Paul Morgan is one of the new generation of Australian big wave riders. Morgs, who hails from Ulladulla, was among the first wave of tow-surfers, whipping into any slab that'd have him. These days however, he's less likely to reach for the tow rope as he is to reach for a 9'6" gun and paddle in under his own horsepower. I recently asked him about the change in direction... 

Swellnet: Why have you chosen to focus on paddling instead of towing in big waves? Paul Morgan: The main reason is that it's more of a challenge. It requires much more skill. Anyone can just grab a rope and tow but with paddling you've gotta get your positioning right, you've gotta study where the waves are breaking and you've got commit to the drop. It's not a skill you can easily pick up. It takes years to be able to do it.

In a paddle session the likelihood is that you'll get far fewer waves. Does that bother you? Nah, it doesn't bother me these days. When the whole tow-in craze started you'd catch 20 waves in one session and it was cool. But I don't mind waiting out the back for two hours during a paddle session. If you get that one big paddle wave it beats those 20 tow waves hands down.

Do you think the wider surfing community appreciate how much harder paddling is than towing? I don't know. The surfers do. The big wave surfers.

How does being a sponsored big wave surfer work with paddling, 'cause if you don't catch as many waves then there's less opportunity for photos? Do you worry about that? Yeah, big time. I just got sponsored by Quiksilver so I have to worry about that. I've gotta go do those photo shoots where you tow into slabs and you've gotta be on the biggest wave and you've gotta get the shot. So I guess I'm pretty much a hypocrite...ha ha. 

But that's more of a short term thing and it serves its purpose...you know what I mean? Whereas paddling when its big, slowly chipping away at it, is more of a long term goal for me. You've got to have that experience behind you for the day when it is huge and you're paddling.

As a sponsored surfer I guess I've got to be in between - I've got to tow a little bit at certain waves but I also want to do the right thing for paddle surfing in Australia. I feel like we've got to start paddling more here. Like there's so many guys towing these days. But personally, I'm really passionate about it and the thing is I enjoy it way more.

Are you focussing on any particular waves? It's tough here in Australia because we have so many slabs. I guess paddling Depot Bombie, thats a pretty big challenge cause it's a slab but it's got a big face. That's the challenge around my local area. And then there's all the waves in Hawaii and Mavericks too...

Are you planning any trips to Hawaii or mainland US? Yeah, that's the plan. Last season was the first season of really attacking Hawaii and I had a really good time and I felt like I progressed a lot. This year I want to do exactly the same – go to Hawaii and surf all the outer reefs and get a few big ones out the Bay. And I want to go to Mavericks again. Just keep progressing.

Most of those waves you've mentioned are rights, how do you go turning heelside with eight foot of rail in the water? I don't mind it. I'm pretty comfortable taking a late drop on my backhand and stomping my back foot.

What about board design? Are you playing around with any particular features? Deep concaves or the like? I've got a new board from Kirk Bierke. My big boards are by Kirk, he lived on the North Shore for 15, 16 years and he's passionate about big wave board design. I've been going a lot wider and also a lot thicker.

What dimensions? I've got a 9'6" by 21 1/2" by 3 1/2". So I've gone a little bit shorter but wider and thicker. When I got back to Hawaii this year a lot of the guys over there, like Skindog, were telling me what everyone was riding and it seems like that is the trend. I've been using it at home, just paddling and practising and I can actually turn it in small waves. That's a pretty good sign.

You mentioned Ken Collins. I know he's been paddling more, do you speak to those guys? Yeah, I've been lucky in that we went to Mavericks this year and we actually stayed at Skindog's house. He invited us over for dinner and we ended up staying and he gave us the 'Mavericks inside and out' lesson. He gave us a three hour lesson on board design and everything you need to know about Mavericks. I was with Birch (Brett Burcher) and we were really grateful for that.

Have you had a shot at Mavericks? Yeah, we went there on the swell when the Eddie got called off this year. We surfed that day in Hawaii then got on a flight that night to Mavericks. It was only small Mavericks, like 15-18 foot, but it was a really good introduction day. And now I'm just waiting for the next chance I can get.

So you'll be chasing it again this season? That's the plans.

All photos (except the last shot of Morgs and his boards) taken by Russell Ord.