"We were all real worried about all the chop," Parsons told Surfline. "It was a full-on gamble whether it would be ride-able at any point during the day." The winds dropped just as they arrived at Cortes Bank. As in all big wave surfing, surfers worked in highly coordinated pairs. Towing is the only way surfers can reach the high speeds of such giant open ocean waves. Once up to speed and in the right location on the wave, the surfer-in-tow releases his towline and drops down the face of the wave atop his board -- and the ride begins. "The speed of the waves out there was incredible," recalled Parsons. Making matters even more harrowing was the fact that the surface of the waves and the water between the waves was riddled with humps up to five or six feet tall, he said. Once riding the waves, there was yet another test of sanity. "The wave felt like you never got to the bottom," recalled Parsons. "It felt like one endless drop." The final word on the size of the waves ridden will be determined in late March by the judges of the annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. The largest wave to win the XXL so far was a 70-footer ridden in January 2004 by Pete Cabrinha at the renowned Jaws big surf spot on the north shore of Maui.
Larry O'Hanlon's blog: Earth Impacts Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards How Stuff Works: Why are the waves on the U.S. West Coast larger than the waves on the East Coast? |
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