Waves are a poor indicator of current direction. As Andrew, Ric and others have mentioned, the current on the reef flat can be quite strong. A stationary object on the reef flat would be expected to leave a wake (correction - eddy for stationary objects, wake for moving objects) (thanks to Bob for the correction, below) when the water is in motion. In
this thread, Andrew tells us that the currents around the island tend toward the N/NW. In the Bevington photo, NW would be to the left. Of course, the current on the reef flat might be in some other direction, depending on the tidal set at the moment.
Interesting idea, that the photo shows wake (if a moving object, or an eddy if moving water around a stationary object) - with that in mind, it's easy to see "wake" or "eddy" in the photo. That also suggests to me that whatever object is creating the eddy (if that's what it is) is fixed in place enough to resist the force of the moving water. That implies it is stuck in place, or massive, or both.