Australia has a lot of surfable offshore islands: Rottnest Island, Kangaroo Island, North and South Straddie. All of them get trumpeted in the surf media for the quality of their surf. And rightly so! They all rake in a heap of swell, and then manage do a hell of a lot with it.

But let's spare a thought for all the poor folk who live behind these islands, shall we?

Because each island casts a wave shadow that prevents swell from reaching the stretch of coast behind it. And the unfortunate surfers that live on these coasts forlornly wonder 'what if?' You think the Adelaide mid coasters are happy about Kangaroo Island? Or the punters in Perth? They live in the only capital city that faces the westerly swell track yet rarely see overhead waves on the metro beachies.

The photos below, taken by Craig Deans, are a case in point.

The first lot of photos show Trigg Point during a massive winter swell with Paul Manners and co. taking it apart. At 4-5 feet it's about as big as you'll ever see Trigg Point.

But meanwhile, down south...// STUART NETTLE