Flames and Frost at Shipsterns Bluff - video

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

"There was frost in the car park at 5am as I began the hour long walk into Shipsterns Bluff. With my head torch lighting the track, I could hear a huge southerly swell colliding with the rugged cliffs of Cape Raoul 45 minutes away from my destination. On arrival Shipsterns was maxing with 12 - 15 foot lumps of ocean buckling their way down the reef.

It was a session that appeared to slip under the radar leaving only the core Tasmanian local crew to test themselves against one of the largest 'Stern swells to hit our shores so far in 2014.

I filmed all day, my fingers were so numb by the end of my stint filming water I could barely press down on the record button of my camera housing. The fire was appreciated when I found myself back on the shore defrosting.

It's a long clip but worth watching to the end for Sam Lennox's outrageous paddle effort & Shaun Wallbank's mega step tow." - Filmmaker Nick Nairn Smith 

Comments

Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:36am

Yeah kept my mouth shut on this swell :) Bit windy down my way....
Good song..... Nice work, total control.....

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:40am

Didn't get past me ;) Just that some people couldn't make it.

Also our Shippies forecast nailed it as well.

Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 9:05am

"Just that some people couldn't make it."... Well there's that timeless age old saying..... "Bad luck donald duck"...... hehehehe......
BTW...... All systems go re' you know what... left you a message in a certain east coast notes ;)

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 9:13am

Yes I saw, although winds look dicey as the NE-E/NE groundswell peaks, protected southern corners only.

Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 9:16am

Btw, craig..... Being a "5 year local" down here, I'd like to ask you a question about a certain region.... But I don't want to shed light on that region....... A mysto area.... A small window.....

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 10:22am

Geez, I'm not a fan of the gut grovelling stuff ... each to their own and all, but, for me, it does nothing to stoke, amp up, or even admire.

That step drop by the stand up dude mid wave wave toward the end is a different story :)

Couple of nice wipeouts too, keeping it real, in balance if you will ... too often I find watching clips it's all made waves with no sense of the other factors. Guess the images of the fire in this one add to that too ...

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 10:29am

Agreed wingnut, you need to see the wipeouts to keep the balance if not for a good laugh too.

Not a fan of the gut sliders either, but I actually thought they were pretty gutsy in that one. A couple of really deep ones.

GONAD_MAN's picture
GONAD_MAN's picture
GONAD_MAN Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 7:51am
wingnut2443 wrote:

Geez, I'm not a fan of the gut grovelling stuff ... each to their own and all, but, for me, it does nothing to stoke, amp up, or even admire.

That step drop by the stand up dude mid wave wave toward the end is a different story :)

Couple of nice wipeouts too, keeping it real, in balance if you will ... too often I find watching clips it's all made waves with no sense of the other factors. Guess the images of the fire in this one add to that too ...

GONAD_MAN's picture
GONAD_MAN's picture
GONAD_MAN Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 7:59am

Where's your video Wingnut? And i don't mean you charging 2ft Kiddies Corner. You would be shitting your pants just sitting in the boat at Shippies.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 4:26pm
GONAD_MAN wrote:

Where's your video Wingnut? And i don't mean you charging 2ft Kiddies Corner. You would be shitting your pants just sitting in the boat at Shippies.

Two way street.

stuggi's picture
stuggi's picture
stuggi Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 12:44pm

I find it funny that people on this site always have to make their opinion known about bodyboarding.

This film was also posted on a well known bodyboarding site and received nothing but good vibes.

It would have been easy to comment that the surfers were towing and the bodyboarders were paddling... but no one seemed to care...

That is all.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 12:46pm

stuggi wrote:

I find it funny that people on this site always have to make their opinion known about bodyboarding.

This video has been viewed a couple of thousand times on here and two people made a comment. Hardly a representative sample.

That is all.

Rabbits68's picture
Rabbits68's picture
Rabbits68 Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 at 8:53pm

Stuggi I agree mate. It sounded like in that clip whoever was paddling out hooted no matter who was charging. I'd say thats because that crew out there on that day respect & admire anyone who charged & show respect back.

It is quite funny to know there is still lid hating Dinosaurs out there. Were you out there charging Wingnut ?? I suspect not, one would need to show respect to enter that line up I would imagine.

Thats the other thing about lid haters, they always comment negativiely on lid kooks & lid chargers alike, however they never comment on their fellow stand-up kooks & chargers in a negative light.

Move on Wingnut, stress less & learn to enjoy whoever is having a crack & showing respect. I reckon the line-ups would a friendlier place to be.......or do you have some kind of ownership??

