KEY POINTS:
Legendary Aussie surfer Tom Carroll talks to Joanna Hunkin about being the star of the big-wave doco Storm Surfers.
Are you waiting for a storm to brew, or are you off duty at the moment?
Nah, we're taking a break at the moment. We're just about to go to Hawaii, where there are plenty of storms brewing in the North Pacific to give us swell.
So is it mainly a winter sport? Do the storms surface more in winter?
No, it can happen in the summer as well, depending on the cyclones.
The weather has its exceptions. It's nice just waiting for it. I naturally do that, keep an eye out.
Tell me a bit about how you first got into storm surfing.
I guess I've been surfing since I was about 8 years old. I've always
challenged myself since I was a kid. I challenged myself in big waves and storm surf before jet-skis came along. We started using jet-skis to tow us out in the late 90s and started riding a lot bigger waves
than I could paddle into.
How big is the biggest wave you've ever ridden?
I had one that was measured in Maui, in Hawaii, at 42ft ... that was the official measurement. I know people have ridden a lot bigger waves than that.
Did that seem like one of the biggest you'd ridden at the time?
Look, I've ridden smaller waves that felt more powerful ... or scary,
depending on where you're at and the reefs. Certain situations can be a lot more scary than the size of a wave. It plays a part but it's not the ultimate factor that creates a danger.
So what are the ideal conditions? Are there good storms and bad storms?
Yeah, there are good storms and bad storms and good places and bad places. It takes a bit of a time, and a bit of trial and error to figure that out. We've used Ben Matson, who's a great meteorologist. He's a one of a kind. He's really tuned into what's going on out there with all
the weather systems. He's been surf forecasting for years.
And how much notice do you have?
Sometimes we don't have much time at all but generally we've got about 48 hours. We see something coming in about five days beforehand.
Do you ever find yourself getting out there and thinking 'Whoa, this is
just too big'? Or do you give it a crack anyway?
Dangerous Banks kind of got like that. It wasn't too pretty. We actually pulled out because it just got too crazy out there. It was too dangerous
for everyone out there.
Right. But then, it was called Dangerous Banks. Surely, that was a bit of a giveaway? Are you guys just natural born thrill-seekers?
Yeah, we're lunatics. We just love it. It doesn't happen instantly
but I've had a connection with riding big waves for a while, so I've got a lot of experience under the belt. The ocean and the water and all those elements can swallow you up very, very quickly and wash their
hands of you.
So how many bones have you broken since you started doing big-wave
surfing?
The only time I've ever broken a bone is when I hit a reef.
What about surfboards? Do you churn through a few of those?
Well, tow-boards are very, very strong. But at the moment, because
they're advancing very quickly, we keep changing them.
How did you guys come to make this documentary?
We did two other productions before this, so it's been a bit of a
build-up to being involved with the Discovery Channel. The first was off
the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa - we rode a ridge down there that had never been ridden. And we rode another wave that had never been ridden off Japan, in a typhoon swell, which was pretty awesome. We did those two productions with a team we've been working with for a while. We know our rhythm and routine. It takes quite a lot of faith, and organisation, and backing each other up, so it's been an amazing journey.
So what else is left to surf? What's the holy grail of big-wave surfing?
The strongest storms in the world are the ones from the Roaring Forties, and the ones in the Northern Hemisphere, down off the Aleutian Islands at this time of year. They bring swells to Hawaii, Northern California and all the way around up to Canada. The storms of the North Atlantic
are massive and send swells into Europe. Ireland, and around that area, has some fantastic spots. All the way down to Portugal and even Morocco. We're just grazing the tip of the iceberg.
