The stretch of surf breaks where Mercury Psillakis was taken by a white shark last Saturday is called No Man's Land, or Poles, for a large rusty pipe standing in the sand.
For Sydney, No Man's is isolated. Midway along the 1.8-kilometre stretch between Dee Why and Long Reef, it appeals to many surfers because it requires a decent walk from car parking. That means fewer people. From the water you look onto hectares of scrub around Dee Why Lagoon rather than beachfront development, which adds a country feel to a city spot.
Psillakis exemplified how the best boardriders are often the most easy-going. They'll get their waves, and don't bring petty insecurities into the water. I've seen Mercury or his twin Mike in the surf, and they always looked serene and comfortable in their element.
Special places like this are an escape from conflict and a deliberate surrender to nature. The polarising politics of shark-netting seem especially remote. Shark nets are just 150 metres long and six metres deep, about 500 metres offshore. A net at Dee Why-Long Reef is, as one surfer friend told me, "like a napkin in a swimming pool".