Monster Cloudbreak

Power and Perfection Photo: Andrew Shield

In case you’ve missed it on various sports and breakfast TV shows the last 24 hours, Fiji’s Tavarua Island copped an absolute broadside on Monday from the same sou-sou-west swell that saw the South Coast of New South Wales come alive on the weekend.

With changes in local law seeing Tavarua now open to the public as well as island guests, and with ASL having a long standing invite from World Surfaris to grab some bunks aboard the Stella, last week’s forecast was enough for us to hit the red button and deploy the troops. Laurie Towner, Shaun Cansdell and Dean Brady packed not-quite-their-biggest boards, surf guide extraordinaire David Scard lent his services, and Andrew Shield and Talon Clemow grabbed their lenses and boarded the flight to Nadi while the rest of us watched the isobars march north.

Laurie Towner Photo: Andrew Shield

Laurie Towner Photo: Andrew Shield

Laurie Towner Photo: Andrew Shield

………..

The forecast wasn’t wrong. Three hours of flying, 20 minutes in a van and 45 minutes of leisurely boating saw the team staring into the biggest barrels seen outside of Hawaii in a long time. And that was just the Sunday.

Early Monday it was 12-15ft, but a little wonky. “It had morning sickness, the wind was a bit south, but you could tell it was really, really big,” says Shield. “Then by about 8 o’clock the sun came out, it swung offshore and the sets started to come. It was huge. Hard to tell how big, you don’t realize the size till you see the photos which is rare, ’cos normally waves look smaller.” … See the full story at surfinglife.com.au

Cloudbreak September 2010 from Surfing Life on Vimeo.

Photos: Andrew Shield
Video: Talon Clemow
Full article and images surfinglife.com.au