This piece is excerpted from the feature “Unridden Realm Redux” with Laura Enever in the new print issue of SURFER. Order your copy here.
I surfed that big swell at Cloudbreak in early 2024, which was the first time I’d seen the outer ledge they call Thundercloud. When I first arrived, I saw a 20-foot freight train set clean up the lineup. I said to myself, “I’m not getting out of the boat today.”
But as the day progressed, I saw a few waves I could make. I paddled out, stayed wide and just started chipping away. Eventually, I made it out to the outer ledge and was in the right position for a set. Look, I didn’t make the wave, but it would have been the best wave of my life if I had. I wished I’d had that attitude from the very start, but I’ve learned that the next time I won’t have that feeling of shock. I just set small goals of surfing waves that I want to experience, and doing what feels right for me when I get there.
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I’ve been on my big-wave surf journey since I left the tour in 2018, and I think the other important aspect for me is technique. It’s been inspirational to see the next generation of girls taking on heavy waves – like Vahine Fierro, Molly Picklum and Erin Brooks at Teahupo’o. They are paddling absolute bombs because their technique in heavy waves has just come on in leaps and bounds. And the more women that are in the lineup surfing, the more other girls are going to follow their lead.
So, I’ve been inspired by that process. My goal is to get better at paddling big waves. I want to improve my technique so that I can score some bombs at Jaws, Shipsterns and Teahupo’o. I’d love to experience Nazaré, too. Because that feeling of getting a huge barrel, and the adventure that comes with finding and riding slabs is such a rush. The adrenaline and the excitement of riding big waves is such an incredible feeling. It’s what I want to do with my life.
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