E-Fist: Eat your heart out

[rogue]

Wish you were there? (http://www.starbulletin.com/2004/12/16/sports/story1.html)

[Ray Pina]

Wow. Nice.

That picture is deceptive. Because from the looks of that photo I'd want to go surf it. But I've seen other shots from that day of HUGE!!!!! waves. And its not the wave you're riding that kills ya. It the two behind the one you fall off of..... man, those guys are good. I always consider them like samurais. There's a lot of cross over .... the way the boards are made and cared for and the zen of the matter.

Thanks for sharing that.
Ray

[brothernumber9]

yeah the picture didn't look anything like 50ft, nothing like that picture of Peter Mel at Jaws, or Laird's freakish pics of being out in the middle of the ocean.

[Ray Pina]

Yea. To me, everything takes second to that wave in Tahiti. That wave looks sick. I'd want nothing to do with that place.

Give me 6 to 8 foot pointbreak surf with the occasional 10 foot set.:o

[Reggie1]

Laird's freakish pics of being out in the middle of the ocean.

Does anybody know where I could see those?

[Ray Pina]

There's an actual movie called Laird! It's sick, sick, sick! What this guy does, he should be a millionaire .... oh, wait, he is.:)

[Toby]

I saw about 5min of footage on the news. I reckon RCJ's waves were better, but I'm probably biased.

There was another surfing story off Adelaide in Oz a couple of days ago - did you hear that one over there Efist?

[Ford Prefect]

Wish there was good surfing here. I only do it when I visit my bud out in the LA area. Nothing like it. Gotta respect all the big wave guys especially considering a lot of them are rock and reef breaks. You fall and you get dragged over jagged rock/coral and you can't do a **** thing until the wave lets go of you. Then you gotta watch out for the follow up wave coming in right after that one... Most I've done is a few feet over my head on a nice sand break (Huntington and Newport Peirs) and wiping in that was no fun. I couldn't imagine...

[rogue]

Not much rhino hunting on the East Coast.

[Toby]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect
You fall and you get dragged over jagged rock/coral and you can't do a **** thing until the wave lets go of you. Then you gotta watch out for the follow up wave coming in right after that one... Most I've done is a few feet over my head on a nice sand break (Huntington and Newport Peirs) and wiping in that was no fun. I couldn't imagine... Funnily enough, doing nothing is exactly what you should do. Struggling against turbulent whitewater does nothing but waste oxygen. You've gotta wait until the water starts to get some "structure" back into it before you try and surface. I always used to spend oxygen getting hold of my board if possible, then just hold onto it and let it drag you up.

Also, sand breaks can be just as bad as rock over here. Sand breaks tend to be shallower and you get driven into the bottom more often. Rock breaks tend to be a bit deeper. This doesn't hold true for all areas e.g. we're temperate climate - tropical climes might be a different story, or local regional differences. Although I'm pretty sure the sand == shallower tends to hold for most of Oz.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally posted by Toby
Funnily enough, doing nothing is exactly what you should do. Struggling against turbulent whitewater does nothing but waste oxygen. You've gotta wait until the water starts to get some "structure" back into it before you try and surface. I always used to spend oxygen getting hold of my board if possible, then just hold onto it and let it drag you up.

Also, sand breaks can be just as bad as rock over here. Sand breaks tend to be shallower and you get driven into the bottom more often. Rock breaks tend to be a bit deeper. This doesn't hold true for all areas e.g. we're temperate climate - tropical climes might be a different story, or local regional differences. Although I'm pretty sure the sand == shallower tends to hold for most of Oz.

Yup. That's why I said you can't do a **** thing until the wave lets go. It's fun going through the washing machine waiting patiently for it to finish having it's way with you, figuring out which way is up, and then get up there hoping you aren't about to be dropped on once you break the surface. I was basically sea weed my first couple times out. It's always a great time when you start swimming "to the surface" and then hit bottom. Heh.

As for the break, the sand breaks I was at were deep enough. You'd hit the bottom ocasionally, but I'd rather hit sand than rock. BTW, right by the Newport Pier where I've been is this place called "the Wedge". It's not uncommon to get 15'+ there, but it's a BEACH BREAK!! No sh!t. The wave breaks right on the beach. People get taken out of there in ambulances often enough from what I hear. It's mostly spongers that try it, but I don't think I'm that crazy/stupid.

[Ray Pina]

Yea, The Wedge is sick. We have a place like that out here called Malibu, where the water washes back out off a sea wall. It can literally be 8 to 10 feet and breaking in water knee deep. I don't surf it much because it attracts a rowdy crowd, but somedays its the place th be and you can't turn away.

I hear about that shark tearing a kid in two in Australia the other day .... is that what you're talking about?

And as for the east coast, it's literally hot and cold. I haven't been in since I got back from Puerto Rico about a month and half ago because it's hard to throw a full suit on and surf after getting tropical stand up barrels .... plus, someone stole my winter suit so it's got to be real good before I throw on a 3 mil and paddle out with snow.

On another note, this double low that gave us a slight dusting probably is bringing in some surf.

[Toby]

Yeah, I've seen some footage of the Wedge. Scary wave, not for stand-up surfing from what I've seen. Nothing really like it in Oz. You need a unique water-land interface to create just the right backwash.


Originally posted by EvolutionFist
I hear about that shark tearing a kid in two in Australia the other day .... is that what you're talking about?Yeah, they were towing each other around behind a 15' boat a 1/4 mile out from the shore. One guy finished his turn and paddled to the boat. He climbed in, the other guy climbed into the water and immediately a GW took him by the arm and dragged him under. All over red rover. They didn't find a single piece of him.

[Ray Pina]

If I surfed down their or in Africa I'd buy one of those new boards with the shark-zapping electrical-current thingy in it.

[Ray Pina]

http://www.surfnpics.com/