Biggest wave you've ever ridden??

[brek]

That is a picture, not from You-Tube (That I know of), but its from big wednesday back in 2007 I want to say. Second week in January. That month, the swell never dropped below OH for like 30 straight days....

Check out that youtube clip at :52 seconds... the shape of the lip and the arrangement of surfers look exactly the same as your picture - which looks like it's shot from a different angle. That's pretty awesome that he found video from that wave.


This is my biggest... West coast Barbados in November. Not much to brag about on here obviously, but I was pretty stoked for it.



Was in Rhode Island on 4/17 and paddled out. The paddle out was actually too easy, cause once I made it there I realized I didn't belong and got tossed around a bit before finally making it back in. It was kind of short period so the sets were all real close together, and every time I would start to paddle in, another set would come through. This is from that session.

[zach619]

Zach, come on dude, now I want to see this video!! My rents used to live in Clairemont, so I have surfed a lot of the breaks out there. I have seen some pretty decent size out there, but that day sounds nuts! Oh yeah, can you send me some Roberto's carne asada burritos??

Im on it.My wife's boss zaid he has a DV setup to extract videos, so I gave him the first video to test, and if it works, I will get all my tapes back in digital format to chop up. Im looking forward to it.

The crazy thing about that day (same day as the black's photo) was how easy it was to get out. Quite a few guys on here have visited and know where indicator is, and if you go out on a huge day, there is a giant channel between luscombs and indicator (which is 3rd reef, a mile out)... So you wait for a set to slap up against the cliff on luscombs north end and jump off the rocks... You then paddle out like almost a mile in the channel. Get out with dry hair and witness the gigantic sets for a while on the shoulder. The dicey thing is no matter where you sit, on either shoulder, you eventually get caught inside. While all sets break around the same 100 yard stretch, when all the tides, winds and swells align, everything is inside. There is no way out. you always get caught. And since you paddle out with dry hair, take a few small (15ft) set waves, you think its all good. Then bam....

I seriously am happy I was out of the water well before the wave I have on video. Not really sure how I would have faired out there. I have broken toes on some big stuff and had a lot of time stuck underwater, but this set was straight gut wrenching. No one in the pacific had a shot at this. Draining tide, surging currents a giant dead west swell parked right off the coast 1000 miles or so.. The sum of all fears.....

Hopefully in a week or so I can at least have a clip for you guys. Its almost 5 year old footage, but worth every second.

[zach619]

Not a big wave story but scary. 1997 I was 17 and surfing Lahina Harbour on Maui during a summer swell on a rented board. Small for Hawaii but maybe just head high on the East Coast. I had been reading about all the tiger shark attacks up the coast at all the fancy hotels and then I see all these fishing boats coming into the harbour dumping chum and everything else, so all I am thinking about is sharks in the water. Between sets I am sitting out the back waiting for a wave, and as a wave passes under me I get jerked under real sudden like. Damn near shat myself infront of a bunch of locals.

My leash got wrapped around a coral head when I was in the trough of the wave. When the next wave came I didn't rise up over the swell and it felt like I was jerked under. It is a vivid memory for me, more so than most of my big days and great rides.

Man, I feel you there. I was in LaHaina, Maui on my honey moon this summer. I surfed Lahaina harbor and just had a strange feeling. I encountered a couple, like 8-9 footers by a reef off front street. Not sure what kind they were, but they were super aggressive and when I came in to the beach and walked up the stairs, the shark that I saw had followed me up and was circling the shore break. As you can see in the one photo, the whitewater on the beach, the shark came up that close to the beach.... I wasnt really spooked badly cause it wasnt huge, but i was like wtf man? The thing was checked all of us out out there and I could feel it. Here are the two photos we took when I came back to the beach at lahaina harbor... There were a couple little 10-12 year old Hawaiian boys at the beach who started throwing rocks at the shark because it kept circling the shore break at high tide for like 10 minutes. I thought that was kind of bad kharma.





Again, I don't know what kind of shark it was, but it was way too friendly to me.

[Koki Barrels]

Biggest waves were Saturday of Hurricane Bill.... Some decently big days at Assateague over the years but I think the paddle is the thing I remember the most. OCMD seems to break harder cause it is so shallow and like someone said everywave seems to break in the same spot, at the Teague I have been ragdolled underwater for 80 yards or so, but I was never worried about breaking my neck like OCMD on a big day.

Damn right, Bill on Saturday night @ the Teague was rather large...I remember just getting rattled, physically shaking underwater...but the payoff of riding 'em was well worth the ragdolling...and can't forget to mention...LIGHTNING...haha

[oipaul]

. OCMD seems to break harder cause it is so shallow and like someone said everywave seems to break in the same spot, at the Teague I have been ragdolled underwater for 80 yards or so, but I was never worried about breaking my neck like OCMD on a big day.

I have to say the worst beatings i've ever had were in OC/DE. One winter a few years ago I paddled out at southside IRI at 6'+, got one wave and got cocky, went for another one and just went O-T-F and got thrashed hard. I staggered up to shore like I'd gotten punched in the face. I recovered after 5-10 minutes and paddled out again only to realize that the reason my board didn't feel right was because two fins and two boxes were just gone...

[nickzilla720]

http://vimeo.com/10194676

a winter ago March2010. Jersey was blown out. Pretty darn big for EC.

PS Zach keep the photos coming! Sick!

[BigMike]

I have to say the worst beatings i've ever had were in OC/DE. One winter a few years ago I paddled out at southside IRI at 6'+, got one wave and got cocky, went for another one and just went O-T-F and got thrashed hard. I staggered up to shore like I'd gotten punched in the face. I recovered after 5-10 minutes and paddled out again only to realize that the reason my board didn't feel right was because two fins and two boxes were just gone...

Another scary/funny story. The first winter I got a truck and turned 16, my buddy and I go surfing at the inlet. Water was in the low 40s and it was cold out but the waves were pumping. Being a poor high school student I didn't really have full on winter gear, but I had 5 mil booties, lobster claws, a 3/2, and a vest with a hood. Also being beefy I can usually handle the cold water for a good while. During this session I get the first legit stand up barrel of my life. So I am jacked up and I keep trying to get another one and keep getting blasted pulling into closeouts. Meanwhile my friend goes in cause he is turning blue. Sitting out the back all of the sudden I feel like I am tripping balls. Seeing trails and feeling woozy. Somewhere in the back of my mind I am like this is hypothermia. I try and catch a little wave and wash up on the beach. I walk up the sand and I tell my friend I don't feel all that hot and he is standing there at the truck with a Dumpsters milkshake. He was like, "Want some?" At this point we both just crack up.

[ckshredmaster]

dropped in on 2 or 3 12-15 ft got slammed each time...hard

[cgrizzard]

For me I'd say 12-14 ft wilderness pr... Thats out of my comfort zone and I probably wont do it again ha. Took a beating on a cleanup set and had to battle the current to get to/through the keyhole so it was pretty scary for me

[ECsponger]

10ft Hurricane Hanna - 8th St day before, then Assateague next day