I never really knew that as a surfer I would have such big transportation problems, well at least not until I saw these machines made by Gibbs Technologies. Suddenly, my Toyota 4Runner and Schwinn beach cruiser seem wildly inadequate compared to an amphibious 4×4 off road ATV and truck. This is some of the coolest gear I’ve ever seen! I don’t care if you can drive to pretty much every break in California. I’ll take the Humdinger up the coastal highway and drive it straight into the line-up at Malibu. Combine these with the James Bond surfboard and even North Korea’s hidden surf breaks are within striking distance. Watch these videos:
Red Bull teamed up with the world’s best barrel riders (Jamie O’Brien, Jamie Sterling, Ian Walsh, and Raimana Van Bastolear) to film the world’s heaviest barrel in the that’s never been done before. Using a 360 cam (I’d never heard of one either) strapped to their backs, they film the barrel from all angles. The resulting footage allows you to see the barrel from the surfer’s perspective and actually move the camera around the barrel for 360 degree views! Incredible stuff. You can actually pause the camera at any point and move the camera around and see the barrel from all angles. Since most of us won’t probably ever be dropping into 10 ft. Teahupoo, it’s a good as we can get for now. Here’s the link to the Red Bull site on the project with videos. Check out the photos below.
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.
Here’s a collection of what surfline editors selected as the best 10 videos of 2007. Unfortunately, I had to miss that epic tow session at Teahupoo in November because of a head cold. I’ll make it next swell, I swear.(Surfline link).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
