Portreath, an old mineral and fishing port on Cornwall's notoriously rough north coast, has become a magnet for photographers during Atlantic low-pressure systems or periods when high spring tides and onshore winds create huge swells.

I had heard from my Cornish partner about the epic tides at Portreath. Her Grandfather was a seaman working on the coal ships between Portreath and Swansea, and such treacherous conditions often prevented him from being able to put ashore there. This photograph captures one of those days.

The circular building on the harbour wall served as the lowest of two pilot's lookouts and is known locally as the Monkey House. A perfect vista of the Monkey House lying right in the line of fire of the enormous waves sweeping into the harbour can be captured from the higher of the two lookouts, dubbed the Dead Man's Hut – so-called as it served as a temporary morgue when bodies were washed ashore or found floating in the sea.

A wall around the Dead Man's Hut affords some protection from the fury of the waves, but I was still drenched by huge volumes of sea spray and the occasional tail-end of a wave, which lashed against the building with a strident hiss, drenching both me and my camera. On such days, I am grateful that the Pentax K1 body and lens are weatherproof!

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