The man carrying big-wave surfing in Australia on his shoulders, Tim Bonython has dropped a new edit named ‘ Cold Comfort Shipsterns in July’. The surf videographer organised a crew featuring Maroubra’s Max Mcguigan and Wayne Cleveland and 16-year-old charger Noah Hassett. Where they met up with a bunch of local Tassie surfers such as Marti Paradisis and Danny Griffith.
Tracks caught up with Max Mcguigan to talk about his trip to Shipsterns Bluff. A big-wave spot he hasn’t surfed since he was 13 years old when Mark Matthews took him on a trip.
“It (Shippies) was a bit smaller than we thought. But mate there was still a couple of bomb sets that were coming through probably like 10 -12 footers.” Max would be rewarded for his patience in the freezing line-up finding himself on “ a solid one and ended up making it all the way to the end until it pinched on me. I almost made it, but it just pinched me.”
Max and fellow Maroubra charger Wayne Cleveland have become surfing’s new big-wave duo. Wayne was a prominent big-wave surfer in the early 2000s featuring on multiple Tracks covers.
Being an adrenalin junkie is a pre-requisite when it comes to charging big waves, but this mentality can be a problem on land. Wayne wasn’t completely satisfied with the thrills of surfing big waves and found new highs in crime, smuggling cocaine around the world. These illegal activities would catch up to him and he would end up serving ten years in prison.
Since getting out of the clink Wayne has been chasing swells around Australia and has a new mate in Max to hunt slabs with. Max said that Wayne’s “been out of jail for a couple of years now and we’ve been teaming up since he has been back surfing. Every swell in the last six months I’ve just been cruising and surfing with him.”
Max has been on a roll, check him out charging Ours today.