Shipstern Bluff, affectionately known as ‘Shippies,’ is a wave that was meant for slow motion. In the latest video from master swell-chaser and videographer Tim Bonython, we get to see the mutant slab in all its glory, frame by frame.
Slow motion in surfing edits can be a mixed bag. Though slowing down a ride can create a majestic clip, sometimes the actual surfing can get lost in the process. On the other hand, Shippies feels like a wave that can only really be truly understood in slow motion.
Of course, the thing is already a monster, even at first glance. It’s big, it’s heavy and it’s shallow, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. When you slow all that down, you can see the little intricacies of turbulence, foam, and full-on sub-waves that make it baffling that people manage to even ride the thing.
In the edit above, Bonython joins up with Dylan Longbottom, Summa Longbottom, Soli Bailey and a plethora of other Aussie daredevils to show us once again the terror and the majesty of Shipstern Bluff.
“That’s one of the greatest swell chases,” summed up Bonython afterwards. “It was literally the day of days. I’ve been going to Shipsterns for over 25 years now. It’s probably about my 80th tour of duty, and this was on the top of the list of some of the most exciting, most spectacular surfing action at slabs that we have in Australia.”
However, I think that one of the boat spectators in the video summed it up best: “That was fucked up.”
