Surfing the World’s Longest Surfboard

surf1-20-2008_60528_lRIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian surfer broke his own record after riding a wave on an extra-long 30-foot (9.16-metre) surfboard for over ten seconds.

In 2006, Rico de Souza broke the Guinness World Record by riding a wave on a 25.6-foot board (8.05-m).From his prior experience, Souza developed the new 100-kilo (220-pound) surfboard with the adjustments he had missed before.

Souza said that surfing the lengthy board was a challenging, but thrilling experience.Souza also organized another record in September this year, when 88 people surfed the same wave for over ten seconds up four from 2007.  VIDEO

via Brazilian breaks record for surfing on longest board

Surfers take on Australia’s Heaviest Wave

The Australian – Photo galleries and slideshows – Surfers take on Australia’s heaviest wave

While pictures obsess with wave height, surfers appreciate the thickness of a wave. When you wipe-out, you’ll appreciate the difference. Hence the fascination with the thick tubes at Teahupoo. Click on the link above to see 43 pictures of this deepwater break off of Australia. Also an article on it. heavy-aussiewave3Thanks to Randy Marks for Pix.

Video – In a Gale Crashing Through 40′ Seas

Here’s a peek to see what it’s like in the middle of a raging storm, courtesy of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Western Pacific. To put in perspective, the Kitty Hawk is more than 1,000 feet long and the deck is about 70 feet above the ocean surface. Her cruising speed is 30 knots (34.5 MPH) and she’s probably going about 20 knots in this video. I’m sure they wished they moved that helicopter farther back off the deck before those seas hit.

Winds: 40-50 knots. Seas: 35-45 feet.

What kind of surf would this storm send us? After significant swell decay within the first 1000 miles and a slower rate of decay after 2000 miles from the storm fetch. For most surf spots:

Estimated Surf 1000 miles away: 15-30 foot+ faces
Estimated Surf 2000 miles away: 12-20 foot faces
Estimated Surf 4000 miles away: 8-12 foot faces
Estimated Surf 5000 miles away: 6-10 foot faces

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more about “Video of USS Kitty Hawk Encountering …“, posted with vodpod
Click on this Surfline link for more. Thanks Randy Marks for the link.

Surfing Lava Waves

Volcano surfing: Lava waves in Hawaii – Telegraph

Even for the hardened adventurer, surfing in boiling waters just 20 feet from the flowing lava of an active volcano is pushing the boundaries of extreme sport.

But for professional surfer CJ Kanuha the thrill of a challenge was too good to pass up.
CJ Kanuha, the daring professional surfer paddles close to the flowing lava of Kilauea volcano

Hovering above in a helicopter, a photographer captured the moment he edged as close as possible to the molten lava of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Kirk Lee Aeder, who took the shots, said: “It was one of the most thrilling photo shoots I have ever had in my life.

“One day I was talking to my pro-surfing friend, CJ and we began discussing the idea of him surfing, or should I say, stand up paddle surfing close to where the lava enters the ocean and that I would shoot it from a helicopter.”

“I was tentative to get too close at first, and for good reason, the boiling water there is well over 200 hundred degrees in some spots, super hot, and it quickly melted the wax on the surfboard.”

The surfer, who suffered peeling skin on his legs from the boiling water, added: “It was an amazing feeling to get so close to the power of the lava from the volcano.” Click on picture to enlarge or on link for more photos.

When a 6′ Tiger Shark Bites Both Feet

Tiger Shark teeth are more like needles, than the typical “V’-shaped Great White’s teeth. That is why you don’t see the usual tearing of most shark attacks in these photos, even though the surfer was yanked off of his board, as he was paddling out. (Click on them to enlarge) From the bite pattern. experts estimated that this was a 6 footer. Here is his story:

sharked-foot3.jpg sharked-foot.jpg sharked-foot2.jpgMy girlfriend and eventual wife, Nat and I were in Florida visiting her family. During our stay the surf had been either flat or small, but on this day the surf had come up to overhead or better. We decided to watch the swell for awhile and wait for the tide to drop so the reef break in front of her house would build a little juice.

At about 10:00 am we put on our suits, waxed up the 6’2’s and walked the 2 blocks back up to the beach. Upon arriving, I slapped on my leash, ran down the beach to the water, and quickly began paddling through the soup as we had to go through about five rows of waves to get to the main peak. After three duck dives, I was about 30 meters off shore and still in white water, when I was grabbed from behind by my feet and pulled off my board, directly backwards. I was not shaken but was held for what seemed like forever, in fact, it was most likely two seconds or so. It was a shark…. Continue reading “When a 6′ Tiger Shark Bites Both Feet”