Wipeout survivor Russell Bierke creating big waves in world surfing
BIG-WAVE surfer Russell Bierke knows it’s probably best he has little memory of a shocking wipeout that left him floating unconscious in the water before being rescued by Kelly Slater.
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BIG-WAVE surfer Russell Bierke knows it’s probably best he has little memory of a shocking wipeout that left him floating unconscious in the water before being rescued by fellow surfers, including American legend Kelly Slater.
Best that he’s been able to put being pulled from the surf out for the count “and blue like a Smurf” behind him to return to the water.
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Best that he’s still able to hold his nerve when flying down the face of green-lipped monsters at the most dangerous surf breaks in the world — including the infamous Portuguese hot spot of Nazare where a deep underwater canyon spits up colossal waves up to 110-foot high.
The 21-year-old from the NSW South Coast, one of only two Australians on the WSL Big Wave tour, now treats being knocked out, getting water in his lungs and nearly dying in 2017 as a freak accident, not a life, or career, changing moment.
“It could have turned me off for life but it wasn’t anything I did wrong. It was just a freak accident. I have a friend who broke his jaw surfing waist height,” said Bierke, who at 18 won the famed Cape Fear big wave event in Sydney.
Waves exploding on the rocky coastline lure big wave daredevils to the remote fishing town
“A few weeks later I was surfing again and definitely had some nerves for sure.
“My very first wave I hit a wave and fell and took a semi solid wipeout and it helped.
“It just clicked the switch again. You have to keep it in the back of my mind for safety but not dwell on it.”
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This attitude has seen Bierke’s skills and confidence grow to the extent he is now consisted one of the world’s leading big wave chargers.
It’s why last week he flew to Praia do Norte in Portugal, where waves exploding on the rocky coastline lure big wave daredevils to the remote fishing town and where the Big Wave Tour could kick off this summer.
This infamous venue is where Brazilian Rodrigo Koxa last November rode a verified wave 80-foot high, where Maya Gabeira set a world record for the hugest wave surfed by a woman when she conquered a 68-footer and where Australian Ross Clarke-Jones almost drowned last year.
“I’ve never even laid eyes on it so it’s important I get to surf here, get a warm-up here in case the competition is called on soon,’’ Bierke told The Daily Telegraph before flying to Portugal.
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“I have been studying a lot of footage and looking at the surf on webcam just to see how it breaks. You have to get a feel for it.”
And Bierke got that, suffering a major wipeout on his first ride in Nazare which left him battered and bruised but generally OK
Unlike Mavericks and Jaws, Nazare is a beach break and that, Bierke says, makes it particularly dangerous.
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“With a beach break the sand moves with the swell so you get waves breaking wherever,” he said. “It’s more erratic. There is no defined channel. You have to be super on to it.’’
To help him master the Portuguese beasts, Bierke has called on advice from Garrett McNamara who put the wave on the map when he surfed and survived a 78-footer back in 2011 in front of the historic lighthouse.
“I have talked to Gareth about it, about the current, and got some feedback from him,’’ he said. “There is always an element of risk but I pick my battles a little more nowadays.
“But I can’t wait. I just hope it goes off.’’
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