Big wave surfing.... new record....

[Texas Proud]

OK, I know there are a few surfers on the forum, Nords being the most vocal...

Has anybody done any 'big waves'


Did Garrett McNamara just break his own world record?


I guess you have to actually surf the wave to get credit... not just falling down the face of it....

 

[ronin]

Well, big is a relative term. By my standards, where you have to paddle in and the penalty for failure is potentially death by drowning, yeah I've done it a couple of times back when I was in peak condition and a consummate waterman. Frankly, wasn't fun, as much as you can imagine extreme survival being fun.

Tow-in, to me, is a different type of surf sport. Not that these fellows aren't fully deranged great surfers. Different gear, different entries, totally different experience from anything I can relate to.

 

[Midpack]

I am not a surfer, but it's still interesting to me. I thought Laird Hamilton held the big wave tow in record from a cool documentary I watched a few years ago, shows you how little I know. So I'm glad you provided the link, the picture is breathtaking IMO...

 

[W2R]

Yes, but not very much, not with a board, and not at my present age! The body is much more forgiving as a teenager than it is at 64.

I did have a lot of fun that one summer in the mid-1960's, body surfing the legendary, one time 20+ foot waves that scooped out Makapuu that one summer and apparently reshaped it to where it would never have waves that big again. Or so I was told. Haven't been back since the early 1970's, and even if I did go back, I would never dare. The experience is locked in my memories, though, and I am glad I did it.

That is quite a photo. I can't even imagine tangling with a 78 foot wave. One of my boyfriends during my senior year in high school broke his leg surfing Waimea (and ended up with a cast clear up to his waist which made dating him seem much less appealing to the shallow teenaged me). It was amazing that his friends were able to rescue him in the big surf.