[Closed] Surfs Up ! ... or is that down

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Not really a phenomenon - that's just how it breaks.

Utterly mental wave.

teahupo?

Yep - but spelt Teahupoo

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from- [url] http://sports.espn.go.com/action/surfing/news/story?id=5521127 [/url]

The above looks like Shipsterns in Tazmania - even more mental than Teahupoo!

Some great pics in that article.

the daily mirror just found out about teahupoo?! The guy surfing shipsterns like that has got some Cojones!

It needs to be seen in video form to appreciate the full craziness of surfing it - utterly mental.

Big wave riding is for macho @rseholes with a deathwish! 😉

Thats an old stock photo they have used, not one taken during the contest. The surf never got that big for the recent Billabong Pro Tahiti and there wouldnt be that many surfers in the water during a contest period anyway

This is just insane, Margaret River Australia (I think)

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Creg, something wrong with that pic- he hasnt stood up yet 😛

yeah he's a lazy **** with no talent etc 😉

I love those pics! I can convince myself that I can do largish jumps, drops etc on the bike, however I will always be a crap "never been barrelled" surfer so bonkers waves always turn my stomach a bit just looking at pics and vids!

Not many proper barrelling waves in the UK and it does take commitment but a lot of fun when it happens. Last weekend was barreltastic!

I'm in this one at my local break:

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And this one at Byron Bay, Oz (just a shadow though - Mrs Matt didn't realise you need to see the person to "claim" it!!)

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Nowt compared to the nutters above though.

Teahupoo has been surfed for years now - not sure where the "story" is in that pic?!

not sure where the "story" is in that pic?

Nor I, as that's basically how all waves break (although perhaps not as heavy). Nice photo though and makes a nice change for a tabloid to feature a picture that isn't of a footballer or some bint.

I managed to get low tide croyde on friday morning Mat, no tubes for me, fear was the overriding emotion!

Your top pic looks cool. What we need is bournemouth's artifical mini-chopes... 🙄

What we need is bournemouth's artifical mini-chopes

Am I detecting a touch of sarcasm here?

LB - wind now killing it so missed out on this time. What sort of size at Croyde?

SM - yep a good pic and nice to see an angle that shows the "shelf" that rears up there. Really quite a loony wave.

Methinks the Bournemouth Reef is a bit of a flop.

that "reef" seems to be a real waste of money which is a genuine shame.

I was out of my comfort zone Mat, it was a coupla feet overhead. [url= http://magicseaweed.com/photoLab/viewPhoto.php?photoId=179680 ]this[/url] was taken once the tide was pushing in; at low they were pretty much all like the wave further out!

Bu66er. Missed out then!!

leggyblonde - I never used to be a fan of big waves and would stay on the beach whenever it got over 4ft. Yes, I am just a scummy bodyboarder...the lowest of the low (so stop reading now if that bothers you 😛 )

I found a great way to deal with it would be to paddle out in bigger surf and just sit and watch the waves as they broke, not paddling for any at all. I found it was actually less scary to be out at the back where the waves werent breaking then eventually confidence grew and I started to paddle into the bigger stuff, then again taking a few on the head and experiencing a few harsh hold downs might have had something to do with it 😆

Now I actively enjoy riding bigger waves and am just as happy in 8ft surf as I am in 2ft surf.

Try paddling out in increasingly big surf, find something just outside your comfort zone and then next time a little bigger and so on. It might be worth a try.

Or go and get some little Barrels....

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[url] http://magicseaweed.com/photoLab/viewPhoto.php?photoId=178541&browseSession=007e950b5ed97da73ae0882c0a9a7f69 [/url]

thanks creg 🙂

I'm confident in the water and have no problem paddling out, duckdiving the clean up sets etc in biggish surf, it's paddling into the powerful noisy ones when boards are being snapped that is the issue! I love conquering that fear though, it's a huge buzz. I can't wait for Portugal in October!
Part of the improvement problem is that I probably only get around 15 surf days/eves a year max and a good 50% of those are brighton slop. Cycling is my priority!

Supersession, that's ace! I have managed to get similar sized cover before, but only on close out waves for a second or 2, doesn't really count.

Leggyblonde - Croyde has been real dangerous for the last week or so. I was in on Wednesday and Thursday last week and the lifeguards were working overtime due to the rips at low tide. been amazing surf though, some of the best I've ridden down there (and I'm a local!)

Creg - the barrelling lefts at Porthtowan were pretty much only makeable on a bodyboard at the weekend on the far left - saw some absolutely insane barrels from spongers while most surfers, even the very good ones, were getting battered. It was just breaking too fast.

I stuck further to the middle where the barrels weren't as deep but the waves were much more rideable - epic sessions on Friday and Saturday!

Supersession - cool! Looks chilly but well slotted in!

I find the size is not the issue (up to a point) - it's how heavy it is. 8ft beach break that's not too heavy - fine. 5ft dumping reef (or beach break) - pretty scary.

Would rather take apart a shoulder to head high wave than brick it all session though.

Agree on heavyness over size. There is a beach not far from me which is a real dredger. A mate of mine majorly over talked how skilled a surfer he was so I took him down there and he ended up losing all his fins and taking a huge chunk out of his board.

Most of the stuff around here is heavy reef, with the odd mellow beach...sometimes its nice to surf a mellow beach for a "relaxed" session 😆

Creg - where is "here?" S Devon? Ireland?

