THE sight of this siren would be enough to tempt any sailor to condemn himself to a watery grave. But landlubbers fear not. Wait long enough and you can probably meet her back on the beach.

This bikini-clad surfer is one of several who have been slicing through the roaring waters off the coast of Hawaii, home to some of the biggest waves in the world, in search of the perfect wave.

Check out the stunning photographs here

Using a technique known as "duck diving", they plunge beneath oncoming breakers to swim further from the shore to find even bigger waves to ride.

The move is fraught and can take years to perfect.

This stunning image was taken by underwater photographer Sarah Lee, 23, who free-dove into the clear waters with her camera to capture the gorgeous girls in action.

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Miss Lee's obsession with the ocean began at a young age, competing in distance ocean swimming. It was after watching the swimmers' movements underwater that she was inspired to capture it on film.

Amazingly, she uses no breathing equipment and simply holds her breath while the waves crash above her head.

"It's all about the breath hold," said Ms Lee. "All I go out with is fins, goggles, my camera.

"I spent a lot of time underwater, swimming in the ocean, and wiping out on my surfboard.

"I wanted to capture the feeling of barely ducking under a wave and tumbling in white water.

"I have to be completely switched on when I'm in the water as you have to adapt to anything the ocean throws at you."

Duck diving can be extremely dangerous, if a breaking wave or wall of white water is charging at you, you'd better duck under it instead of trying to paddle through it.

"Taking pictures is no easy task if you don't know what you're doing," she said.

"The dangers are not only swimming among waves but swimming among surfers, dealing with currents, sudden changes in wave height, curious sea life, etc.

"If you get in the way of a surfer you're done for."

Originally published as Deep blue diva dives for cover