On March 6, 2021, one of the bigger swells in years hit the east coast of New South Wales, Australia. When it comes to waves of serious consequence, it could be said that Australians have an excess of people who are willing to put themselves in the spot. It’s not an easy thing — looking over a ledge and pulling the trigger is something your brain screams at you not to do — but if you’re someone like, say, Ryan Hipwood, your brain’s voice has been tempered by years of experience. Still, though, Hippo called the day “one of the most intimidating swell events he’d ever surfed.” Which is saying a lot, considering that Hipwood has surfed a lot of terrifying swell events.
It was a chaotic day, to say the least. The waves were big and the crowd was even bigger. Tim Bonython, the man who made the edit you see above, caught up with a few locals like Russel Bierke and Shane Ackerman when all was said and done. Ackerman in particular was not happy. “If you’re going to go out there and you’re not confident,” he said, “don’t go out. It’s as simple as that. You just become a menace out there… if you’re a blow-in, can you just stop coming down? If you’re going to pull off, just get out of here!”
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