GETTING DUMPED

“Something like that definitely rattles you. I found it really hard to get over that one. I’d had wipe-outs before that might’ve taken a trip or two to get over, but this one definitely played on my mind. I had nightmares about it. I couldn’t get it out of my head. It took me a good year to feel I was back on track. Getting out of it all in one piece came down to training hard and being prepared. If I wasn’t training, there would’ve been a good chance I’d have blacked-out. It was just a reality check and a reminder of why I train and try and do the little things right.”

PADDLE OR PULL?

“How you get out to these massive waves depends on the location a lot of the time. You do need to take a boat

out for a lot of spots – Fiji for example. Shipstern Bluff down in Tasmania – you take a boat out there. Most of the big locations you can take a boat out because a reef breaks in a channel. But other places you might be able to paddle out to, like Jaws Peahi in Maui. A lot of the outer reef spots in Hawaii you can paddle out to as well.

“I don’t think you can get much of a better wave than Cloudbreak in Fiji when it’s really big. It’s the most perfect outer reef; really warm water. Just the ultimate big-wave paddle surfing spot in the world.”

WHY?

“It’s a hard question to answer. I surf in really big waves and get to experience it with my friends. It gives me the self-satisfaction that I’ve achieved something that’s quite amazing. It’s really hard to get that sort of feeling from a lot of things people do. I’m sure you can get it from certain jobs ... For me, I get the biggest thrill from surfing big waves. It’s kind of what I’m after in life. It makes me feel good.”

− James Smith

Photos by: Rod Owen