We’d had a few days of storms so the surf was pretty big, so much so that many of the competitors decided against wasting their energy battling out through the waves to the break. Instead they scampered, barefoot of course, round the bottom of the headland and out on to the rocks, where they waited for an incoming wave to break around them before flinging themselves and their boards into the sea and doing their stuff in front of the judges, who were comfortably set up on the beach, under a sunshade with a pair of binoculars and in sniffing distance of the barbecue.
Waiting to compete...
Apparently, it’s normal practice. It’s certainly something you wouldn’t see at home - 13 and 14-year-olds in an official competition being allowed to jump into the foaming waters without any supervision, life-jackets or lifeguards - at least not without howls of outrage and calls for the prosecution of all involved.
There’s also a tradition of fishing off such rocks and of fishermen entering the water involuntarily, courtesy of large waves, and being swept to a salty grave.
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