The epitome of **** that shit

Photo by Brian Bielmann via Stab Magazine

Nazzare was big the other week too…….

Experience. The thing you gain the moment after you needed it.

Which follows up with it’s always best to learn from other peoples mistakes

From a ‘**** that shit’ moment to a ‘that shit’s impossible moment’.

Laird Hamilton rewriting the rules of what’s possible at Teahupoo.

[video]https://youtu.be/pYQQtxb8wv0?t=29[/video]

Thanks for that ^, haven’t seen that in ages.

Laird at Teahupoo, before he became a pastiche of himself!

The thing that struck me recently was watching Backdoor live on the webcam footage and the pros struggling to duck dive 2 footers. It showed just how powerful the north shore is, which puts that pic above in perspective :-O

closer to home. south coast has been firing since new year.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcDz5haG7wY[/video]

Best opening scene to a documentary ever.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2vkwy2vdP4[/video]

interestingly and suprisingly, i just did a search and no-one has ever died at jaws/pe’ahi.

in fact given the level of risk, there are suprisingly few deaths in the big wave community.

I reckon riding a bike is far riskier..

Mavericks on the other hand……

Best opening scene to a documentary ever.

Holy Moly! I think I need new underwear, thanks for that. Loved the bit where the surfer has “dropped in” (sorry don’t know the correct surfing term) and the camera just keeps panning out to a wider and wider angle and the wave just gets bigger and bigger!

Here is the better quality, full scene. IIRC the film is about 10 years old.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NkPRuvqY9Q[/video]

jam bo – Member

interestingly and suprisingly, i just did a search and no-one has ever died at jaws/pe’ahi.

in fact given the level of risk, there are suprisingly few deaths in the big wave community.

I reckon riding a bike is far riskier..

Statistically crossing the road is probably riskier but I know which one I’d rather do 😆

The age old conundrum, which is scarier, big waves in deep water or heavy waves over very shallow reef.

Jaws I believe is pretty inaccessible, plenty of easier waves to get to if you ahve a death wish!

As a non surfer the pros make it all looks so easy. That Matt Out and about video really shows how big those waves are.
Is the surface of a wave flat or does it have bumps in it?
Are you sKate boarding on smooth tarmac or off roading?
How fast do they go on the big waves?

Getting caught inside the west bowl is the price of admission at Peahi.
Mickey Wright was knocked unconscious at Backdoor last week and someone died at Rockpiles.
Lots of rumblings after the last Peahi session about water safety.Most of the PWC (jetski) crews were hired by photographers as they payed more than surfers wanting safety cover.When towing was the norm, teams took it in turn to drive/rescue and surf ensuring a high level of safety cover.Now paddling (in all but the biggest conditions) is the norm a lot of people are just launching from rocks once they see other peoples skis arriving and expect that they’ll rescue them when the inevitable happens.
At the same time the government has removed liability protections for lifeguards throughout the islands, leaving them open to personal injury claims and forcing some beaches to reconsider stationing lifeguards due to the risk of litigation.

Is the surface of a wave flat or does it have bumps in it?

Like asking if singlestrack is smooth tbh: local wind can cause small waves on the face; the swell may not be perfect meaning large wobbles; the shape of the bathymery can cause steps in the wave (google shipsterns bluff for an example); previously breaking waves can cuase aerated water.

I am by no way an expert in larger wavces but my experiance is they are rarely smooth faced. People have used heavier glass jobs and even for tow boards but lead weights in the board to make things feel smoother.

End of December. Even closer to (my) home…

(edited as instagram image of Jesse Davies getting closed out on didn’t show. Hey ho.) Here’s the place to be:

Pride comes before a tube.

Best opening scene to a documentary ever.

That surfer is obviously a god. Amazing stuff!

@john… up north at a location with a connection to a famous mariner?

Been looking back at fb, the last time I surfed waves I’d describe as big I was still using a film camera! (2010 FWIW I’m a slow adopter 😳 ) If i get round to it I’ll post a few pics later

Experience. The thing you gain the moment after you needed it.

My ML instructor said something similar.

“Good judgement comes from experience”
“Experience comes from previous poor judgement”

sweaman2 – Member

Experience. The thing you gain the moment after you needed it.

My ML instructor said something similar.

“Good judgement comes from experience”
“Experience comes from previous poor judgement” [/quote]

I quite agree. We do a lot of reflection on what went well and what went wrong on trekking trips and despite having been wandering around the highlands whenever we can summer and winter since the 70s still make decision that turn out wrong. fortunately never anything serous but getting hypothermic last “summer” in torridon walking for 12 hours in the rain taught me two things. 1) modern waterproofs are not actually waterproof and 2) don’t walk past shelter on a bad day just ‘cos its too early to stop. there won’t be a sheltered pitch near the top of the pass.

@john… up north at a location with a connection to a famous mariner?

Nope, that was maxing out and wind wrong that particular day. Reasonably well known spot north of Scarborough at the Secret Spot (ironically named) surf shop King of the Point comp – more pics:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcfmERCgGps/?hl=en&taken-by=secretspotsurfshop

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcheb9bgku1/?hl=en&taken-by=secretspotsurfshop

https://www.instagram.com/p/BchwblFg6fC/?hl=en&taken-by=secretspotsurfshop

Laird at Teahupoo, before he became a pastiche of himself!

Having known Laird for ages (from his Neil Pryde windsurfing days) I can say he always was a pastiche. A decent guy though.

So what actually causes a wave to break at multiple points up and down it’s face? It’s something I’ve seen in what I presume are reef breaks with very ‘heavy’ looking waves that have a distinctive shape, almost like the lip is as tall as the actual face – see below:

and

Billabong Odyssey is a great documentary on big wave riding for those that are interested.

I just spent a week with Josh Angulo at his windsurf centre in Cape Verde. He was the first windsurfer to attempt, and conquer Jaws. And double world champ. A more modest, shy, self-effacing person you’re likely to meet. Or not. Lovely bloke though. Don’t think he owns a single item of clothing that doesn’t have his name on it.

So what actually causes a wave to break at multiple points up and down it’s face? It’s something I’ve seen in what I presume are reef breaks with very ‘heavy’ looking waves that have a distinctive shape, almost like the lip is as tall as the actual face – see below:

the fact the water is about 2ft deep there. its not ‘breaking’ in the traditional sense as you would see on a normal beach or even reef. essentially its hitting an underwater brick wall and imploding.

the other end of that spectrum is a beach like saunton sands where the beach shelves so gradually as the surf gets bigger the lines of breaking waves move further and further out and the energy is dissipated gradually.

It’s not unusual for the reefs to suck dry and expose itself. I read about an Irish sponger who basically smacked into the reef (stayed out too long and the tide got him) as he was boarding before the rest of the set crushed him into the reef breaking his shoulder and humerus. He got washed in eventually before a nightmare rural roads journey to various hospitals.