1/11: Surfer

Undertoad · 01-11-2002, 12:00 PM

Sometimes the MSNBC Week in Pics turns up images that don't say much wrt news, culture, etc. but are just glorious. That you look at and say Wow.

01-11-2002, 12:12 PM

You say "Wow". I'll say "Ballsy".

Seriously... that must be some fun stuff they're doing. I've never surfed, and never really had any desire to... but to risk being pounded into coral reefs or drowned or whatever - they're not just doing for the hell of it.

So good luck to 'em, and keep the images of huge waves coming. It's still something to stare in awe at...

modernhamlet · 01-11-2002, 01:33 PM

Dude! Look out! There's a big wave behind you!

That Guy · 01-11-2002, 02:25 PM

So instead of pig Fridays, we have pig-dogs.

Joe · 01-11-2002, 04:12 PM

The sport of big-wave surfing is completely different from just "surfing".

If those guys wipe out, they die. And, as we've learned in the past few years, it doesn't matter if you're one of the world's best surfers. Once you're off the board you're the same as anyone else.

I can't tell from this photo, but some of the waves are so gigantic that their wavelength and speed are too great for a human to catch by paddling. Instead they get towed behind a boat or waverunner-type vehicle, and catch the wave with a running start.

That Guy · 01-11-2002, 04:28 PM

Do a google search on Laird Hamilton (he was/is married to Gabby Reese - yummy) -- he's been one of the forerunners of tow-in surfing. If you saw "Endless Summer 2," then you definitely saw him. He was the stacked mofo that was windsurfing between islands in Fiji. What a life.
There's also been quite a debate about the validity of tow-in to the sport, inasmuch that you aren't into the "true soul" if you use a machine to catch waves. I figure if you use a boat to get there in the first place, what's the difference in using a smaller one to get into the wave?

ndetroit · 01-12-2002, 05:03 AM

I'll always remember a scene from "endless summer" where they show a guy doing the big waves at one of the beaches in hawaii, and he comes up from a huge wipout, with his board broken in half, and the (awesomely) goofy announcer says, "You know, you can drive a truck over a surfboard, and barely scratch it. A single wave puts about 100 tons of pressure on it though, and snaps it like a twig...", or something to that effect.

backpacker · 01-13-2002, 03:42 PM

Hey! That looks like my freind David!

01-11-2002, 12:00 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	1/10: Surfer Sometimes the MSNBC Week in Pics turns up images that don't say much wrt news, culture, etc. but are just glorious. That you look at and say Wow.

01-11-2002, 04:12 PM	#5
Joe Master of the Domain Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: AZ Posts: 221	woof The sport of big-wave surfing is completely different from just "surfing". If those guys wipe out, they die. And, as we've learned in the past few years, it doesn't matter if you're one of the world's best surfers. Once you're off the board you're the same as anyone else. I can't tell from this photo, but some of the waves are so gigantic that their wavelength and speed are too great for a human to catch by paddling. Instead they get towed behind a boat or waverunner-type vehicle, and catch the wave with a running start. Last edited by Joe; 01-11-2002 at 04:34 PM.

01-11-2002, 12:12 PM	#2
dave Guest Posts: n/a	You say "Wow". I'll say "Ballsy". Seriously... that must be some fun stuff they're doing. I've never surfed, and never really had any desire to... but to risk being pounded into coral reefs or drowned or whatever - they're not just doing for the hell of it. So good luck to 'em, and keep the images of huge waves coming. It's still something to stare in awe at...

01-11-2002, 01:33 PM	#3
modernhamlet Regulator of Squalor Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 37	Dude! Look out! There's a big wave behind you!

01-11-2002, 02:25 PM	#4
That Guy He who reads, sometimes writes. Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: at the keyboard Posts: 791	So instead of pig Fridays, we have pig-dogs.

01-11-2002, 04:28 PM	#6
That Guy He who reads, sometimes writes. Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: at the keyboard Posts: 791	Do a google search on Laird Hamilton (he was/is married to Gabby Reese - yummy) -- he's been one of the forerunners of tow-in surfing. If you saw "Endless Summer 2," then you definitely saw him. He was the stacked mofo that was windsurfing between islands in Fiji. What a life. There's also been quite a debate about the validity of tow-in to the sport, inasmuch that you aren't into the "true soul" if you use a machine to catch waves. I figure if you use a boat to get there in the first place, what's the difference in using a smaller one to get into the wave?

01-12-2002, 05:03 AM	#7
ndetroit Master Locutor Join Date: May 2001 Location: vancouver Posts: 158	I'll always remember a scene from "endless summer" where they show a guy doing the big waves at one of the beaches in hawaii, and he comes up from a huge wipout, with his board broken in half, and the (awesomely) goofy announcer says, "You know, you can drive a truck over a surfboard, and barely scratch it. A single wave puts about 100 tons of pressure on it though, and snaps it like a twig...", or something to that effect.

01-13-2002, 03:42 PM	#8
backpacker lost in the woods Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: tennessee Posts: 6	Hey! That looks like my freind David!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)