The Tassie Boys Roll Out The Big, Slabby Carpet

Nathan Florence has a compelling history with Shipstern Bluff. 

Located a mere 5,000 miles from Oahu, Shipstern’s seems to suit Nathan’s calculated yet committed approach. You don’t work out for legs that hard to not attack notorious steps like that. 

But it wasn’t always this way. As a teenager looking to break into the big-wave stage, Shipstern’s represented a major psychological and physical hurdle for the middle Florence brother. Nathan’s been quite candid about a particularly daunting and transformative session when as a 16-year-old he had to overcome his fear while going headfirst into the reef courtesy of a Mark Matthews whip-in. 

After nearly soiling his wettie and making it through relatively unscathed, Nathan emerged from Tasmania with newfound confidence. Fast forward to 2019 and Nathan was the newly crowned Red Bull Cape Fear champ at the bluff, packing slabs by hand all event with a crew of Australian heavyweights that included Justen ‘Jughead’ Allport and the Hollmer-Cross brothers. 

This week Nathan released a clip of his latest endeavor from the edge of the earth. He and Ryan Moss coordinated a frantic scramble to get visas and Covid-19 tests, and with the help of a few blokes down south, notably fellow hellman Kipp Caddy, they scored. The session also features ludicrous drops from Russell Bierke, Soli Bailey and some core boogie lords. 

As is customary with Nathan, he takes us behind the scenes and behind the lip where most would never tread, complete with slo-mo clips and riveting POV shots. Enjoy this one as the crew makes this look almost approachable for the everyman.