That is it.....

uncle_leroy's picture
uncle_leroy's picture
uncle_leroy Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 8:17am

In terms of surfing big barrels, if you take jet ski's out of the equation, the bodyboarding scene in Australia has been so influentual in pioneering heaving slabs right around the country. NSW south coast ledges, WA bombies, Sydney shelves, the Vicco and Tassie white knuckle rides all pioneered by bodyboarders.
Would love to see anyone who dishes out on the lids, put on some fins, swap wave riding crafts and then go and paddle into a few! Not many surfers would try it let alone be any good at it, but I bet alot of 'lids' would quite happily put an Al Merrick under their feet and give it a crack, heaven forbid some bodyboarders are even good surfers too.
All about riding the craft you see most suitable to the waves and enjoying your time in the ocean with mates and a few hoots.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 8:22am

WTF is this? One bloke said he's "not a fan", another also said he wasn't a fan but "thought they were pretty gutsy in that one", and now there's a structured defence for BBing at play. Are people that insecure that a sideways quip sets them off?

Move on...

blow-in-9999's picture
blow-in-9999's picture
blow-in-9999 Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 10:36pm

If it wasn't a consistent comment on mixed / BB based media on non body-board sites you'd have a point. History is important here.

Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 9:31am

18c......... lol

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 9:36am

Ha! And what does that make me, George Brandis?

Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog's picture
Sheepdog Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 10:00am

hehehehe...... Only poor people ride boogers....... :P Imagine George or Joe pulling in on a booger at shippies........... Respect... lol

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Friday, 15 Aug 2014 at 4:25pm
stunet wrote:

... that insecure that a sideways quip sets them off? ...

Exactly.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 7:07am

Thought about this overnight. Now, PLEASE understand, I am not looking to start a huge shit fight, boogers vs standup, whatever, but, it does seem my personal opinion, expressed in what I think is a fairly innocuous manner, has rubbed some the wrong way, and well, I was curious to understand why ... more so, why the subsequent comments have more, ah, "attitude" ...

I honestly do not think this holds true for me:

Rabbits68 wrote:

... It is quite funny to know there is still lid hating Dinosaurs out there ...

I'm not a 'lid hater' ... dinosaur, maybe, heck I'm nearly 43 ... but, body boarding does nothing for me. Even watching guys in waves like those in the clip here, but as I said in my initial comment, "each to their own and all" ...

So, I logged on this morning to complete this post, and see this:

blow-in-9999 wrote:

If it wasn't a consistent comment on mixed / BB based media on non body-board sites you'd have a point. History is important here.

Bingo. Suddenly it makes sense. The historical them vs us, boogers vs surfers, the dancing on water vs sliding on ya guts, that's really the issue here. I guess sensitives run deep and long for those affected ... is it insecurity, I'm not sure, only those it affects can honestly answer that for themselves ...

The interesting thing is, I ride a lot of different boards ... Sheesh, years ago I use to cut down old boards and make fiberglass body boards. I just never got anything from riding on my guts, and preferred to stand up, and ride short boards mainly. That's my path, I tread it and enjoy it for me ...

Maybe, what everyone needs to do is stop worrying about what anyone else thinks about what they ride, how they surf, what they wear, where they live, etc. etc.

Is it as simple as the "best surfer in the water is the one having the most fun"?

I dunno, but, this works for me:

Few Fun Waves ... that's what it's all about for me.

blow-in-9999's picture
blow-in-9999's picture
blow-in-9999 Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 10:45am

Cheers wingnut. Hope you get those waves.

Paipos can be fun but no airs.

Rabbits68's picture
Rabbits68's picture
Rabbits68 Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 3:21pm

Hey Wingnut, if you say you are not a lid hater why even bother making a negative comment??

And Stu, nice try with the defense of negativity. Sounds like you also need to move on.

It's the old story, if you haven't got anything constructive to say or have no experience in the matter keep your negativity to yourself I reckon.

Each to there own and with everyone showing respect, surely that's what a free world is......no one owns the ocean last time I checked....

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 3:45pm

Y'see, that's the thing, I didn't read it as a negative comment. Just a matter-of-fact comment referring to one's preference. All a matter of perception I guess.

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 4:24pm

Rabbit, get back to your warren. You're taking it way, way to personally. It's only peoples opinions and preferences. If we all liked the same thing we would be fucking boring.

wellymon's picture
wellymon's picture
wellymon Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 at 6:04pm

Rabbit 68, year of the Monkey I'm guessing....?
Most monkeys like my self in the same year are quite jovial, fun loving working honest blokes ;)
Obiviously you ride a boogey board, hey that's cool no worries there Rabbit 68, but your stepping or lying out of your realm here on SN, no offence taken....!
I used to boogey board as well....? back in 1972, but they were a little different...:)

Hey Rabbit68 I'm sure you had the same kind of Boradies as well:)