Sep 26 2008
OK, granted this actually happened in January of 2008, it’s still worth posting. A couple of bodyboarders decided to charge huge storm waves in Cornwall, England. Originally posted in the Daily Mail UK, the newspaper claims the waves are 50 ft. The whitewash might be 50 ft, but the waves look more like 12. Still pretty heavy for the UK. This guy either charged hard or got caught in the worst rip current of his life.
Jul 24 2008
Good interview on ShredorDie.com with Ross Clark Jones on surfing big wave and discovering new big waves.
Apr 28 2008
The trials for the WCT’s third stop at Teahupoo got under way over the weekend. They had to halt the trials because a huge west swell. So Jamie O’Brien, Garrett McNamara, Dylan Longbottom, and a few dozen others traded their paddle boards for tow boards and pulled into some monster barrels. Here’s a link to photographer, Tim McKenna’s photo site (link). Teahupoo never ceases to amaze.
Apr 14 2008
Billabong announced the winners of the annual Billabong XXL competition on Sunday (link). Shane Dorian won ride of the year for his heaving tube at Teahupoo on November 1st. Manoa Drollet won Monster Tube Award for an equally crazy wave on the same day.
Mike Parson took the Biggest Wave with a 70 ft + wave at Cortes Bank. Greg Long won Biggest Paddle-In wave with a bomb at Todos Santos.
Apr 09 2008
Winter 2007-2008 was good, and big. We saw a few big swells on the West Coast and some consistent surf in between. Some were calling the December 4, 2007 swell at Mavericks and Ghost Trees some of the biggest surf there ever (link). Meanwhile, a team of tow surfers including Mike Parson and Brad Gerlach hit Cortes Bank to score huge surf there (link). Both swells created some epic rides and Billabong XXL contenders.
Mar 24 2008
Billabong’s posted their 2008 XXL Ride of the Year Nominees. In case you hadn’t heard, Billabong sponsors the XXL contest and gives awards (and cash) for Biggest Wave, Ride of the Year, Monster Paddles, and Monster Tube. They’ve got all the video submissions on their website. The Ride of the Year winner gets $50,000. Don’t quit your day job yet.
Mar 10 2008
Here are my top videos of the past couple years. Any others you guys think deserve mention?
Movie: My Eyes Won’t Dry 2
It’s safe to say that the surfer, Brian Conley, lives the life. He gets paid by his sponsor Oakley to travel the world and surf the best, most perfect waves. That’s his actual contract right there. A couple years ago he released “My Eyes Won’t Dry.” The footage is primarily video footage taken from inside the barrel. Any great movie, deserves a sequel. Brian surfs Indo, Mexico, Australian and generally the best barrels in the world and films them from his board. The effect is mesmerizing. The dub soundtrack, however, may take the sober-ear some getting used to.
Click here to buy My Eyes Won’t Dry 2 from Amazon.
Brian Conley BarrelFest - Click to Play
Mar 10 2008
Everyone’s got their must-surf wave list. It might include: Uluwatu, Malibu, Pavones, G-Land, Trestles, etc. Long, perfect waves, that barrel. There are a few of us out there, that are determined to push the limits a bit and try to grab a barrel at a spot like Pipeline, Deserts, or Lance’s. But I think we’re in the minority of surfers. Then there are the psycho chargers that don’t ever seem to be afraid and come up laughing after getting caught inside on a big set. Everyone knows a few. Here’s a list of some of the mutant waves in the world that some nutbags saw from a bluff or cliff or boat and thought… “hmmm. I bet I can score a few good ones there.” I’ve excluded big wave spots like Mavericks, Jaws, Dungeons, etc.
Cyclops
One word to describe this wave: mutant. This wave just inverts on itself. I doubt there’s really any sort of take off zone at all. The only video I could find was of a few bodyboarders charging it.
Mar 07 2008
Surfers don’t often think of themselves as spectators, especially when the surf’s good, you’re going to go surf. It’s why I would make a crappy surf photographer. I’d rather be out there surfing. Still we all appreciate watching a good wave, here’s a collection of the biggest and most impressive. Surprisingly, they’re all very accessible and worth the trip. When I was living in San Francisco, I saw Maverick’s break a few times and watched the 2006 Mavericks contest from the bluff.
Where: Jaws, Maui, Hawaii
Why: Jaws is the polished, blue water, sunny big wave with the claim to the heaviest and biggest in the world. Because of the size and speed of the waves it is almost exclusively a tow-surfing spot. But the tow surfing allows surfers to exploit the wave to its fullest, pulling giant carves of 50 ft faces and pulling into 20 ft. barrels. Beauty can be deceptive, Jaws and Mavericks rival each other in degree of heaviness with many surfers claiming Jaws takes the title. The wave is similar to Mavericks in that it breaks close to a mile offshore. There’s a high over-looking bluff to watch from.
When: Winter. The same giant swell that pound the California coast, generally hit Hawaii first in their march across the Pacific.
Mar 05 2008
No matter how extreme you think you are, there’s always some psycho who will step it up just a bit further. Here’s some video of the first guys to kite Mavericks this past October. For those of you who don’t know what Mavericks is, it’s a 50 ft. wave that breaks 1 mile out in 45 degree cold, dark, sharky Northern California waters. Oh yeah, chargers from all over the world line up for the opportunity to surf it.
YouTube