Islanders Conquer the Cortes! Photo report

[PAL]

"Playing in the swells rolling across the infamous Bishop Rock big-wave break" picture
is an epic, perfect, desk top, poster, once in a life time, wish it was me type picture

That's Mark Pierpont in the shot - before it got really big!

Those combers were popping up on the reef then subsiding into nothing, so we decided to move right onto the shelf.

We're waiting, and waiting, and waiting... but the ocean is as flat as 10 ft swells can be.

Finally some larger rollers appear on the horizon. The first two look ok, and Mark takes off for the shoulder. I start to grab my camera as the first one lifts me and there it is - a freaking wall of water bearing down and getting steeper and steeper.

Paddling furiously, I feel like I'm going nowhere. The giant lifts me up and the lip seems to curl. Boom! It washes clear over my head and next thing I know I'm free-falling down the back side. And there's another 25 ft monster on the way!

I paddle through two more peaking waves, and finally the set is done. Made it! Mark and I let loose a couple of primal shouts. They hear us over on the Islander, a 1/4 mile away. We were the lunchtime entertainment.

So what can I say? We were in a BAD place. The only escape was right over the reef, one set of submerged boilers after the other. Where I was, in the center of it all, there was no margin for error. I only just made it through. The upside - no surf launch will ever look big again. And at least if we'd crashed, there was no boneyard to wash into - but man, I'm relieved to have escaped the experience. It wouldn't have been good...