The Big Juice: Epic Tales of Big Wave Surfing Read online

  This elemental challenge of man against the sea defines the essence of big wave riding and has since Chief Abner Paki stroked out past his peers to take on alone his island's "long-ranging surf." Generated by tremendous low-pressure systems, huge groundswells sweep across trackless seas, growing in power and mass as they silently roll toward waiting reefs, islands, and continents. When these swells meet the shore the result ranks with the most massive energy exchanges on Earth. Throughout the ages storm swells have swept away armadas, destroyed cities, taken back measureless tracts over which man had for centuries claimed dominion. If, as the great writer of the sea Herman Melville maintained, the sea is a mirror in which all men see themselves, then those both watching and riding 30-foot swells are bound to feel insignificant. The question becomes: How can they do that?

  To deliberately place oneself in a maelstrom seems reckless, yet big wave riders rush to the raging lineup as if to a tryst. Danger is not entirely subjective, however, and statistics insist that big wave riding is actually quite safe. In modern surf history only three experienced big wave surfers have died in action: big wave star Mark Foo, who drowned at Mavericks in 1994, Todd Chesser, a fearless young pro who died in huge outer-reef surf in Hawaii in 1997, and Sion Milosky, an experienced charger from Oahu who in March 2011 became Mavericks' second drowning victim. Three deaths in over fifty years of giant waves, heavy closeout sets, and gnarly wipeouts are an almost insignificant figure compared with the staggering losses in other high-risk adventure sports like highaltitude and alpine-style mountaineering, free-solo rock climbing, BASE jumping, and extreme skiing. But what big wave riding lacks in staggering body counts it more than makes up for in terror.

  The Everest mountaineer or solo climber squares off with the high lonesome, while the BASE jumper or extreme skier battles gravity. Extremely high risk-yes. But the mountain does not move, and in many cases the route can be studied, rehearsed, and tackled in stages. For the big wave rider, the medium is a monster not merely moving but pursuing: the hunter becomes the hunted, the snarling, roaring waves are imbued with a deliberate intent to do harm. Big wave jargon tells the story clearly. Surfers get "caught inside" for a brutal "wipeout," the surfboard "tombstoning" at the surface in the "impact zone" while the rider thrashes far below, trapped in a horrifying "two-wave hold-down." For climbers or skiers, infrequently swept off their feet by an avalanche, the fear tells them they just might perish. But from the very first moment surfers are driven underwater by a breaking wave, they begin to die. Suddenly and violently plunged three atmospheres deep, then four, then five, breath smashed out of the lungs by the impact, they're driven as by a giant's fist, slammed down into the darkness. Equilibrium is stripped away; the pressure builds in their ears, behind their eyes as a red-hot coal fans to flame inside their chest, and they'd scream if they could, "Not yet! Not yet!" Tumbled, buffeted, ragdolling through a breathless whirlwind, no control of arms or legs, nothing but a brain and a pair of lungs. Every second feels like a minute now, their body betraying their mind, suddenly demanding what it once took for granted, threatening to take control if not appeased, prying open the clenched jaw to let the sea flow in; the roar of the wave exploding overhead, the howling of the storm, whispering into their ear, The clock is ticking ... count the seconds ... maybe this time . . ."

  South African Grant "Twiggy" Baker center-punches Mavericks, in Northern California.

  PHOTO © ROBERT BROWN

  Maybe this time they won't come up. Like Mark Foo didn't. Like Todd Chesser didn't. Like Sion Milosky didn't, even though he was surfing a crowded day at Mavericks wearing a flotation vest and a surfboard leash. Caught in the chaos beneath a monster wave, cut off from life-sustaining oxygen, Sion must've heard that voice, except at one point, right before that last, desperate moment, it was probably his own, wondering, "Will I be next?" Helpless to do anything but hug to his burning chest the belief that he would eventually come up ... any second now.

  It is not the danger, but rather this terror that keeps the vast majority of surfers from riding big waves. The big wave surfer moves toward these moments of lifelessness, accepts them, in some cases becomes comfortable with them. Big wave riders willingly risk each little death for the intense sensation of living found at the bottom of each elevator drop, in every cavernous tube, in every no-exit hold-down.

