Carnage at the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro.

It’s known as one of the worlds most challenging waves, and this week at Margaret River’s ‘The Box’, the surf claimed more than its fair share of professional surfers at the third stop of the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League.

“If you think it’s good you just have to take off and hold on,” said Mick Fanning after his heat. “It was pretty wild and it’s big and ugly out there, it’s radical but fun. I took a wave that I thought was going to be a good one but it just crumbled and I hit a boil and creased the board so I changed it out.”

He wasn’t the only one reminiscing about how gnarly it was, even John John Florence admitted it was a little scary. He told Kelly Slater about it, who amped up and paddled out for two epic wipeouts himself, backing them up with his ‘11-time’ surfing style to win his heat none-the-less.

Offering both a left and a right, ‘The Box’ is known for claiming boards and bones, but if done right, can be one of the most rewarding waves in the world. The right tends to throw a lip more often, so if you can get under it, make it over the boils and get to the big finale, a step that bucks even the worlds best surfers, you’ve done alright! The left, is usually bigger with more of a face to play with. You’ll see the big cutbacks and bucket after bucket being thrown on the left, where as the right calls for barrels and ‘hold-it-together’ style surfing.

We know you’re itching to see the carnage for yourself, so without further ado, may we present the WSL highlights real, fresh off the ‘net from Round 1 of the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, in Western Australia.