Year of the 100 foot Wave ? Maybe.

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wwswimming

Banned
Jan 21, 2006
3,695
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http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/article.cfm?id=12569

one article with images of current open ocean wave
heights of 40 feet. (they typically jack to 2 to 2 1/2
times buoy readings when they get near shore, if they
have a longer wave period of 16-22 seconds).

http://forum.surfermag.com/for...lat.php?Number=1282086

some guys in England having a go at it.

in 1998, the biggest wave ridden was about an
80 foot face. the buoy reading was 27 feet at
25 seconds.

a few years ago, one of the buoys in Oregon showed
a reading of 42 feet at 20 seconds. when that set
rolled into Maverick's, it broke a few miles offshore.
at that point most of the guys who like to surf these
waves were scrambling to get out of the way. normally
they paddle to safety in the channel, but the wave was
big enough to break in the channel too.

Shawn Alladio and a companion who specialize in
storm sea rescue were out training on jet-ski's at the
time, ready in case their services were needed.

when they saw the master-set, they realized they
couldn't outrun it, so they drove towards it. sort of
like a 100 foot rise on a roller-coaster, except wetter,
and colder, and sharkier.

Shawn said the back of the wave was 50 feet plus.
i believe her.
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,422
14,820
146
Yeah, Mavericks gets some MONSTER waves. We've driven over a couple of times to watch...from a nice comfortable distance.
 
W

wwswimming

Banned
Jan 21, 2006
3,695
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i once had delusions of riding the waves at Maverick's.

i talked to some guy there about how to train for it. i thought,
something along the lines of, be able to swim butterfly 25 yards,
then swim 50 meters underwater. a period of extreme exertion
followed by having to hold your breath.

not to mention it's 55 degrees F, not 80 F, and there's a HUGE
difference between the two.

he said, "oh, no, don't worry about it, man, most of the guys there
smoke enough pot to kill an elephant".
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,422
14,820
146
Originally posted by: wwswimming
i once had delusions of riding the waves at Maverick's.

i talked to some guy there about how to train for it. i thought,
something along the lines of, be able to swim butterfly 25 yards,
then swim 50 meters underwater. a period of extreme exertion
followed by having to hold your breath.

not to mention it's 55 degrees F, not 80 F, and there's a HUGE
difference between the two.

he said, "oh, no, don't worry about it, man, most of the guys there
smoke enough pot to kill an elephant".
Click to expand...

Surfers smoke pot? whoda thunk it?:shocked:
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,839
7,361
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They had a thing on TV awhile ago with big waves in Hawaii, there were helis in the area filming something different in HD iirc and they captured some surfers...absolutely amazing - those guys are nuts! haha
 
S

SuperjetMatt

Senior member
Nov 16, 2007
406
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I've talked to Shawn Alladio about that wave before (on another forum where she posts).
She said they didn't see it coming until it was too late, so then they went WFO up the face, on some Honda skis. They launched quite a ways off the top.
When the skis came down, they completely submerged before coming back up.
There were several more waves they had to clear.
She said the waves capsized a safety boat and were later estimated 100-130 ft faces.
 
W

wwswimming

Banned
Jan 21, 2006
3,695
1
0
Originally posted by: Juno
i'll do it if someone pays me!
Click to expand...

i don't know if it's still by the foot - $1000 a foot - but,
these guys will pay you -
http://www.billabongxxl.com/main_page/index.html

She said the waves capsized a safety boat and
were later estimated 100-130 ft faces.
Click to expand...

my understanding is that all the photogs were
out of film or batteries, so, no pictures. but,
i still believe her.

i wonder if the wave there was rideable - usually,
the surfer is going right or left as the wave peels
along a reef, like at that reef 100 miles east of
San Diego.

those "100-130 ft faces" waves sound like closeouts-
nowhere to go but straight. you would need a super-
fast board to stay on the part of the wave ahead of
the foam-ball. long enough to give you time to either
make it to the channel, or for it to wear itself out so
the foamball is a more survive-able size.

i wonder how many of the guys that won the XXL
awards in past years had health insurance ?
 
buck

buck

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
12,273
4
81
Originally posted by: wwswimming
in the most recent swell, Laird had to use his board shorts as a
tourniquet on a friend's leg or arm. that meant swimming naked
in 25 foot surf with 60-70 foot wave faces. that sounds painful.
it would inspire me to wear underwear in addition to board-shorts.

about 55 staples to close the guy's wound.

http://surfermag.com/features/...es/laird-naked-rescue/
Click to expand...

I surfed the shorebreak at that spot (sprecklesville) last year, its just west of Paia. It is so amazing there, because of how far out it breaks on big days. I can't wait to see it again this year.
 
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