Where are the biggest waves in the world?
A look at the big wave surfing meccas around the globe.
Tag: Surfing
Surfer dies after bizarre incident involving leaping needlefish
Italy’s Giulia Manfrini was sitting on her board waiting for waves in Indonesia when the fish came flying out of the water.
The surfing community is mourning the passing of Italy’s Giulia Manfrini, who died last month after being struck in the chest by a leaping needlefish.
The bizarre incident occurred Oct. 18 as Manfrini, 36, sat on her board waiting for waves at a remote Mentawai Islands surf spot in Indonesia.
According to Hidden Bay Resort, where Manfrini had been staying, the surfer “died almost immediately” after being struck by the fish and, subsequently, a set of large waves.
Needlefish are long and slender and possess extremely sharp teeth. They prey on smaller, schooling fish and occasionally leap at high speeds while trying to ambush prey.
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The Inertia, a surfing publication, stated that Manfrini was “impaled” by the needlefish at Beng Bengs surf spot.
“She screamed, which caught the attention of the other surfers at the peak, then fell off her board,” The Inertia wrote. “The other surfers immediately paddled over to help, but were swept away by a large set.”
Alexandre Ribas, part-owner of Hidden Bay Resort, witnessed the incident and recalled to The Inertia:
“The surfers who helped her said that there was a lot of blood and that, as the waves approached, she took one last look and fainted just before [the waves] hit her.”
The surfers got Manfrini to the beach but attempts to revive the surfer were unsuccessful.
Said Ribas: “We took Giulia to the hospital in the village of Pei Pei. When we got there, the doctor in charge told us that she was already lifeless and that nothing could be done.”
The drive from the beach to Pei Pei lasted seven minutes.
The incident underscores the risks surfers must weigh while considering travel to remote destinations with limited capabilities to deal with medical emergencies.
Hurricane John has surfers in Mexico seeking ‘waves of their dreams’
Footage shows surfers testing their skills at the ‘Mexican Pipeline’ in the immediate aftermath of the powerful storm.
As Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc this week in the southeastern United States, Hurricane John did the same in southwestern Mexico.
But in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane John on Friday morning, the wind began to subside and massive waves generated by the storm began to clean up, tempting surfers at Puerto Escondido to test their skills.
“The weather continues to give no respite and the storm waves do not stop,” photographer Edwin Morales stated via Instagram. “Although the short period is not ideal for Playa Zicatela, the gladiators continue trying and looking for the wave of their dreams.”
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Morales’ footage, shown above and below, shows why Zicatela Beach, just south of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, is referred to as the Mexican Pipeline.
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While Morales’ videos do not show the notoriously hollow beach break at its largest or cleanest, his footage does reveal the spot’s potential as one of the world’s premier big-wave surfing destinations.
Watch: Surfer discovers he’s not alone while dropping into wave
Footage shows Australia’s Wade Goodall sharing a wave with a dolphin and a wonderful symmetry occurs during their brief ride.
Australian surfer Wade Goodall is featured in a YouTube video showing that at nearly 38 years old and having suffered several major leg injuries, he’s still a phenomenal talent.
But what also stands out in the footage – and what’s being shared this week via social media – is a portion that begins at the 3-minute mark, when a dolphin positions itself directly below Woodall and rides the left-breaking wave in unison with Goodall.
Viewers can click here to watch the YouTube version. Below is the shorter Instagram version, courtesy of Surfline, along with the caption: “ ‘Thought you were going right!’ – Dolphin.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_8lTXgSwYj/
Viewers will note that Goodall spots the dolphin almost immediately after standing up and a wonderful symmetry occurs during their brief ride.
Surfline followers obviously enjoyed the clip and the top comment was well received: “We are so damn lucky this is our chosen culture.”
The footage is credited to Milo Inglis.
Olympic surfer Tim Elter had the cheekiest response after mooning the world while competing
This is the only response you can have after exposing your buns to the world.