  Just ask Shane Dorian. At thirty-eight no longer a brash young Turk. Bountiful income, solid stock portfolio, beautiful home, lovely wife, two bright and loving kids ... and here he sits on a hill above Mavericks with his gun slung across his lap, looking out across Half Moon Bay's harbor toward the flat blue plane, considering the wave that almost took it all away forever, and the tightrope strung between satisfaction and desire.

  "I'm not sure if this kind of obsession is healthy in the long run," he tells me. "And I just don't mean physically."

  Shane rubs a few more ounces of wax onto the board, his eyes still fixed on the unbroken horizon.

  "But I'm out there," he says.

  1935

  Tom Blake, doing research in Honolulu's Bishop Museum, discovers that the last remaining redwood olo surfboard in existence belonged to Chief Abner Paki, reportedly a nineteenth-century big wave rider from Makaha.

  1936

  Honolulu surfers Fran Heath, Wally Froiseth, and John Kelly collaborate to produce the first surfboard designed specifically for bigger waves. They call their narrow-tailed, deep-V creation the "hot curl."

  1937

  The Waikiki "hot curl" crew begins riding winter surf at Makaha, establishing the right reef/point break on Oahu's West Side as the epicenter of big wave riding development.

  1937

  Northern California's "Steamer Lane," a booming right reef/point in Santa Cruz, is first surfed.

  1943

  Trapped outside by a rapidly building swell at Sunset Beach on Oahu's North Shore, surfers Woody Brown and Dickie Cross attempt to paddle 6 miles down the coast to the ordinarily calm waters of Waimea Bay. Caught by a huge set that closes out the bay, Brown washes to shore naked. Cross is never seen again.

  1951

  George Downing, a surfing prodigy from Waikiki, shapes the first modern big wave board, a 10-foot balsawood pintail complete with raked fin. Thus armed, Downing establishes himself as the sport's premier big wave rider.

  Pete Cabrinha on one of the biggest waves ever ridden-70-plus at Jaws-good for a 2004 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards check and a Guinness Book world record PHOTO © ERIKAEDER.COM/BILLABONGXXL.COM

  1952

  A front-page Associated Press photo of Woody Brown, George Downing, and Buzzy Trent sliding across a 15-foot Makaha wall lands on America's doorstep, triggering an almost immediate migration of intrepid California surfers to Hawaii.

  1955

  Surfers Downing and Froiseth and California transplants including Flippy Hoffman, Buzzy Trent, Peter Cole, Rick Grigg, and Greg Noll begin regularly riding the big waves on Oahu's North Shore.

  1956

  Waimea Bay is successfully ridden for the first time in modern times. Its summit team included Greg Noll, Mike Stang, Mickey Munoz, Bob Bermel, Bing Copeland, and Pat Curren.

  1961

  The hollow left-breaking North Shore tube later known as the "Banzai Pipeline" is first board-surfed by Californian Phil Edwards.

  1962

  Greg Noll and Mike Stang ride an winter day at Palos Verdes's Lunada Bay, a hint at the potential of West Coast big wave riding that would not gain traction for another twenty-five years.

  1963

  Noll and Stang again make North Shore history by riding the seldombreaking, deep-water cloud break known as "Third Reef Pipeline."

  1964

  American International Pictures releases Ride the Wild Surf, a fulllength Hollywood feature set in Hawaii's big wave surfing scene. California hot-dogger Miki Dora doubles for star Fabian, Greg Noll for his nemesis "Eskimo Dobbs."

  1965

  The Duke Kahanamoku Invitational, the spo
rt's first big wave competition, is held at Sunset Beach. It's won by sixteen-year-old Jeff Hakman.

  1967

  A massive winter swell hits Waimea Bay, creating what were then considered the biggest waves ever surfed. Filmed by a score of surf filmmakers, this day seats Waimea's reputation as surfing's ultimate challenge.

  1969

  The biggest North Pacific swell ever recorded (even to this day) rocks the coasts of California and Hawaii. Santa Barbara s Rincon is ridden at 20 feet. In Hawaii Greg Noll, alone in the lineup at Makaha Point Surf, drops into surfing immortality when he takes off and survives on the biggest wave thus far attempted, an estimated 55-foot closeout.

  1972

  Surfer magazine runs a travel article featuring Craig Peterson photos of huge, 15- to 18-foot tubes breaking along the coast of mainland Mexico. Although the break is left unidentified (it's later revealed to be called "Petacalco"), it inspires a few hardy West and East Coast surfers to begin ordering 9-foot guns.

