THE SOLITUDE CONNECTION

LINLEY HURRELL ON THE PLEASURES OF QUIETUDE

The ocean makes me feel alive. When you’ve seen yourself die, and then you’re given the opportunity to surf again, that’s the ultimate silver lining. When I’m in the ocean, I feel connected to the world again.

I believe that everything’s a balance — whatever you take from the ocean, you have to give it back, in some form.

I grew up just north of the 90 Mile Beach, in Gippsland, eastern Victoria. I spent a lot of my childhood in a remote place called Woodside. About 40 people live there permanently.

My family still live in Gippsland, but I left when I was 18 and went to Uni in Melbourne. Two years into my degree, I moved to the Surf Coast and that’s where I’ve lived since.

I was about five years old when I first learnt to surf at Woodside, which is an erratic, shifty little beach break. It’s pretty wild on the best of days. I remember Dad telling me