Sometimes the juice ain’t worth the squeeze, but apparently the local chargers in Tasmania have never heard that phrase.
Last week, an XXL swell at Shipstern Bluff coincided with less-than-ideal local winds. Rather than sit it out and wait for better conditions, a six-pack of local lads decided to jump in behind the rope and give it a tow, despite the fact 9/10 waves were either too big, too bumpy, or clamping down at the end.
In this nine-minute clip from Kyron Rathbone, we get a behind-the-scenes, in the channel perspective of the carnage. And it starts off with a bang. At the 1:00 mark, Mikey Brennan takes off on a solid 12-footer, attempts to ollie a four-foot step, and gets absolutely thrashed at the bottom. He’s knocked out underwater.
When he comes up (and comes to), he’s rescued by his driver, and with blood coming out of his head and a big smile on his face, gives Rathbone a summary of the beating. “I was just like in this other place,” says Brennan. “And there were all these weird things happening. All of a sudden, because I pushed into the bottom, it went bang, my dream changed, and I woke up here.”
Concussed much?
Not to be deterred by their friends near-death experience, the rest of the crew proceed to take turns behind the rope, trading scary wipeouts and the occasional successful psychotic tube. While all is well that ends well (this time around), we wonder if these dudes would tackle that day again?
Never mind. Pretty sure we already know that answer.
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