Scary, beautiful slab hunting with Ted Grambeau

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 6 June 2017 – Surf images kindle our stoke, inspire us to get out there and often times, simply strike fear into our hearts. Ted Grambeau, well-known for his work with Rip Curl on their original The Search mission, takes us to different waters in this latest blog installment. The veteran photographer sat in the sharky channel at a deepwater South Oz slab that can be as beautiful as it is frightening. And Ted did an amazing job conveying both.

Mick Corbett © Ted Grambeau

Some surf locations need no introduction, however, if you’re still unsure let me just say it’s one of the wildest and most dangerous locations in the world for surfer and photographer. Great whites don’t seem to mind the bitterly cold conditions.

A complex beast with its own idiosyncrasies – formed out of deep water, powerful and strong. An ocean swell that meets with an irregular shaped rock bottom causing a series of steps – ledges and holes that have to be negotiated at your own peril. A set of skills that need to be applied if you’re to make it to the bottom of each one – to then negotiate the next ledge.

There’s a definite commitment required to take on these death slabs. A small crew exists, a breed of fearless wave hunters, Southern Lords that have defined the very meaning of hardcore. Enduring some of the most extreme beatings you could imagine, they pursue their passion at a great personal cost.

This is a salute to those who dare take the drop…

See more. Read more from Ted Grambeau.

Mick Corbett © Ted Grambeau