THE WHITE WHALE
“There’s always that one wave that bears fear into a photographers mind. A place that you’ve always been in awe of shooting from the water but never really taken that leap.
Not far from home, lies a right meaty slab that breaks on ever increasing dry reef. It’s been surfed before, I’ve seen great things happen out there but it’s been an eerie place that’s unforgiving and has even taken men from it’s cliffs. Never to be seen again.
Being off my radar for quite some time. It recently popped up again after my good friend Grant conjured up the idea to paddle it solo. Of course I was all in. It had been years since I’d showed any interest in the place. Our first session was, well unsuccessful with Grant copping one to many beatings resulting in our tails between our legs.
Leaving for Indo within a week, my winter at home over. I thought that was it and I would have to wait a while to get it on again! Until 5 days later, the swell kicked into something a touch bigger than we saw. With Grant more eager than ever, we tackled it again with some trusty friends. Hell it wasn’t as mean as we wanted but man, it made us feel alive.
Until next time, my white whale.”
Text & photography: Hayden O’Neill, Desfura - www.desfura.com
We are a group of women who share a passion for the outdoors, adventure and art. With Waves and Ice we do not only want to show our stories but also inspire other women to follow their passions, even if it seems that the area their passions lie in are mostly male dominated.