Olympic surfer Tim Elter lost his pants while competing, and he delivered the best response to having his hind parts exposed.
So many wild things will happen while competing at the Olympics. But if I had to guess, losing your pants and exposing your derriere to seemingly the whole world is probably not on your mind. However, German surfer Tim Elter was actually wildly prepared for this sort of thing. (Maybe it happens more than I think.)
When photos of his cheeky incident began flooding social media, he took the whole thing in stride and with way more humor than I ever could. He gave the best one-liner I’ve seen in quite some time, especially to something very unplanned. (Warning: NSFW language.)
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Here’s why 2024 Olympic surfing is not taking place in France along with the other events
This year’s Olympic surfing competition will not be taking place in France. Here’s why.
While most of this year’s 2024 Summer Olympic competitions will be taking place in Paris, the surfing competition will be taking place in Tahiti.
As France doesn’t have the ideal conditions for a professional surfing competition with its beaches (and Paris, of course, isn’t near an ocean), the Olympic committee chose Teahupoʻo in Tahiti, one of the Society Islands in French Polynesia.
Tahiti will provide much more ideal surfing conditions and hopefully the perfect waves for all of the surfing competitors hitting the surfboards for this year’s Olympic Games.
We’ll see how Team USA fares on the waves in Tahiti when the Olympic surfing competition gets going on July 27.
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Go on a 10-year sailing voyage with this thought-provoking memoir
Discover what life is like on the water.
Liz Clark logged 20,000 miles in 10 years sailing along the Central American coastline and around the Pacific Islands in the 40-foot sailboat Swell. In her book “Swell: A Sailing Surfer’s Voyage of Awakening,” she pours her heart out about her inner struggles as a lone female set on freedom and outer challenges like navigating the oceans and keeping her craft shipshape. The hardcover edition came out in 2018, but the new paperback (released this month) will expand the story’s audience.
Clark grew up in San Diego, the child of sailing parents. When she was nine, the family took a seven-month sailing trip along the coast of Mexico. She started surfing while earning her environmental studies degree at UC Santa Barbara. In 2001, after graduating, she met Barry Schuyler, who had founded the environmental studies program in 1969. Schuyler wanted to help her live her sailing dreams, so he offered her the use of Swell in exchange for vicariously accompanying her on her voyage.
“Swell” is the story of a young woman who prizes self-discovery and freedom above all else. She faces the ambivalence and inner contradictions that most people do, especially the young and those with a lot of time to think. While she is critical of the capitalist priorities of the U.S., she’s also extremely American. What other country so strongly emphasizes the right to the pursuit of happiness?
Clark stays determined to see the best in people despite plenty of brushes with creepy guys and a terrifying, drawn-out situation of being stuck on an island with a broken boat and an abusive boyfriend. She is very earnest about her spiritual epiphanies and tries to put them into practice when dealing with other people. She loves ocean creatures and faithfully reports underwater encounters with those she meets while swimming and surfing. She sees up close the horrific human-generated plastic waste floating in the ocean and washed up on islands. And it scares her.
Above all, “Swell” is about the quest for freedom. This lovely sample passage is typical of her life at sea when things are going well, and especially resonates for young women raised on the male gaze. “Out here, there is no one to compare myself with—there’s not even a full-length mirror to critique my appearance. I let my hair go wild. I laugh out loud, and break into dance without a second thought. I can fester in my filth or spend half an hour massaging shampoo into my scalp. I wear an odd ensemble from the clothing bin—or nothing at all. Some granny panties that Mom gave me have become my go-to sailing uniform. I can scream, cry, and sing all in one breath with no one to judge me. I want everyone to feel this deep liberation.”
The book resembles her unstructured life at sea. But I would have liked a more practical backbone. I constantly found myself disoriented, asking, where is she? How much time has gone by? Who is this person who’s suddenly popped up on the boat and is sailing with her for some unspecified time?
