G’day Ross. You’ve taken some pretty severe wipeouts. How bad does it get when you’ve got half of the ocean crushing you?
While shooting [Discovery Channel doco] Storm Surfers, we had GPS units strapped to us which would measurethe G-force upon impact. Not that those things lasted long — it took about five waves for the units to get smashed.

What were the readings like before the units broke?
I think 10.5Gs was the highest we got. That’s more than a space shuttle re-entering the atmosphere... Imagine doing that four times in five seconds! That’s what happened to me when I copped four mountains of water on my head. When you’re getting thrown around like that underwater and changing directions so quickly, that’s when the G-forces get you. It’s not fun.

How much pressure do you feel to charge a wave you usually wouldn’t?
Mate, I used to when I was younger. I was given a reputation as a big wave surfer, which isn’t easy to get, and I wanted to hang onto it. But I rarely felt pressured — I was 19 when I first went to Hawaii and I loved charging the big stuff straight away.

How about now?
Last year, I came back from Germany with a crew to take on [Tasmanian death wave] Shipsterns and it was ugly as Hell. You just wouldn’t surf it — I didn’t even want to attempt it, which is a pretty rare thing.

So how did you pull out of it and maintain your rep?
I didn’t pull out! I mean, the crew had made this big effort to get there, but no-one’s going to surf? That’s not right.

Were the conditions as bad as your wipeout at another Tasmanian spot, Pedra Branca, in 2009?
They’re all bad. Anytime there’s a 50-tonne lip crashing within inches of your head is potentially deadly. But during these sessions at Shippies last year, I went over the falls and tore up my ankle, which was a bit of drama — that’s great for the cameras, so it was worth it!

How much notice do you need to be on the other side of the world for to catch a big swell?
The forecasts are pretty accurate from three days out now, depending on where the swell is, but Hawaii and California give you a solid week to prepare.

How good is it having a meteorologist on board with your trips now so he can cop the blame if there’s no surf?
In pre-internet times, I used to do all of that myself — not as a meteorologist or to the standard that they are at now — but I can appreciate the work Benny [meteorologist Ben Matson] puts in, even if it’s easier now. Today, a lot of it is down to looking for the right colour on the weather screen and the right wind, but it’s great having Ben on board because he goes into so much detail and well, frankly, I don’t have to do it, ha ha!

So is it possible to surf the same swell in different parts of the world?
Yeah, definitely. Mark Foo was the first bloke to try it and he’s been my inspiration through the years. Just before he died, we were out at Waimea Bay and he told me he was going to try and ride the same wave three times, which sounded mental, but he explained it was possible by doing Waimea Bay in Hawaii, Mavericks in California and Todos Santos in Mexico. He got to Mavericks and died, so he didn’t quite finish the job, but he got pretty close.

Do you think that elusive 100ft wave is really out there?
It could be a myth, but I’ve seen swells at Mavericks that could generate a 100ft wave. There’s really large, stormy swells around but… geez, it takes a lot of wind to produce a wave that size. And that’s even without considering if a spot can actually handle it. Mavericks could, the same probably goes for Cortez Banks, which we’ve been waiting on for years. 

How quick would a jet ski have to be to out-run a 100ft wave?
These waves that I catch are usually 80 to 90ft, so they probably move at about 80kmh, at a guess. A meteorologist could tell you, but if it’s a deep ocean floor, I’d say 80kmh is a fair estimate. My jet ski does 110kmh, but we’ll probably need to modify the engine once we go any bigger than we do now.

You’ve only had a handful of tow-in drivers during your time, right?
Yeah. I’ve been with Tom Carroll for the last five years, and Tony Ray before that. I’ve been mates with Tom for 25 years.

Surely there’s got to be a huge amount of trust for someone towing you into monster waves.
Well, I can be pretty critical, or “Sergeant Frickin’ Control Freak”, as Tom puts it.

That’s not the catchiest nickname.
Maybe, but I just want from my drivers what I give to them, and sometimes that’s not possible. I have a little more driving experience than Tom — he’s only been at it eight years as opposed to my 15 — but he gives it his all and is a great driver when he concentrates. Problem is, he’s like a little kid and wants to surf all the time, so it’s not always the easiest thing for him.

He can’t concentrate on driving? That doesn’t sound encouraging…
Yeah, and you really need that trust, especially when a driver puts you in a bad situation — you trust them to get you out of it as well. But I like to live by the theory of “don’t rely on anybody but yourself”. When you start relying on people, that’s when you get into trouble. So, to answer your question, it’d be nice to rely on him, but I can’t — ha ha!

Would you ever go back to just paddling into waves?
Probably not. I was out at a spot today where I was towed in, but there were some guys paddling in. I got around 20 waves in the best spot and these guys who were paddling in were having a terrible time of it trying to catch waves because it’s just so much harder. Don’t get me wrong — it’s great to paddle out with a few blokes and no jet skis, like at Waimea, but other than that it’s like walking up a mountain instead of taking the chairlift — what’s the point?

How does the board change?
The difference is huge. The boards you get to ride are much better than those massive planks the paddle-in guys use for big surf. Paddling under a wave takes a lot more nerves and positioning plays a bigger part, but as far as fun factor goes, you can’t beat towing.

Surfers are notoriously secretive about their hidden spots. Would you ever film one of yours?
I have one or two waves where I refuse to shoot any video. It would make the best footage ever, but giving up one of my spots is like giving up a piece of gold. If I started shooting it, it’d be all over. It’d be like [Maui break] Jaws, which just gets packed. If I submitted footage into the biggest wave contests, I’d win every year with these spots.

Are they in Australia?
Yeah, and there’s no doubt I’d win. But I can’t — if I did, every time there’s any swell, there’d be people there. So for $30k, it’s just not worth it.

■ Storm Surfers screens on the Discovery Channel at 9.30pm (AEST) on August 19.

Click here to see Ross Clarke-Jones and Tom Carroll in action

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