Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

Last week, we kicked off the premiere of SURFER Films with Part I of The Cradle Of Storms – the award-winning 2014 movie directed by Ben Weiland and Bryce Lowe-White, and photographed by Chris Burkard. We’re continuing the rollout with Part II of the film and the second section from the SURFER 55.04 cover feature, where Alex Gray, Josh Mulcoy, and Pete Devries discover the cost of dreamlike waves in “The Birthplace of the Winds”: a harsh, severe climate that throws their travels, and their safety, into perilous question.

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Biggest and heaviest breaks around the world.

Waves:
Pedra Branca – Australia
El Buey – Chile
Pico Alto – Peru
Ghost Tree – USA
Belharra – France
Cow Bombie – Australia
Cyclops – Australia
Dungeons – South Africa
Shipstern Bluff – Australia
Todos Santos – Mexico
Punta De Lobos – Chile
Mullaghmore – Ireland
Cloudbreak – Fiji
The Right – Australia
Mavericks – USA
Puerto Escondido – Mexico
Waimea Bay – Hawaii
Teahupoo – Tahiti
Jaws – Hawaii
Nazare – Portugal

Surfers:
Martin Jeri – El Buey – Chile
Grant Baker – Pico Alto – Peru
Jamie Mitchell – Belharra – France
Justin Holland – Cow Bombie – Australia
Brad Domke – Cyclops – Australia
Andrew Marr – Dungeons – South Africa
Alex Zawadzki – Shipstern Bluff – Australia
Fede Mekis – Punta De Lobos – Chile
Peter Conroy – Mullaghmore – Ireland
John John Florence – Cloudbreak – Fiji
Dean Morrison – The Right – Australia
Tyler Larronde – Mavericks – USA
Gabriel Villaran – Puerto Escondido – Mexico
Makua Rothman, – Waimea Bay – Hawaii
Mason Ho, – Waimea Bay – Hawaii
John John Florence – Waimea Bay – Hawaii
Koa Rothman – Teahupoo – Tahiti
Shane Dorian – Jaws – Hawaii
Antonio Silva – Nazare – Portugal

Big wave surfing is the ultimate celebration of extreme surfing. Challenging deadly waves in harsh weather and ocean conditions takes a very serious approach.
Big wave surfers are not interested in performance. Forget perfect cutbacks, stunning floaters or breathless aerial antics. The profile of a big wave rider is the result of several unparalleled personal characteristics.

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, Nazare. 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

The Hyperflex Access Series continues to be ab exceptionally priced line of wetsuitscatering to the needs of the entry level surfer. These suits offer flatlock seams for maximum durability and strength anatomically cut pattern, adjustable collar, and beefy YKK Zipper. In addition, the Access Series offers an unmatched starting price point which will guarnatee you will no be undersold on wetsuits.

Product Features

• NEW TECHNOLOGY: Using mesh-skin chest and back panels to increase the wind/water repellency and insulation for surfers in all climates.
• SURF WETSUIT: Designed for a new surfer that offers amazing value without sacrificing quality.
• DURABLE: Low profile flatlock seam for maximum durability and strength.
• KNEE PROTECTION: Knees are reinforced with a Duratex outer lining for improved longevity and protection.
• FEATURES: Stainless steel zipper slider with a comfortable adjustable collar.

World Champion Tour surfers are now discovering the performance and recovery benefits of compression technology. We set out to maximize that innovation with an ultra-premium design, and the goal was to create the best performance board short on the planet. The result is Oakley BLADE 2. Even if you don’t compete in the ASP World Tour, you can still experience the power, endurance and balance that world-class wave riders rely on in competition, and get it all with signature Oakley style. Oakley BLADE 2 is engineered with an inner compression short that improves muscle awareness and focus. Those are crucial issues when your sport demands perfect balance, controlled movement and precise positioning, and this board short brings the best of all three. With critical messages from your muscles getting through to your brain, you’ll have a better chance of staying on the board when you’re pushing beyond your limits.

Product Features

• Ultra premium board short made of O Stretch fabric
• Detachable inner compression shorts
• Four-way stretch (greater than 120%) to free movement and eliminate chafing
• Compression design to optimize your power, endurance and balance
• Hydrofuse welded seams to eliminate bulk and prevent rashes