Margaret River’s winemakers are notorious for vanishing suddenly when the offshore swell builds. But when the giant waves come crashing in, only one man’s crazy enough to face them.
On most days Damon Eastaugh can be found in the winery at Flying Fish Cove shaping a range of wines that capture Margaret River at its best. But on those days full of foreboding, when the ocean unleashes all its fury and waves the size of five storey buildings crash over the reefs three kilometres offshore, Damon disappears from the winery, grabs his wetsuit and board and gets out there.
In June 2006, minutes after a fellow surfer had wiped out and resurfaced spitting teeth, Damon took on a monolith judges estimated to be almost 16 metres high and in doing so conquered what’s believed to be the biggest wave ever ridden in Australia.
Each year the winemaking community of Margaret River holds its own surfing competition, and even amongst this very competitive crowd nobody dares dispute Damon’s supremacy in the surf.