  1974

  The Smirnoff Pro-Am, then the most prestigious competitive event on the North Shore, goes off in giant Waimea Bay surf. In the biggest waves ever seen for a contest, Hawaii s Reno Abellira just barely edges out Jeff Hakman for the $5,000 first-place check.

  1975

  Sixteen-year-old Jeff Clark, a surfer from Half Moon Bay, California, begins regularly riding a break outside the town's harbor jetty. Named after a fishing captain's dog, the spot is called "Mavericks."

  1977

  North Shore standout James "Booby" Jones methodically attempts to ride the massive tube at Waimea Bay. His first completed ride, caught by photographer Dan Merkel, would be a feat that would not be repeated for another thirteen years.

  1978

  Big wave ace and pioneering North Shore lifeguard Eddie Aikau dies while attempting to rescue fellow crew members of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokulea, which foundered off the coast of Molokai. Neither Aikau's body nor his board was ever recovered.

  1983

  With the sport's focus shifting to exotic travel and the burgeoning pro tour, big wave riding takes a back seat. Surfer magazine addresses this issue with a major cover story entitled "Whatever Happened to Big Wave Riding?" The sport would find out soon enough.

  1984

  The Billabong Pro, ordinarily held at Sunset Beach, is moved to maxed-out Waimea Bay during a supersized swell. While a number of top-ranked pros refuse to even paddle out, the event is won by four-time world champion Mark Richards of Hawaii, ironically better known for his development of the small-wave, twin-fin design.

  1984

  The wave known as "Dungeons," a four- to five-story peak located off South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, is surfed for the first time.

  1985

  The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Memorial contest is held at Waimea Bay for the first time. Perhaps appropriately it's won by Clyde Aikau riding one of this deceased older brother's surfboards.

  1986

  Surfing magazine runs its cover story entitled "Big Time" featuring California stars Tom Curren, Dave Parmenter, and Mike Parsons riding 18- to 20-foot peaks at Baja 's Isla Todos Santos. Surfers the world over begin looking beyond Hawaii.

  1990

  The "Eddie," as it's more commonly known, is held again at Waimea Bay but this time in epic, 40- to 50-foot conditions with smooth offshore winds and eventually is won by Keone Downing, son of the legendary George Downing. Big wave performance takes a quantum leap, led most noticeably by young Haleiwa local Brock Little, who, though falling both times, successfully exits a humongous Waimea tube and takes off on one of the biggest waves ever attempted.

  1991

  Eschewing the Eddie at Waimea, along with all of its invitees, surfers Buzzy Kerbox, Laird Hamilton, and Darrick Doerner motor out to Backyard Sunset in Kerbox's inflatable Zodiac, pulling each other into 20-foot waves at the end of a tow rope. Tow surfing is born.

  1992

  Hamilton and crew trade the Zodiac for PWCs and begin riding Peahi on Maui. The 60-foot wave mark is broken.

  1992

  Surfer magazine's cover story "Cold Sweat" reveals the Waimeasized waves of Mavericks-and the fact that until Jeff Clark lured a crew of Santa Cruz big wave riders up the coast, he had been riding it alone for fifteen years.

  1994

  Hawaiian big wave star Mark Foo drowns while surfing Mavericks for the first time. His death draws more mainstream attention to big wave riding than anything in the previous one hundred years.

  1995

  One year to the day after the death of Mark Foo, California surfer Donnie Solomon drowns while surfing a big day at Waimea Bay.

  Big waves aren't always tall: Set waves at Tahiti's Teahupoo are measured by sheer mass and madness. Mark Healy, handling it all

  PHOTO © JEREMY KLEIN

  1997

  Playing hooky from his stunt work on the Columbia Tri-Star big wave feature In God's Hands, popular North Shore surfer Todd Chesser drowns while surfing an outer reef break. More big wave riders died during this three-year period than in the previous half-century.

  1998

  The Reef Brazil Big Wave Championship is held at Isla Todos Santos, won by Brazil's Carlos Burle. The bigger paycheck, however, went to California's Taylor Knox, who, as judged in the newly conceived K-2 Big Wave Challenge, rode the biggest wave of the year, taking home a nifty fifty grand for a nasty 52-footer.

