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Monster Wave Surf - Real or Fake?


Dan T.

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I'd say real. The thing that I think makes it look fake is he caught it a little earlier than you normally see and hung at the top for what looked to be to long. As for riding that size wave, they definetely do it, and are towed into it like that.

Jaws in HI is famous for tow in surfing. Mavericks in CA is another place you can catch waves like that. Most paddle in there though.

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I think that's real. It looks to be about a 40' wave. Probably Hawaii in the winter.

Those dudes are effing nuts. I remember going out in 9 foot chop when I was about 15... that was enough for me. Especially when my leash broke, I was hanging on for dear life

*edit*

Just read in Predicto's post that it was a 100' wave. Yikes

....

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Nothing on Snopes about it, so I guess it's real. It just seemed like his ride down the wall of the wave was too placid - not the breakneck speed I would expect. By that time the shot is from long distance so you lose some of the intensity and speed.

Wild though.

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Oh, it's real.

Read this about the surf contest at Maverick's a few years back.

DESPERATE RACE FOR SURVIVAL

RIDING FOR THEIR LIVES: Two water safety patrollers on Jet Skis at Maverick's reef turned around to see deadly 100-foot waves crashing toward them. They had just seconds to figure out how to stay alive.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/31/MNGQCNS3NM1.DTL&hw=mavericks&sn=001&sc=1000

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The one in that video isn't a hundred footer. More like 40-45 - which is damn HUGE. I can't imagine what the hundred footer looked like.
Those guys are just insane. I've checked out Mavericks when the waves get real big and the ocean is ROUGH. Can't imagine going past ankle deep in that water, let alone paddling out past the break.
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Nothing on Snopes about it, so I guess it's real. It just seemed like his ride down the wall of the wave was too placid - not the breakneck speed I would expect. By that time the shot is from long distance so you lose some of the intensity and speed.

Wild though.

Consdering they need a helicopter to keep up with those shots, i'd say the speed doesn't look right because the helicopter is traveling at the same speed as the surfer. If the camera wasn't moving and it followed the surfer as it went by, you'd probably notice the speed.

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It's real.

You guys have to check out this documentary "Riding Giants" It's all about the history of big wave surfing. The period at the end talks about the guys who invented tow in surfing...Laird Hamilton, Buzzy Kerbox.

I love watching this video, it's one of my favorites.

riding_giants_verdvd.jpg

I've never been surfing before, it's one of my lifelong goals though. I dunno if I'd ever want to surf anything that big either...but I marvel at the people who do.

laird_hamilton_teahupoo.jpg

:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

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I cant tell from the video, but its either Mavericks or Jaws (Maui).

I'd guess Jaws. At Mavericks you don't usually see swimsuits like that guy is wearing. It tends to be a pretty cold spot. That coud be red neoprene though, hard to tell from the vid.

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It's real.

You guys have to check out this documentary "Riding Giants" It's all about the history of big wave surfing. The period at the end talks about the guys who invented tow in surfing...Laird Hamilton, Buzzy Kerbox.

I love watching this video, it's one of my favorites.

riding_giants_verdvd.jpg

I've never been surfing before, it's one of my lifelong goals though. I dunno if I'd ever want to surf anything that big either...but I marvel at the people who do.

laird_hamilton_teahupoo.jpg

:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

The picture you provided and the most amazing part of that movie was Teahupoo. While not as big as Jaws or Mavericks, its probably as dangerous, if not more dangerous. Its a super thick, knarly wave that breaks in about two foot of water over top of reef.

I'd guess Jaws. At Mavericks you don't usually see swimsuits like that guy is wearing. It tends to be a pretty cold spot. That coud be red neoprene though, hard to tell from the vid.

Good point, I think youre right.

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Oh it's real alright and extremely dangerous, unless you can hold your breath a long time.

Anyhow, it's very difficult to make a digital fake of anything water related. Graphical tools just aren't there yet.

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The picture you provided and the most amazing part of that movie was Teahupoo. While not as big as Jaws or Mavericks, its probably as dangerous, if not more dangerous. Its a super thick, knarly wave that breaks in about two foot of water over top of reef.

Teahupoo is just plain sick.

http://www.surfline.com/womens/photo_bamp.cfm?id=11242&ad=1 <<<check out photo 9 and 11 for an underwater view. Maya Gabeira makes it look easy.

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Teahupoo is just plain sick.

http://www.surfline.com/womens/photo_bamp.cfm?id=11242&ad=1 <<<check out photo 9 and 11 for an underwater view. Maya Gabeira makes it look easy.

Teahupoo is more than sick. In the documentary, they said a surfer died there a week before Laird Hamilton surfed the biggest wave Teahupoo had ever offered. And just before Lairds particular wave, he tried dropping in on one that closed out, a wave that almost certainly would have ground him up in the reef for fish food. Dudes a nut!

Its a must see for everybody, not just surfers!

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  • 4 years later...

U.S surfer sets Guinness World Record for largest wave ever after barreling down a 'supersize' 78 ft tall wall of water

Thrill-seeker Garrett McNamara has taken the Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever surfed after riding a 78-foot tall break off the coast of Portugal in November.

Confirmed by a panel of experts at the annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, McNamara, 44, beat the previous mark held since 2008 by surfing legend Mike Parson by just one foot.

Barreling down the enormous wave at Nazaré, McNamara risked being drowned or crushed by the enormous wall of water he was riding to take the coveted crown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RcGdarrUfGA

Click on the link for the full article and pictures

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