Storm surfer Mark Visser conquers giant wave in Tasmania

MARK Visser is a rider on the storm, as the big-wave surfer tamed this ocean giant in southern Tasmania.

Mark Visser rides high on a mighty Tasmanian boomer

MARK Visser is a rider on the storm, as the big-wave surfer tamed this ocean giant in southern Tasmania.

Visser, along with brother Kevin and local surfers James Hick, Marty Paradisis and Mike Brennan, took on what leading forecaster Ben Macartney reported as one of the biggest swells seen on Australian charts.

The group, in training for an upcoming extreme adventure series, braved severe hailstorms, 157km/h winds and icy waters to conquer waves rearing up to 10m.

Visser, 28, from the Sunshine Coast, is a cult hero known mostly for his courage and skill as a "tow-in" specialist, where boardriders are pulled on to mountainous waves by jet-skis.

However, he said this mission required him to "paddle in" taking the degree of difficulty to dangerous heights.

"Normally to find big paddle-in waves we have to travel to Mavericks in California, or Hawaii, but to experience rideable waves at this size in our own back yard was amazing," Visser said.

"I got smashed pretty bad on my first wave, but then rode the one in the photo. Paddling into waves like that, you just have to commit and go for it," he said.

Coastalwatch chief forecaster Macartney said swell buoys off Tasmania had recorded peak wave heights from 15m to 18m generated by a slow-moving complex low-pressure system beneath the Tasman Sea.

Visser said the whirlwind surf mission had been intended as an "intense training drill" for an upcoming documentary series.

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