  1999

  During the biggest, cleanest swell in decades, tow-in teams take to the North Shore's outer reefs where big wave stalwart Ken Bradshaw pulls into a wave at Outside Log Cabins estimated to be just over 70 feet.

  2000

  Wedge local and surf impresario Bill Sharp, creator of the K-2 Challenge, introduces the Billabong XXL, a season-long event that rewards the biggest wave of the year with a dollar a foot. The 2000-01 award goes to Mike Parsons for his 60-foot giant caught at Cortes Bank, 100 miles off the coast of San Diego.

  2000

  On August 17 Laird Hamilton tows into what is now referred to as the "Millennium Wave," an impossibly thick, unthinkably heavy tube at Tahiti's Teahupoo, completely redefining the concept of rideable.

  2001

  Photos begin emerging from the antipodal island of Tasmania depicting Aussie surfers riding a giant, triple-up, surreal-looking danger wave breaking off a headland called "Shipstern Bluff." Dubbed a "slab," Shipsterns continues to redefine what is considered rideable. The worldwide hunt for slabs is on.

  2002

  Located off the eighteenth hole of Carmel's famed Pebble Beach Golf Course, the break known as "Ghost Tree" is towed into at size by Santa Cruzers Peter Mel, Adam Replogle, and Shane Desmond. The rocky ledge break is considered as much a stunt as a wave.

  Mike Parsons's 2000 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave award-winning ride during the first-ever tow-in assault at Cortes Bank

  PHOTO © AARON CHANG/BILLABONGXXL.COM

  2003

  French surfers Sebastian St. Jean and Fred Basse post video of themselves riding Betharra, a huge, heretofore-unseen peak breaking a half-mile off the Basque coast. One wave easily tops 60 feet but doesn't win the Billabong XXL because the rider was deemed to have taken off too far out on the shoulder. It does, however, make the point: Atlantic surf gets huge.

  2005

  A giant, 50-plus-foot day at Monterey's Ghost Tree cements the West Coast as one of the world's top big wave riding destinations.

  2005

  A women's division is added to the Billabong XXL Awards. It is won by Santa Cruz's Jamiliah Starr, a regular in heavy lineups from Waimea Bay to Puerto Escondido.

  2008

  Mike Parsons returns to Cortes Bank, where during a terrific winter storm swell he tows into a wave that tops out at over 70 feet. He wins the XXL Biggest Wave Award for the second time.

  2008

  Goofy footers Keala Kennelly and Maya Gabeira tow into giant Teahupoo and score a pair of outrageous tubes.

  2009

  Shane Do
rian and Mark Healey, two of the best big wave riders in any ocean, take off together on a massive Waimea Bay cloeseout set, announcing to the surfing world that bare-handed "paddle-in" is definitely back.

  2009

  Greg Long, cementing his reputation as perhaps the best all-around big wave rider in the world, wins the Eddie, just edging out thennine-time world champion Kelly Slater. Held in epic conditions, the contest is an all-day big wave highlight reel.

  2011

  Shane Dorian, Danilo Couto, and Ian Walsh paddle surf big Peahi, riding some of the biggest waves ever caught by hand.

  2011

  During a big wave competition held at Mullaghmore, Ireland, surfers are faced with grinding 40-foot tubes. One particularly awesome barrel earns Benjamin Sanchis from France the first-place trophy and a 2011 Billabong XXL Ride of the Year award nomination.

  2011

  North Shore local charger Sion Milosky dies while surfing Mavericks. After dominating one of his first trans-Pacific sessions at the fearsome NorCal break, Milosky goes down on a monster set and is never seen alive again. His body is discovered floating almost a half-mile away from the lineup, reigniting controversy about a recent ban of PWCs at Mavericks, even for safety and lifeguard use.

  The day before, Shane Dorian was on top of the world. At the urging of friends the Hawaiian big wave star and 2008 Billabong XXL Ride of the Year award winner had flown over from the Islands to northern California, chasing a huge swell to Mavericks. There, on his very first day out at the fearsome break, Dorian put on a display of paddle-in big wave surfing that many longtime observers were calling the greatest first session ever seen-and maybe the best ever. So it was with plenty of confidence that Dorian paddled out the following day, with the swell even bigger, eager to build his Mavericks resume. And came within a single breath of losing his life.