Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

Inside the headspace of Evan Geiselman. Presented by Dragon

Welcome to Episode Two of Dragon’s Frame of Mind series. And what is it, exactly? It’s 60 seconds inside a surfer’s cranium, where we get a fast-paced look into what drives them. Future episodes include Mick Fanning, Shane Dorian, Luke Hynd, and more. But this week, the focus is on Florida’s Evan Geiselman. We gave him a ring to get inside his head about, well, what’s inside his head.

On New Smyrna Beach, Florida:

I spent a lot of time in California for four years. But when I came back here, I realized how much better it is for me as a home base. It’s so comfortable. I know everybody. I have my own routine. Where I live in Smyrna, it’s my own little paradise. California just got a bit chaotic for me, and I’m on the road for nine months out of the year anyway, so coming home to Florida for a couple of weeks between events and trips to reset is nice, and something I look forward to.

On playing golf:

My brother got me into it, and then he stopped playing, but I got completely hooked. I got the bug so bad that it cut into my surf time, and that wasn’t cool for a little bit [Laughs]. I have that under control now, and I got fairly decent at the game for an average golfer. I like it so much because it’s competitive. Every shot matters. You can bet with your friends, play little games…and it’s the weirdest game in the world. One day, I can be the best at it, and the next, it’ll be like I’ve never played before. I love the constant challenge of golfing. I think it actually helps my surfing.

On his ‘QS handycam:

I happened to bring a handycam to Japan last year for the first time, and I ended up winning the contest. My first ‘QS win ever. That was pretty ironic. Ever since then, I’ve been bringing it along. I make little edits from the ‘QS just to have fun, and to show some behind-the-scenes stuff from the tour, because you can kind of get lost on that thing. Nobody really watches until you get to Hawaii.

On scoring good waves:

You’re surfing such average waves on the ‘QS, and I noticed that for awhile I wasn’t surfing good waves at all, and I was caught up trying to surf to a certain criteria all of the time. I didn’t even do surf trips, because everything was always about getting ready for the next comp. Now, I’m trying to score waves between events because surfing good waves resets me and gets me more fired up to go to these ‘QS events and do well. Every time I get a month-long break from the ‘QS, I’m looking at swells around the world and trying to make the most of it. Like last year, after Ballito: I lost early, saw a swell was headed for J-Bay, booked the next flight out, took the car from Yadin [Nicol] and drove to the airport solo, stalled out the entire way because I didn’t know how to drive stick [Laughs]…but, I eventually made it and absolutely scored. It’s gotta be one of my top three favorite waves in the world. Speaking of which: I’m off to Africa in a week, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to go back.

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Biggest and heaviest breaks around the world. Chile, Mexico, USA, Ireland, France, Portugal, South Africa, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Tahiti, Hawaii.

World record waves around 100ft (30m) rogue waves, largest waves world record Biggest wave in the world Large wave, swell storm tsunami, code, red, jaws, teahupoo

Fear is always present in a 50-foot wave. Fear is the best way of managing the risk of paddling for a huge wave face, which doesn’t tell you what is going to happen and how it is going to break.

Monster waves tend to move quickly and force surfers to get away of the powerful whitewater. Big waves are lethal even for the most experienced extreme riders. The best big wave surf spots in the world have claimed several lives in the last decades.

Malik Joyeux, Sion Milosky, Moto Watanabe, Mark Foo, Donnie Solomon, Todd Chesser, Dickie Cross and Peter Davi have passed away in extreme surfing conditions. Wipeouts, severe coral reef injuries and drowning are the most common causes of death in big wave surfing.

The pioneers of big wave surfing started to eye impossible killer rides in the 1940’s. In the 1960’s, waves like Pipeline and Waimea increased the popularity of paddling into new wave heights. Going over the falls was the daily menu.

Laird Hamilton is the first professional big wave surfer. The waterman from Maui defies fast, hollow and high waves with a full-time training and previous preparation. Hamilton, the father of tow-in surfing, takes on the entire big wave spots of the Hawaiian Islands, in helicopter style.

Laird was born with the gene of defying danger. He designs and prepares his own surfboards and wetsuits. Wherever heavy waves break, Hamilton is there to ride them: Mavericks, Cortes Bank, Dungeons.

In 2000, Laird Hamilton surfs what is considered the heaviest wave of all time. The “Millennium Wave” was ridden in the reef of Teahupoo, in Tahiti, and set a new standard for big wave surfing.

Garrett McNamara is one of the toughest big wave challengers. After riding a spectacular 78-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal, the Hawaiian waterman entered the Guinness World Records with the biggest wave ever surfed.

The 55 best big wave surfers of all time is an exclusive extreme surfing club. From Jaws to Mavericks, Puerto Escondido, Punta Lobos, Ghost Trees, Belharra, Shipstern Bluff and Todos Santos, these riders have set up a new scale in the definition of giant waves. They are:

Al Mennie
Andy Irons
Anthony Tashnick
Ben Wilkinson
Bob Pike
Brock Little
Buzzy Trent
Carlos Burle
Chris Bertish
Danilo Couto
Darrick Doerner Darryl Virostko
Dave Kalama
Dave Wassel
Eddie Aikau
Frank Solomon
Gabriel Villaran
Garrett McNamara
George Downing
Brad Gerlach
Gerry Lopez
Grant Twiggy Baker Grant Washburn
Greg Long
Greg Noll
Ian Walsh
Jamie Sterling
Jay Moriarty
Jeff Clark
Jeff Rowley
Jose Angel
João de Macedo
Kai Barger Keala Kennely
Ken Bradshaw
Ken Colllins
Koby Abberton
Kohl Christensen
Laird Hamilton
Laurie Towner
Mark Foo
Mark Healey
Mark Mathews
Mark Visser Maya Gabeira
Mike Parsons
Nathan Fletcher
Pat Curren
Peter Mel
Ramon Navarro
Richie Fitzgerald
Ross Clarke-Jones
Shane Dorian
Sion Milosky
Zach Wormhoudt

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For Kelly Slater, Fiji was love at first surf. Slater sits down to talk about his highs and lows, over 27 years, at Cloudbreak.

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