few have survived!” The knife work required to make the connection only comes from years of West Oz surfing experience. “My brother has made one before,” Snake continues. “But he and Jim Banks both broke their collarbones trying to pull off the connection. I’ve attempted it a few times, but I’ve just never had the right one come my way.” In order to sink our teeth into the meat of the sesh, we ask Snake how the magic aligned. “I was having a bit of a shocker of a session.” he says. “So, I thought it was time to go get a couple up at Centres. I’d snagged a couple of fun ones. Then, a huge set hit, it was really south and it was my turn, so I thought: this could be it! The take off must have been 10 foot-plus. The top section is a semi-easy take off compared to the bottom take off point. I made the drop and put the peddle to the metal. I remember getting to a point and thinking, it’s now or never. So, I charged through and backdoored the bottom section. It must have only been a couple of feet deep, the wave was all of eight feet by this stage. It wasn’t the longest barrel I’ve ever had, but it was hands-down the deepest and heaviest wave of my life. Jacob Wilcox was in the water at the time and later told me how stoked he was I didn’t straighten out, because I would’ve died if I did.” “I was riding a 6’3″ that I hand shaped myself,” Snake continues. “The swell was perfect for the spot (which we’ll leave unnamed). It was big and southwest with ideal wind and a big tide all day, which is super important. Some of the other standouts of the session were Dave Macca, Craig Anderson, Jacob Wilcox, Jay Davies and Dino Adrian. Kerry Brown also got a couple of really sick ones before having to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.” Duncan Robinson, the man who captured the moment told us that Snake shaped him a custom board for burning the sequence onto his memory card. “I would have been happy with just a high five,” he tells us. “But I’m super stoked on the new board. What a legend.”