Antman:

It’s ledgier and nowhere near perfect like Teahupoo is. I find it the most challenging lefthander in the world for me. Moreso than Teahupoo or Fiji or anywhere like that. Those waves get big, but they’re perfect. On that particular day (of the recent fatality), the period of the swell really opened up to 20 seconds during the day. The problem with Tombies is, it gets really scary on big period swells. It draws all the water off the reef, making it more dangerous than it normally is. It’s dangerous enough on a big swell but up north in that area you get ‘King Waves’ and it really does catch people out. Two fisherman went missing further up at Coral Bay that same day. Their boat capsized, bits and pieces of the boat were found, but not the guys. In that area you get one random swell every now and then that might be six foot bigger than what it already is. We get em in the deep south and we get them up north. It might already be a 10 to 12 foot day, but then you’ll get this set out of nowhere that’s 15 to 18 foot, and it’ll just clean everyone up. Big period King Waves draw so much water off the reef that even if the tide is high, if you get pitched on a big set you’re gonna hit the reef. That’s what you’ve gotta be careful of. It’s one of the most dangerous lefts in the world. It’s not called Tombstones for nothing, and Antman suggests avoiding it on big swells ‘cause you’re gonna get hurt.