Biggest wave you've ever ridden??

LOL I think I got that issue of the press saved still LOL . With the way The Cove has been changed hopefully we will see another Day like that again conditons permiting.

 

hurrican bill in belmar was probably the biggest i've ridden in jersey. Found this video randomly on youtube that a couple of my waves made it into.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex2lUU62yRk

Definitely got some bigger waves in costa rica though

 

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....

On that same day, I surfed a spot on the cliffs called Indicators. My lady videoed a couple of my waves on my gun, then when I got out, I filmed from up on the cliffs for like 45 minutes. I have footage of cranes pulling guys off the rocks, helicopters overhead and lifeguard jetskies everywhere....

I still have yet to figure out how to get my DV tapes to digital... But that day, I narrate this scene where there were (no lie) 30+ft sets that came through.... I start filming the set come like 2 minutes before it came in, and I am like "ohh my got, everyone out there is about to get destroyed... " the waves were easily 20ft on every set, and then when the set of the day came, the entire cove from bird **** to luscombs drained out, jacked up and broke like almost a mile outside the lineup.... The video shows what looks like fleas in the ocean just disappear into the abyss. 30 footers just tapering in offshore wind, detonating on guys. Every singleperson in the lineup either needed a water rescue or swam in to get their boards. It was by far the gnarliest thing i have ever witnessed, and I have it on tape....

The crazy thing about that day was that it was 80 degree outside, not a cloud in the sky. SHEET GLASS... light offshore. It was so freaking comfortable.... So you go out and get some seriously heavy, giant waves and after a few, your fear and nerves go away, and just when you get cocky and thing you own the sea, a rougue set comes and rocks your world.... My last wave was a left (when all the sets were breaking right) and I went left thinking i was invicible.... The thing bottomed out, and destroyed me.... I was inside and caught a whole set of TOHers on the dome..... Finally took some whitewater in... I was on the sand inside no surf's cove, just grasping the sand.... like a beached whale I just layed there for 5 minutes... After that day, I have never really surfed waves that big....

Its never been that big in SD since, but it was 30ft+ down on the cliffs twice. Once in 04' and again in 07'.... fu**ing crazy...... I have surfed some 12-15 ft sh** at La Jolla Cove since, but that is a super mellow wave... Nothing to really write home about.....


If anyone knows Calafia in Baja, after initially saying Blacks was one of the heaviest... I caught Calafia on a huge SW swell back in 05, and it was easily 15 ft set. And that place has to go down as the heaviest wave ive surfed... Underwater rock jetty that this massive right breaks over top of... With razor sharp reef all through the inside.... Heaviest barrel ive ever seen.... At the end of ever wave, I would pop off the back and scrape back out trying to save my life... Ive never been that nervous or scared... You cant even get in from the wave... You have to paddle 1/2 mile north, and take the sketchiest closeout inside reef wave into this little cove and hope you dont get crushed on the rocks... never been so happy to have a taco and beer in rosorito on our way back.... that place is insane

 

Anyone else remember the scary moments at least as vividly as "the ride of the day"?

Hell yes......just as vivid. And just as memorable as all the shark encounters too.

 

I can't imagine Zach, that little fing beach was a pain in the ass to hit that day we paddled out when indicators was barely breaking. I do remember a few sets washing damn near staight thru to no surfs, but that would suck with it dredging all the way in there twice the size.

On a side note, having surfed Black's on a fairly decent NW, it has absolutely nothing on the paddle out on at top to bottom OC at comprable size. Granted it can get much much bigger!

It's really hell back home when it's completely dredging on the bar and relentless with the moderate periods.......everything tends to break in the exact same spot regardless of the size. Really makes it a ***** to get through that 'zone'.

 

One of my biggest days, Hurricane Bill, Rhode Island:

 

Yeah, I argree with the OC thing. OC when its big tends to break pretty close to shore still which adds a lot of power. In the huge blacks photo, the water is like 15 feet deep there. The bigger the wave at blacks, the further out it breaks, so really you have some room for error. You have tons of water under you if you go down.... OC is not as forgiving...

Yeah, and indicator breaks like 3/4 of a mile out even on a 12ft day or so... I cant wait to get this video so you guys can see it. It was incredible. As you came in from indicator, the inside sets at no surf were pushing 10 feet like right off the shore... It was really tough even getting in through the inside that day.... In my video, I pan to the right and left and there were like 1000 tourists just watching all day... I still have never found any real video from the cliffs that day online, except what I took. I dont know where they hide all the footage, but there has to be more than what i took. But when I put all my video footage together and cut it up, that scene will for sure be the opener.... Video of the lifeguard cranes, the jetskis, then panning out to some 30 footers on an 80 degree winter day. It is pretty freaking cool...

 

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??

 

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.

Biggest waves were Saturday of Hurricane Bill; at one point I wasn't sure how I was going to get on the beach cause the shorebreak was so violent I was afraid to break my board. Also Fall of 99 at the Margate/Ventnor pier. I remember the set waves tickling the undersides of the pier. The bouys were calling that day 12' but damn if the faces didn't look bigger. 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.

 

About 5 days ago in costa haha. These are the biggest i have on photo. But i got 1 outside bomb around doubble overhead

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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...

 

http://vimeo.com/10194676

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

PS Zach keep the photos coming! Sick!

 

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.

 

worked

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

 

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

 

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