There's a time to paddle hard and go for it, and then there's the stand-up timing. In big wave surfing, time and timing are two different things. In other words, safety procedures and professionalism might not be enough to survive unexpected events in high surf. The risk of losing your family and friends forever is a strong variable in an equation that features a human being challenging Mother Nature's will. In a 15-second swell period scenario, a 50-foot wave (15 meters) carries about 1.7 MW of power across each meter of a wavefront.Īs a result, surfing huge waves can be a death sentence for those without the knowledge, physical and mental training, and experience in extreme spots and adverse weather conditions.Ī little dose of courage and commitment is always welcome because there's just too much at stake. It is addictive and creates adrenaline junkies. They all share the same passion for chasing the largest winter swells and riding the biggest and heaviest waves in the world.īig wave surfing is nearly a sport within itself.
They can only be ridden by experienced and highly skilled surfers, they only break in perfect XXL conditions, and they can take the life of a professional big wave surfer in a split of a second.Īnd what do Garrett McNamara, Laird Hamilton, Shane Dorian, Mark Foo, Grant Baker, Eddie Aikau, Jeff Clark, Ross Clarke-Jones, Mike Parsons, Greg Long, Ken Bradshaw, and Maya Gabeira have in common? What do the best and most extreme surf spots in the world have in common?