AJ-- Take Note! (All About Surfing)

[gnarlydorkette]

California's Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave Ever Ridden
From Betsy Malloy,

Surfers, take note The biggest wave ever ridden was not in Hawaii, or Australia, it was 100 miles off the southern California coast.
Mavericks, off the California coast near Half Moon Bay, became famous among big wave surfers in 1994 when Mark Foo, one of the world's greatest big wave surfers, caught his last-ever big wave and died in the cold Mavericks surf. Since then, Mavericks has become a Mecca for those who crave the thrill of surfing the big waves.Quiksilver, the surf wear company, has sponsored its big wave competition at Mavericks since 1999.

But the waves at Mavericks are a mere 20 feet high. The really big waves lurk off the southern California coast, 100 miles out of San Diego at the Cortes Bank. Here, a 17-mile underwater mountain range comes to a head 3 feet below the surface at a spot called Bishop Rock. This place has been known to ocean-going ships and fishermen for years. The waves there signal danger on the underwater rocks and are so big they show up on radar.

To get the biggest waves at Cortes Bank, you need light winds, low tides, and big storm swells from the northwest all at the same time, a Pacific surfer's version of the "perfect storm". When it happened on January 19, 2001, California big wave riders scrambled to test their skill against the biggest, baddest wave ever ridden. These waves move so fast that surfers can't catch them by paddling, so they enlist the aid of a fearless jet skier who tows them with a rope until they are moving fast enough to catch the wave.

As if being chased by a mountain of water while being towed by a jet ski at 30-40 mph isn't scary enough, then there's the wave itself. Surfers measure waves from the back and the record-breaking wave of the day was 30 feet according to their measurements. But, to the watcher on the other side of the wave, Mike Parsons was riding a wave sixty feet tall, the height of a six-story building.

Parsons took home $60,000 from the Swell/XXL Biggest Wave Wins event for his ride. Santa Cruz's Ken "Skindog" Collins, who was towing with Peter Mel thinks he should get a cut just "for having to watch that wave." The same wave, after traveling over a hundred miles and reduced to a quarter of its former size, surprised surfers at San Diego's Blacks Beach three hours later. This landlubber is in awe of them all.

(source) Blame for discovering Cortes falls on the shoulders of Larry “Flame” Moore, longtime photo editor at Surfing magazine. Since the 1970s, Moore knew of a spot on the oceanic charts that would be a good place to avoid in a sailboat. About 100 miles from the coast, the ocean floor suddenly rose up to half a fathom and formed a reef. In the open seas, miles from anywhere, the water was only three feet deep. Nobody knew about this at all—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ocean buoy had been out of commission for years. The USS Enterprise aircraft carrier discovered this the hard way, tearing a big gash in its hull back in 1985.

Moore knew that such dramatic changes to an ocean topography creates very surfable waves under the right conditions, as the water rolls up the underwater mountain and smacks into the peak. “There’s gotta be a break out there,” he remembers thinking. And then in February of 1989, he saw some amazing photos of a swell that hit Hawaii, creating some beautiful 40-foot waves. Currents always brought Hawaii’s swells to California, about 48 hours later. The same storm was on its way. Moore convinced a friend with a plane to fly a reconnaissance mission out to the mystery spot.

“Twenty miles from Cortes Bank, we could see it breaking,” says Moore. “As we got closer and closer, we were screaming louder and louder. We’re talking well over 80 feet. Easily. It was something I will never ever forget. Not only was it gigantic, it also was running down the reef, to where riding it that size, guys could ride this wave for nearly a mile.”

The surfer is like an ANT compared to the wave!

Hard to imagine that this monster is 100miles west of me! I will love to check it out while boating out-- I certainly WON'T surf on it-- my brother said somebody 'must be crazy and has a death wish' to go out on those gnarly waves.

Just an interesting fact for yall-- SAN DIEGO IS THE BEST SURFING SITE!

 

[DeafSCUBA98]

or.. go surfing in cold minnesota lakes at lake superior... normally in autumn have big waves can be 20 feet high.

witnessed some of the largest waves ever seen on Lake Superior. Fierce, northeasterly gales produced 20-foot rogue waves, too big and dangerous for us to ride. We realized that cold, gray autumn day that Lake Superior creates big, serious surf.

link: http://www.lakesuperior.com/online/226/226surf.html


thought you would like to know this too.. i dunno if any surfers knows about lake superior also have large amount of waves. yet cold water.. but more challenge.. and safer :P no sharks

 

[AJ]

yeah i know all about Mavericks i would love to go and at least look at a wave that huge. it would be amazing. if u do go and check it out make sure u take a picture of a really great hallow wave. im sure when the wave crashes it rumbles in ur chest.

 

[Aquaman]

I know this is a really old thread - I did a search on surfing to look for other surfers and found this thread.

I grew up surfing in northern California and was one of the few who surfed Mavericks while it was still a "secrect spot." When you paddle over the shoulder of a pitching Mavs wave, you can really feel it rumble in your chest, and on the bombs, the water drops on the board actually vibrate if you're close enough to the pit. I ride a 9'6" and a 9'8" gun there, but moved to San Diego a little over a year ago. Cortes Banks is tempting, but it's not a good set-up for paddle-in surfing, only towing which is something more than I'm willing to ante up for.

So you surf, AJ? Still around?

-Aquaman