Heart of the nation: Tasmania 7186

SHIPSTERN Bluff: it's a name that sends shivers up the spine of any surfer.

Heart

SHIPSTERN Bluff: it's a name that sends shivers up the spine of any surfer.

No other wave in Australia - indeed, few other waves in the world - can match the power, unpredictability and danger of this break on the Tasman Peninsula, an hour's boat ride from Port Arthur. For Marti Paradisis and his mates, who grew up near Hobart, it has long been a place to test the outer limits of their skill and courage. They're drawn to it like moths to a flame.

That's Paradisis, 29, in the photo. You've noticed he's dressed as Santa Claus; we'll come to that in a minute. For now, contemplate the awesome thickness of the wave at its crest, and the fact that it rears up like this in the blink of an eye as Southern Ocean swells emerge from deep water and suddenly hit a shallow rock shelf.

Paradisis is airborne after launching off the "step" - the bulge in the face of the wave, running diagonally behind him. It's a unique feature of Shipstern and the critical moment of the ride, he says. If you land well you're set up for the deep, sweet barrel that comes next. If you stuff it up, the consequences can be dire. He's been held down for 30 seconds here; he's come within a whisker of being smashed against rocks at the base of the 150m-high sea cliff which gives the wave its name. As for the Great Whites that prowl these waters, attracted by the nearby seal colony, he laughs and says: "Sharks are the least of your worries."

So why the Santa suit? Well, it was Christmas Eve in 2010, and Paradisis and his friends were larking about because they couldn't quite believe their luck: Shipstern is usually "on" only in the colder months when thick wetsuits, gloves and hoods are required. Some of the others rode it that day in boardshorts, for the novelty; one even cracked a can of beer inside the barrel and took a swig. Now that's chutzpah.

You'll be glad to know Santa nailed the step, and rode the barrel until it spat him out safely. Then what? "You breathe a big sigh of relief, every time," Paradisis says. "Then you go round and do it again."