Rottnest Redemption

Rottnest had been fun, but in my two trips to the island I was far from convinced with its capacity to produce quality waves. The swell forecasts were looking prime on the Monday, so we extended our accommodation and waited for the swell. We snagged a lift to the beach with the Surfing WA crew, and were greeted with perfectly groomed 6 to 8ft lines stacked to the horizon. We joined Felicity and her dad in the frantic race to get suited up and out into the lineup.

With one other guy on the peak and a few stragglers on the inside, Delroy, Felicity and I traded set wave after set wave. The lefts were long and bowling, offering up big barrels from start to finish. The rights were short, intense and ended up closing out on the same section of reef the contest was focusing on in the previous days.

One thing that blew me away was Felicity’s performance. I have never witnessed a woman attack such intimidating surf conditions with confidence. I had heard she had a crack in solid waves, but seeing her throw herself into some of the biggest waves of the day without hesitation was super impressive. Her stellar run was temporarily stopped when she once again attacked the lip of the outside section, snapping her 5’10 in the process. Seemingly unphased by the whole drama, she returned to peak on my 6’1 and proceeded to throw herself into serious walls of water with reckless abandon.

We had two hours of mind blowing waves before the lineup became a circus. With the first bus from town combining the flotilla of boats and jetskis assembling in the channel, we decided to call it a day.

Rottnest has got the drinking establishments and laidback atmosphere to make it a desirable location for the average non surfer, but I had serious doubts in regards to its wave producing capabilities.

Now I love the place.

Its funny what a few hours in the ocean can do to change ones mind.