A recent gig I had writing press releases for the World Premier of Storm Surfers - New Zealand on the Discovery Channel ( July 14, 2010 - sorry if you missed it) took me on a trip down memory lane. The video stars Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones and follows them on their quest for ridiculously big and dangerous waves off the south coast of New Zealand - hence the title.
Anyway, my flashback was to the one and only time I surfed "with" these two guys. It was out at the big left-hander at Forresters Beach, NSW. RCJ got his taste for big waves there and at nearby Terrigal Haven when he was a kid. On this particular day, for some inexplicable reason I was the only one out. It was biggish, maybe double overhead, but probably less. It was a weekday, but that doesn't stop Aussie school kids from wagging school and workers from taking "sickies." In Australia, if the waves are good, weekdays don't make a dent in the crowds.
I was actually feeling a little lonely sitting there all by myself, so when I saw two dots paddling in the distance, I welcomed their approach. My heart sank when I saw who they were, though. TC and RCJ both had a reputation for being ruthless. If they wanted a wave, they took it.
Instead of staring me down and sending me cowering to the beach, they both smiled politely and waited on the shoulder while I took the first wave of the next set. It continued like that for about an hour. I'd wait on the shoulder until they got their waves and they waited for me. We didn't exchange words, other than a polite "G'day mate." Finally, my ageing muscles tiring and the winter cold penetrating my bones, I paddled for one last wave.
For some reason, I felt like thanking them for their generosity. Instead, I just turned and grinned as I paddled into my last wave. Tom grinned back. It was a great wave and took me all the way to the boil on the inside, saving me a long paddle to the beach.
I'll never know why my favourite left-hander was empty that day or why Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones let me have all those waves. All I know is that the session is up there with my top 20 best surfing memories. Thanks, Tom. Thanks, Ross. There - now I've said it.
Written By: Rob Schneider