Surfing at the Tasman Peninsula

This story was in the local paper on Monday. Thought we had to share it with you all:

" A SYDNEY man photographing surfers off the Tasman Peninsula was lucky to escape without serious injury yesterday after being dumped by a large wave.

Tasmania Ambulance Service said Mark Matthews appeared to have suffered spinal or neck injuries but he retained movement and sensation in his limbs.

Matthews, 24, had been taking photographs off Shipstern Bluff, famous for its massive waves, when he was dumped about 1.30pm.

He had been floating in the water with a camera strapped to his head when a large wave ploughed him into the sea's rocky bottom.

A swell in excess of 7m on the open sea -- and waves considerably higher at Shipstern Bluff -- meant winching the man to safety from a helicopter was not an ideal option for rescuers.

He was taken by boat to White Beach where paramedics and a volunteer ambulance crew transferred him to an ambulance. He is in a stable condition at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

It is believed his head-mounted camera, which was destroyed, bore the brunt of impact with the sea bottom.

Massive swells at Shipstern, near Port Arthur, lure surfers from around the world.

Aussie surfer Ross Clarke-Jones increased Shipstern Bluff's popularity by riding a monster wave to top prize in a $30,000 big-wave competition."

And the waves looked like this (sorry about quality, but as we do not have a scanner, we just had to take a picture of the picture.....):

Any problems, please email webmaster. This page was last updated 24/07/2008