F
rom the age of 10 to 20 I
lived and breathed right-
hand pointbreaks. I can basically
attribute my world titles to all
those years spent surfing long
walls on my forehand, and that
most of the events on our Tour are
held at rights, not lefts. I’ve grown
up surfing right-handers and am
just so comfortable with them.
If a perfect left comes through
with a shitty little right off it, I’m
probably going the right – that’s
how addicted I am!
“Surfing pointbreaks on your
forehand lets you smooth out your
turns, work out the kinks, and just
go FAST. All these years later they’re
still my favourite waves, so I’mpretty lucky I live right in front of
one of the best in the world.
“Kirra is an incredibly special
wave to me. I remember watching
my dad out there when I was young,
and the Billabong Pro way back in
the day. I remember it just being
so fast, and the groynes freaked
me out a little, too. Just as I started
to really get into surfing it kind of
disappeared, so it’s always been
mythical. I think the sand has finally
sorted itself out now, though, so you
can surf Snapper when it’s small and
then Kirra when it picks up.
“Now whenever it breaks I go
straight there. Well, kinda, you still
paddle out at Snapper and drift
down, and the whole time you’rewondering what it’ll be like. Then
you come around the groyne and
straight away you’re inside everyone
and hopefully you can pick a wave
off. Snapper is crowded all day long,
but Kirra has these magical little
windows where suddenly there’s
not too many people around and it
clicks and turns on these perfectly
groomed lines.
“It’s a long walk to my house if
I’ve gone all the way to the end of
Kirra, so I’ll keep my eyes out for
a friend and see if I can get a lift
back! If not, I’m dry by the time I get
home. It’s the perfect way to start
the day.- Stephanie Gilmore, on Kirra
“
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