Surfer Profile: Andrew Marr

Highlights:
2nd Red Bull BWA 2006, 2nd Ride Of The Year Billabong XXL 2007, O’Neill Raw Courage Award 2008.

Long before the sun was set to arise, I walked down to my favourite view spot at Waimea Bay. The charts for Hawaii are probably the most accurate in the world, and when waves are going to break at Waimea, the world knows about it. The entire North Shore is ready for it. The surfing media, photographers, videographers and journalists are all keen to get involved, to document it, to be part of the mix.

We all knew that this day was going to be intense. Fifteen to eighteen- foot with twenty-foot sets throughout the day. The Waimea Bay area was going to be deluged with people. Traffic was going to be jammed. I wanted to be on the spot to watch this whole thing, to experience what a day at The Bay was all about. From the safety of the beach that is.

In the early morning gloom I could see surfers starting to line up on the beach, peering into the dark. Lights were swinging into the car park, surfers were getting their guns ready. My eyes shifted to the notorious Waimea Bay take-off zone, as a big set started bumping up on the dark horizon. In the middle of the bay I saw a lone surfer paddling, drifting very close to where these giant waves were going to break. It was dark, but I could make out his big yellow board.

As the set cracked up on the reef, the surfer turned around in the dark and paddled hard for the first one. It was a screamer, a good few times overhead, maybe 15-foot. He got to the bottom, cranked a bottom turn, and rode the wave cleanly to the channel. I could see the white streaks of his tail cutting into the smooth face leaving tracers in the dark. He kicked out, one bomb under the belt and started paddling back out. The rest of the contingent on the beach mobilised, started negotiating the shore break, but Andy was already back in position, waiting all alone for the next big set.

“My motivation to surf big waves is simple – it’s a love affair,” said Andy when asked about his attitude and dedication to riding the biggest and meanest waves the world over. Andy has surfed Waimea, Todos Santos (where he has paddled into some very big waves) and Dungeons where is a consistent stand-out. Now he’s off to Mavericks. But everyone has their fears, and Andy has some as well. “My biggest fear? That would be catching the wrong train on the way to Heaven…”