Just another terrifying day in the office for surfer Ross Clarke-Jones as he gears up for Red Bull Cape Fear at Tasmania’s Shipstern Bluff

TWENTY seven Olympic pools worth of water crashes down on those brave enough to tackle Australia’s most terrifying break — but big wave surfer Ross Clarke-Jones says it’s not dangerous.

IT’S not dangerous. Well, not according to Aussie surfer Ross Clarke-Jones.

The way he sees it people die everyday undertaking the ordinary. So there’s nothing particularly death defying about launching himself across one of the biggest waves on the planet.

The 52-year-old is gearing up for what is set to be another jaw dropping chapter in his inspiring surfing career — confronting the monster swell off the southern coast of Tasmania.

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Ross Clarke Jones will be among 20 big wave surfers dropped into the danger zone at Shipstern Bluff for an invitation-only challenge. Picture: Richard Dobson

Clarke-Jones will be among 20 big wave surfers dropped into the danger zone at Shipstern Bluff for an invitation-only challenge.

When the conditions are right, the dare devil will have just 48-hours to jet into one of the most notorious surf breaks in the world.

“I have never seen anything like it,” Clarke-Jones said.

“You go off one ledge and think you’re at the bottom of the wave and all of a sudden you are back on top of it again.

“You need to negotiate the steps and pull into the barrel at the right time.”

It’s a bit like mogul skiing, he says, except participants have a wall of water behind them.

“You just don’t know what you’re going to get,” Clarke-Jones said. “It’s a bit of a lottery.”

Located on the wild southern edge of the Tasman Peninsula, Shipstern Bluff was selected as the location for this year’s Red Bull Cape Fear event on account of its raw power and unpredictability.

Surfers must contend with a triple overhead wave more than 10 metres and a volume of water equal to more than 27 Olympic pools that breaks over a shallow reef.

But the challenges of this location once known as Devil’s Point is no bother for the man born on June 6, 1966.

Clarke-Jones has been chasing big waves since he was a grommet on the NSW central coast.

Surfing legend Mick Fanning and 2016 Red Bull Cape Fear champion Russell Bierke will be among fellow competitors ready to head south for the event which could kick off anytime between now and December.

Ross Clarke Jones surfs a big wave at Praia do Norte in Nazare, Portugal on December 23, 2015. Picture: Red Bull.

Clarke-Jones said the Tassie adventure offered the ultimate adrenaline rush.

“It’s not about how tall the wave is but more than volume of water and how much force and power is in there,”

“It’s like 20-30ft tall but it’s really about the power of the wave and the volume of water.”

Event creator Mark Matthews said it took a special breed of surfer to be selection.

“The mountainous size, power and majestic intensity of Shipstern Bluff matched with 20 fearless big wave surfers has all the ingredients to be a highly viewed surfing event.”

The risks are obvious. Surfers have died negotiating waves just like this.

But Clarke-Jones says it’s not something worth dwelling on.

“Relatively, it’s worse to go out on the street,” he said.

“It can kill you, sure, but it’s not death defying. Plenty of other things can kill you. Death doesn’t really come into it. I don’t think that way at all.”

But it was only last week while surfing The Right, a thumping reef break off the coast of Western Australia that he was given another lesson in mortality.

“I didn’t feel right going into it and sure enough I got cleaned up on the first wave.”

He was throttled — pushed to a depth of about 10 metres.”

“I couldn’t equalise, it was terrifying,” he said. “I have never felt that.”

Oddly, the champion surfer credits severe sleep apnoea for helping him cope when things go awry. He says his brain is used to being deprived of oxygen and thankfully he always knows which was is up.

Ross Clarke-Jones surfs at Turtle Dove Shoal in Australia. Picture: Red Bull Content Pool.

“I have an uncanny sense of direction,” he jokes. “I let myself go until I feel myself rising and then I try to paddle up to the surface.”

But when he gets it right, it’s all worth it.

“When you are on that tow board and feeling secure and alert, your senses are so sharp.

“It’s like being on a racetrack and you get the right line on the corners — it’s the best feeling in the world.”

Red Bull Cape Fear will be broadcast live and free at Red Bull TV.

@aaronlangmaid