I remember surfing heavy reefs for ages in South NZ and eventually pining for a beachie. While the shape was outstanding and the power immense, it was always a real wind up getting in and out. Many dings caused by slipping on entry/exit!

I find the size is not the issue (up to a point) - it's how heavy it is. 8ft beach break that's not too heavy - fine. 5ft dumping reef (or beach break) - pretty scary.

I completely agree! Friday morning seemed to combine both though 😯

Would rather take apart a shoulder to head high wave than brick it all session though.

*ie. being less sh1t a top turns

Creg - where is "here?" S Devon? Ireland?

North East England

I like top turns...
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Creg - your fellow NEerner Sam Lamiroy was slaying it here in Perranporth at the weekend. I competed in a comp with him in my early 20s. He is now MUCH better than me - DOH! This is him at the weekend:

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Yep, the reef at Boscombe is a total waste of nearly £4 million. In the process of putting that thing in they have totally destroyed what used to be an ok place to surf.

First they took most of the pier down which provided some wind shelter and let sand bars build up, then they dredge it, then put a pile of sand about half a mile down the beach which never breaks properly because its always blown out. Can someone show me a reef break that works well with a force 6 onshore wind? Unfortunately, 90% of the surf in Bournemouth bay is wind swell and the shelter of the pier is needed.

Thank goodness for Kimmeridge!

Whoever is sending links to that cretinous kook ATTMKH (or whatever) on MSW, please stop. All such posts will be removed immediately and I'll get the culprit banned from the forum if it happens again.

Another stalker geek nerd... 🙄

scruff - Member
Creg, something wrong with that pic- he hasnt stood up yet

Nahh, he's one of those unfashionable types 😆 Like me :D, Ohh and I got plenty of barrels over the weekend 😀

nmd - where did you surf? Some of the best bodyboard barrels I've seen "live" at PT on Saturday. Got a few too but none as deep of course.

Ended up at Croyde,I'm unfortunate enough to live in the South East so it's a trek. I bet PT was cracking at the weekend, some of the guys like Prisk rip. I got so much of a beating at PT once..... mmmm it hurt 🙁

Can you all please stop talking about surfing.... I haven't been in the water since June and ITS DOING MY HEAD IN!!!! 😈

Hoping to get down to Croyde weekend after next...bet it's flat by then!

I'm on a 4 day westcountry surfari next week. Oh yes. And I can feel a new board coming on......and wetsuit. 😀

Mahhh, I did't for a year coz my back died AND I couldn't ride either, drove me mad!

Hoping to get down to Croyde weekend after next...bet it's flat by then!

It was rubbish this morning.

It was rubbish this morning.

That really makes me feel sooo much better.

Bear in mind that I'm at the stage when I'm getting a thousand yard stare at the local duckpond...

Spent last week sponging at Porthtowan, Portreath, Watergate and Perranporth. Thursday at Perranporth was mad. 5 ft @10ish secs with an offshore wind and a mad cross shore rip. At one point about 30 people got sucked out in to the break and beyond. A busy day for the RNLI there.

I'm about as landlocked as you can get and this was my second week boarding this summer. I'm addicted but it can only ever be an occasional thing unless I move. I suppose it's a bit bad when you steal the wife's phone to check the surf report on MSW as soon as you wake up then keep refreshing 'till the eyeball reports get posted up. I think I'll get one more weekend in before the end of Sep and get some fins as well.

Maybe a STW surf and sponge meet is in order!

edit... Just as I hit "post" [url=

Drums "lets go surfing"[/url] starts on the TV. I'll take that as a direct instruction to go again 🙂

Can you all please stop talking about surfing.... I haven't been in the water since June and ITS DOING MY HEAD IN!!!!

If it makes you feel any better I havnt been in in almost a year and won't be getting in any time soon due to a knackered knee.

Best I can manage is getting in the bath.

Want me to rub it in a bit more? I'm going to look at a house with a Sea-view on Saturday. Still, the local mountain biking here is rubbish.

how can you knacker a knee sponging? ;O)

or dick dragging for that matter..

dont worry,i am not Squirl from MSW! honest.<evil laugh>

Creg - as a NE surfer, do you know Tony Pringle or Matt Donaldson?

or dick dragging for that matter..

If my dick dragged when snowboarding I'd be a very happy man indeed 😯

dont worry,i am not Squirl from MSW! honest.<evil laugh>

Could have been worse...could have been Chinsack 😈

Creg - as a NE surfer, do you know Tony Pringle or Matt Donaldson?

Nope. I only know a few of the NE surfers.

I've never been interested in surfin really, but some of these pics, and talk are/is infectious.
I'm also moving to 10 miles from Croyde in 6 weeks.
Methinks I may have to give it a go...

Croyde isn't the best place for beginners.

but saunton/puts/woolacombe are all fine.

've never been interested in surfin really, but some of these pics, and talk are/is infectious.
I'm also moving to 10 miles from Croyde in 6 weeks.
Methinks I may have to give it a go...

Careful.... it could change [i]everything[/i]...

Doubt it, never been a big fan of actually being in the water, looking at getting a Pugsley lol, a cyclist through and through.

My personal favourite is the opening scene of Billabong Odyssey which you can see here - http://noolmusic.com/spike_videos/billabong_odyssey_-_opening_big-wave_scene_mike_parsons_70ft_wave.php. Just be sure to maximise the player.

And there's Laird Hamilton on the wave the original poster's pic is of (from the film Riding Giants) -