Shipstern Bluff (also known as Devil's Point or simply Shippies) is a globally renowned
big-wave surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
location on the southeastern coast of
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, Australia, on the
Tasman Peninsula
The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart.
The Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsu ...
.
Location
Shipstern Bluff is located on the southern point of the Tasman Peninsula Tasmania, near Cape Raoul. It is approximately a 30 km boat/
jet ski
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat.
P ...
ride from the coast to the Bluff and is regarded amongst the surfing community as one of the wildest and most dangerous locations in the world, both for the surf and the prevalence of
great white sharks
The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is the ...
.
The wave is also well known for its multifaceted inner formations, referred to by many of its surfers as ''steps'', which give the wave a unique appearance and greatly adds to the challenge of surfing it.
Surfers
Some of the more notable surfers who have tackled Shipstern Bluff include:
*Andrew Campbell
*James Polanowski
*Marti Paradidis
* Laurie Towner
* Charles Condon
* Kipp Caddy
*
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer who has been crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. He is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship T ...
*
Kieren Perrow
*
Ross Clarke-Jones
*
Andy Irons
Philip Andrew Irons (July 24, 1978November 2, 2010) was an American professional surfer. Irons began surfing with his brother Bruce Irons (surfer), Bruce on the shallow and dangerous waves of Kauai, Hawaii, before being spotted by a local surfbo ...
*
Richie Vaculik
Richie Vaculik ( ; born Richard Vaculik) is a mixed martial artist and big wave surfer from Maroubra, Australia. Richie competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight division.
Early life
Vaculic was born in Sydney to a Czec ...
*
Mick Fanning
Michael Eugene Fanning (born 13 June 1981) is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark ...
*
Dave Rastovich
Favorable conditions
* Swell direction: WSW
* Wind direction: NNE at 50n
* Tide: Medium to high
It is known to hold and break from 1 metre plus in winter.
References
Coastline of Tasmania
Surfing locations in Tasmania
Tasman Peninsula
{{TasmanTAS-geo-stub