Relive Laura Enever’s Shipstern Bluff Suplex (Video)
Chilling hydrodynamics aside, what’s remarkable about Laura Enever’s Shiptern’s smackdown is that she got back on the rope and towed into a gem afterward.
The scene: A throttling day at Shipstern Bluff in April 2024. The lineup is packed. It’s a mix of tow and paddle. People are sending it over the step and into the fine line between glory and oblivion.
Though Laura Enever is one of the most badass chargers on the planet, and no stranger to Shippies, this was his first visit in five years. After catching a few warmup rides, Laura got held up and found herself on the wrong side of a devilish Tasmanian tunnel.
Faced with a whitewashed step and a closing-out wall, Laura straightened out and leaped....right into the apex of the step and the cascading lip. It’s as scary a wipeout as you’ll ever see, an easy contender for the 2024 SURFER Big Wave Challenge wipeout award.
“That second part of the wave, I was like, ‘This is the entry to hell right here,” said an adrenalized Laura in her video of the swell. “I remember seeing that thing and I’m like, 'What do I do with this?'"
After a slam like that, anyone would be forgiven for calling it a day and popping a tinnie from the safety of the channel. But Laura is just different. By all accounts, Laura is an affable, easygoing and relatable person. But when the waves get questionable … well, there’s a reason she’s a regular invitee to the Red Bull Magnitude, Vans Pipe Masters, and the Eddie. And don’t forget she’s a world record holder.
So after her slam, she turned around the step and held her line when she emerged from another mutant. That, if nothing else, exemplified what Laura is all about. Although perhaps her one-liner in the channel after her eye-popping wipeout ain’t bad, either.
“Can’t get worse than that, aye?” she said.