Patrick Booth, East Coast Low (DOCO 2023)

East Coast Low While surfers rejoiced over an east coast low that forms in the Coral Sea in July, it is, let’s just say usually a rare event, but with the effects of human caused climate change increasing the likelihood of these powerful tropical storms, the evidence is clear that we can expect to see more of these unseasonal destructive weather events in the future. When the Noosa points start breaking above 2 metres, just about every surfer within a couple of hundred kilometres started scrambling to put other less important things like work and family on hold so they can get up to the fickle yet fabled breaks to try and sample what Huey (The wave god) has dished up and get amongst it, but they must first face the first seemingly impossible task of getting a car park before a wave can be ridden! That July day a swarm of fearless local groms (young surfers) had taken off school and descended on the points like a pack of hungry wolves making it hard for even the pros to get a wave. The reality though, was that every surfer that had a dig that day was battling the elements with the term surfers use being Victory At Sea. That day only Julian Wilson’s filming crew and myself were game enough to shoot in let’s just say Cyclonic conditions. The winds were gusting over 40 knots with horizontal rain squalls stinging my face making the crappy five dollar umbrella I was using to try and stay dry repeatedly turn inside out. All five shots are using my 70-200mm f2.8 FL with a 2x teleconverter on a monopod with a raincoat. Foot note- As the storm raged on, that Princess cruise that must have been predestined to fail after first being refused entry to Eden on New South Wales’ south coast due to a high number of covid cases was then later sent back out to sea into the approaching tropical low deeming it too dangerous to enter Moreton Bay and the port of Brisbane. This meant that the ship had to do circles for three days in 8 metre swells off the Sunshine Coast as the storm approached from the north, which made me wonder just how many of those punters onboard will ever book another cruise again? My guess is the poor staff were still scraping vomit from the walls long after their guests had disembarked. Modern Man - 420mm @ 1/1500 sec f11 Iso 1600 Foiling has become a popular alternative to traditional board riding and once out of the water with enough forward momentum, can travel kilometres on one swell. On this memorable day, crews had teamed up and were towing each other into these massive swells in the middle of Laguna Bay using jet skis. Death Defying - 215mm @ 1/1500 sec f11 Iso2500 Young grommet of about ten rides a wave past the notoriously dangerous Boiling Pot at Nationals. The up and coming generation are fearless compared to when I was growing up and surfing the beautiful point breaks of Noosa. Modern Men - 600mm @ 1/1500 sec f11 Iso 1600 This shot pretty much sums up the day and the modern era of surfing. A young surfer watches on as a foiler comes flying past and his tow buddy probably posting a photo of his mate on social media with recipients on the other side of the world getting eyeballs on it only seconds after it happen. How times have changed! Rapid - 600mm @ 1/2000 sec f11 Iso 5000 Julian Wilson comes off the top going very fast. He’s been one of our brightest talents for well over a decade and sits unfortunately in that small group of Aussie surfers that have come painfully close to a world title, but hasn’t yet been able to seal the deal. He’s not even on the championship tour at the moment but remains in the higher echelon sof pro surfing’s elite with the ability to perform in 2 feet or 20! Boiling Pot - 600mm @ 1/2000 sec f11 Iso 5000 Julian Wilson comes flying out of a deep boiling pot tube with a mixed look of surprise and elation on his face. No wonder surfing is so addictive as it connects you with one of the most powerful forces of nature.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.