In a year or two, these young surfers will cast off their mats and join the body surfers.

As a casual body surfer, I experienced rip currents and undertows related to them many times.

The photos are impressive, but watching body surfers in person at the Wedge is a different experience altogether.

Instead of shying away, a body surfer in position takes two strong pulls and then launches down the left-breaking face.

The small pool has a vista even better than the dining room's, and at low tide the pristine beach nearby seems designed for body surfers.

In the center, body surfers and Frisbee flingers dove through the waves that never seemed to flag.

There are no schools for body surfers.

Swimmers and body surfers avoid confrontations with aggressive board-riders by going to Main Beach, just west of the car park.

According to his family and the police, Bryce went overboard clutching that pillow, and dropping through the air like a body surfer without wave support.

The bathers would leave to make room for body surfers who tried to ride waves as high as six and a half feet.