I also wanted more information about her finances. Clark downplays anything to do with money, apparently as part of an anti-capitalist stance. She grumbles about having to do any work without meaning to her, even as she’s visiting places where people are poor and doing whatever they can to subsist. While sailing, she built up a blog popular enough to inspire strangers to send her money. Corporations sponsored her. At one point, she met up with filmmakers documenting her voyage. She’s asked to speak around the world, write articles for magazines, and eventually write this book. All these career accomplishments are mentioned offhandedly, almost as though they’re intrusions into her life at sea.
Patagonia, one of her sponsors, published the book. Photos show Clark sailing, surfing, doing yoga on beaches, and paddling a board with her darling ocean-going cat Amelia on the front. She also includes portraits of people she meets on the island and a fun photo of her and a friend singing backup for Jimmy Buffett when he did a surprise concert at an obscure Bora Bora Bar.
This thought-provoking book will make readers question their own lives. Are we free enough? Are we too materialistic? How can we be more spiritual and tread more lightly on the earth? Have we chosen the right path?
Near the end of the book, Clark sums it all up. “I am not the best sailor or the best surfer, or the most credentialed at anything, but chasing my dream has taught me that fulfillment and self-love don’t come from being ‘the best.’ They come from pursuing our passions and connecting to our own spirits, communities, and the world.”
Writer received a free copy of the book for review.
Whales steal spotlight (again) at legendary Hawaiian surf spot
Footage showing humpback whales breaching while a young surfer drops into a wave at Waimea Bay is reminiscent of an even more extraordinary scene in 2014.
The accompanying footage shows an 11-year-old surfing at Waimea Bay, but perhaps more impressive is the sight of humpback whales breaching in the background.
“Young Kalama Stratton is putting in his time at Waimea Bay with a few whales breaching out the back,” The Inertia described Tuesday on Instagram.
Two distant whales are shown leaping, one after the other, as Stratton drops in at the legendary big-wave destination on Oahu’s North Shore.
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The clip is somewhat reminiscent of an extraordinary scene memorialized 10 years ago up the coast at Pipeline.
The top image, captured in 2014 by J.T. Gray of North Shore Surf Photos, shows a humpback whale mother and calf riding a wave just beneath the surface.
“The whales were 75 to 100 yards east of Pipeline and playing for a while, then swam to about 10 yards outside of the lineup,” Gray explained at the time. “A set came in and the bodyboarder caught the first wave, and the humpbacks caught the second.”
While humpback whale sightings are common at this time of year, the gregarious mammals are rarely spotted in the surf.
Said Gray:“Whales frequent Hawaii in the winter months, but never that close to shore.”
Surfing flounder ‘hangs fin’ to the hit tune ‘Wipe Out’
“Flounder spend the majority of their lives on the bottom of the ocean but every once in a while they come to the top to catch a wave and hang fin.”
An East Coast photographer has shared footage showing a flounder masterfully riding a wave to the tune of surf music.
Mark Smith Photography described the scene via social media:
“Flounder spend the majority of their lives on the bottom of the ocean but every once in a while they come to the top to catch a wave and hang fin.”
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The accompanying music is the hit version of “Wipe Out” by the Surfaris.
In 2021, rare footage showing sea lions riding massive waves off California was matched to the same tune. That clip is posted below.
Watch: Dolphins share large waves with California surfers
The acrobatic mammals seem to enjoy surfing large waves as much as their human counterparts.
Bottlenose dolphins, like surfers, love to ride big waves – even if that means sharing the waves with surfers.
The accompanying footage, showing dolphins leaping next to surfers at Rincon near Santa Barbara, was shared Friday by Surfline, along with the clever intro:
“If you get dropped in on at Rincon, it was most likely on porpoise.”
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Surfline used the footage, credited to Nick Liotta, as part of its prediction for more large surf to slam the region Saturday, courtesy of a powerful west-northwest swell.
The main surfer in the footage might have been Spencer Fanticola, who commented below the video: “Best wave of my life.”