Winter storms spark monster swell at ‘the gnarliest, scariest place on Earth’

As Aidan Kean bobs in the cold, grey Southern Ocean nearly a kilometre off the coast, he’s staring down a mountain of water bearing down on him. 

The photographer and videographer is witnessing a spectacular show put on by Mother Nature and those surfers mad enough to attempt to ride these giant waves.

The wave, known as The Right, is the stuff of legend, with surfers and photographers describing it with almost mythical awe.

The Right draws big-wave surfers from across the world to a remote spot on Western Australia’s rugged south coast.

Around winter it can flare up as massive swells surge north from deep low-pressure systems in the Southern Ocean. 

Wave height of two-storey buildings

Last Friday, the wave came to life.

He was there to capture it on camera, jumping off a jetski to tread water while holding his camera in the face of the giant.

“It’s terrifying. When you first hop off the ski and open your eyes, the scariest part about The Right isn’t the wave itself, it’s the sound of the wave,” he said. 

“Where you want to be is where the wave is the scariest … you’ve got to train your mind to do it.”

Surfers are towed out on a line by jetski and then left to battle and ride the towering waves.

Kean said it was hard to describe the scene, with wave heights nearing an estimated 8 metres — about the height of a two-storey building.

“You feel the wave when you’re in the water,” he said.

“Knowing I’ve seen those sea monsters, I just want to go back out there and chase them.

“When you look under water, you just see the blue of the Southern Ocean; it’s terrifying, you’re shark bait.”

Years of experience are needed

It’s named The Right as it’s a right-hand surf break curling from west to east along the coast.

Some who have braved the break have suffered collapsed lungs, concussions, and broken bones. 

Kean said the crews and surfers had to work professionally together due to the risk of the location and wave. 

“You trust each other out there,” he said.

“You need years in the water, years at other breaks before.