Swellnet Sessions

It was a fitting opening day for the final comp of the year. The comp that will decide the 2012 title. Starting out undersized and inconsistent the north-west swell just kept getting bigger as the day progressed with semi regular sets breaking on second reef by the time the sun went down. Meanwhile, on first reef there were some wild barrels and acts of bravado as the back-22 surfers of the WT surfers threw caution to the wind and wildcards claimed a few scalps.

Tomorrow should resume with the swell similar size as late today before tapering throughout the day.

"This is so much more than just a surf trip," mused Joe, a powerful natural footer from Maryland on the East Coast of the USA. We were sitting on the beach drinking chilled coconuts at Ant Atoll, a small atoll seven miles off the west coast of Pohnpei. We had enjoyed a fun run of waves all week but this morning the swell had dropped off so Allois made the call for a day trip. In record time the boat had been loaded with fishing and snorkeling gear, a cool box full of coconuts and snacks and plenty of fuel.

Sunset is a tricky beast of a wave at the best of times. Put a light south-west wind on it and an inconsistent swell and it becomes a lottery, ten-point rides are followed by two-point back ups. Advancing out of a heat can seem like pure dumb luck, until, that is, you see the names of those advancing: Florence, Slater, Perrow, O'Brien. Evidently it's those who manage their luck out at Sunset.

"It was the sort of session where you only caught a few waves, and you always felt like you were gonna snap your board."

So said Paul Stanton about the session that bore this long and throaty barrel. The swell was too straight and too big for the bank but Paul surfed it for five hours, patiently waiting for the ones that hit just right; the ones that allowed entry while also offering the chance at an exit, however slim that might be. Perfection may have it's place in surfing but these sort of sessions, when you must hunt and probe and play the odds, are arguably more satisfying.

Mid-size Sunset doesn't translate to video very well - looks slow and shifty, it's the sort of wave you need to feel the power. The webcast therefore can be a bit of a dull affair as we're used to death-or-glory heroics or small wave acrobatics.

Capture it in still photos, however, and the viewer gets a better appreciation of what the surfer is doing and feeling. Long driving arcs with plenty of wet rail, deep barrels and gnarly end section reos are best viewed in frozen moments when the gravity of the situation can be adequately surmised.