The Meads Bay Wave (Meads Bay, Anguilla): You have no idea as to what I went through to take this photo. I got up one day in Anguilla only to find that the work plan I had made the week before had been cancelled due to huge swells (ground seas as they are known locally). One of my colleagues had lent me his GoPro over-and-under domed housing for some sea turtle work we had been doing recently, and I thought that today was the the day to put it through its paces. The beach near my house had huge swells (and I love playing in swells), so I thought I would give it a go to get a shot through or under the wave.
I have to say that although I succeeded with the Meads Bay Wave photoshoot, I was giving it a try for at least an hour! The featured photo was probably taken in the first ten minutes, but one doesn’t know the results until you take the camera out of the housing and take a look back on land. I felt I still had not captured the image I was after, so kept going. The only thing that stopped the fun (aside from ears full of sand) was when a huge wave battered me and ripped my dive mask from my head. I scrabbled around looking for the mask for about twenty minutes, but in the end gave up. As with most things lost for a second in the ocean, it was gone. The main issue though was that my own dive mask was at the office, and the one I had just lost was my wife’s favourite mask that she had owned for over ten years! I have to say my return home was not victorious, and although I was happy to find a few usable images, my wife was not! Oh dear!
Originally posted on Instagram @sea_anguilla with the text: The ground sea season started early this year with two weeks of heavy swells causing unusually large waves on certain beaches. Here at Meads Bay the breaks were good enough to surf, which gave enthusiasts a rare opportunity to practice their sport in Anguilla and give onlookers a great show. Nice.