Sometimes winter swims require a motherload of motivation. The bracing cold, the grey and steel blue colour pallete of the ocean and the random banks turning scraps of swell into occassionally impressive peaks – not really get out there material. And often there are only a few surfers and even then they might not be surfing the most photogenic bank.
But after seven years of trying to notch up a handful of swims each week with my EOS 5Ds in my trusty housing, I have learnt a few things. Firstly, nothing beats a swim in the ocean ... once you are actually in and have been submerged a few times. Secondly, the world is way more amazing when you're floating in the saline dodging waves and sucking back the zen-filled surface oxygen. And lastly, just swimming with a camera almost always guarantees some kind of magic will happen and usually it just comes to you – just presents itself for you to capture the moment.
This week was like that. I swam out with just a handful of surfers for one session and discovered two other swimmers out for a bodysurf and a couple of promising peaks proving way more consistent than they looked. And lots of surfers appeared out of the woodwork chasing the last offshore puffs as the southern sky darkened and anvilled its way toward us. The approaching storm gave me a dark, ominous background to contrast with the glassy calm wave faces. A brief glow of gold through the curtain of clouds was a fitting end to the day, which soon got replaced by the first icy tentacles of the front. And then, whammo! A wisp of winter straight on the dial.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We mentioned Indonesia's mega swell last week, but there was a repeat last week with an even bigger one hitting. Uluwatu, Balangan, Nias and Padang Padang coped some challenging lines in round two. And in Nias this went down.
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