Deep Water: Pe'ahi Paddle Days - video
A short film by Patagonia narrated by Kohl Christensen that looks at a swell in January where the paddle in revival broke new ground. For two consecutive days - days that would once have been tow only - the new breed of big wave surfers put themselves and their oversized 10 foot plus boards into parts of Pe'ahi never before traversed.
Comments
Nice clip good beats & naming the surfers was great .
Ben Wilkinson going damn hard on the second last wave. Wonder if he thinks he should've pulled in to that last section? Almost looks makeable.
I agree stu, reckon it looked makeable.
Still what the fuck would I know. 4-5' parsons sees me out these days.
Sure doesnt look like a wave for your backhand tho.
Agree re Ben W and also on the backhand comment. Looks real hard picking a line down the line for goofies but on your forehand, if you can limit drawing out the bottom turn and then tuck up into the high-line barrel you're sweet...That easy sitting from behind a computer screen :o
I often look out at 6ft lineups and think, 'sweet, heaps going unridden, this'll be a good sesh'. Then can't get in position or read the lineup for shit, and realise why those waves were going unridden.
Hey kohl, for the love of god you just paddled 20ft jaws. It's ok to sound a little animated. Or get Mark Visser to do your voice overs. And, no, this isn't Mark Visser. I swear.
Shut up you fools ben was going to do a air / floater but then decided his board could snap considering its probly glassed with 7 layers 6 oz .
With no experience at big wave surfing its easy to critisize and undercall the size by 50%
If you ever thought you rode a big wave then later you see a picture of it have u ever noticed wat u thought was huge suddenly seems so small & underwhelming ? How about all the critics post up a pic of their biggest wave & we can all call how big it is here on swellnet . Its not just this thread but everytime theres a thread to do with big surf so many critter size the size
When big ben takes off they should overcall the size by 50%. He makes the waves look smaller.
Hows his bottom turn he pumps a double bottom turn to wind up more speed . Nobody does that ! Pulling into a 25ft plus tube that lands on you could end your sesh badly . Thats one of the biggest waves ever paddled at jaws & its much bigger than 25ft waimea
Wow, "critter size". Caml, you just my day.
Bens board has a square tail , he wants to get rad ! The film doesnt show his wave after he pulls off so u dont know if its makeable or not but if it was looking do able im sure he would go
When i catch crayfish i say dont crittersize the size of my critters
Run to the sea on vimeo 11 mins , some go pro footage and big lefts that would suit you caml.
atrocious conditions they surf in Ireland
What isit udo ? Mullys ? Ok i will try watchit . Water is cold enough to numb my fingers in southern aust so im not sure if irelands surf is poss for me
Dont crittersize my critters size
Hey Stu,
I nearly missed this clip - did it feature at the top of your Home Page when you posted it?
I find these types of clips almost surreal in their intensity. The dedication it must take to loom over the edge and say "yep, going", the thought of battling another surfer for possession an alien thought, so the opening comment is very revealing, an eye-opener to the future of big waves paddling in. How anyone can see these waves and not see them as HUGE is beyond me. When I fist started surfing waves in 2X (face) OH size (not big by these standards I know) an experienced surfer said to me "If you're thinking about going out don't imagine you're on that perfect wave you just saw that bloke catch - imagine you're caught in the worst place possible on that same wave. If you're not up for it, you shouldn't be out there as you could endanger someone else's life". I've never forgotten that advice and apply it to looking at this footage. As these guys hook up under lip, have a look at what's going on 20 feet inside them - insane they got to where they have, let alone making it any further.
Might've been a fast news day when it got posted RR. As for preparing for big waves I think it helps to have a slightly pessimistic streak. Yeah, confidence is a must but it also helps to have an understanding of what could happen when you eat shit. Blind optimism won't help, you've gotta prepare for a calamity.
A few years ago I saw a wipeout of Twiggy Baker at Jaws that took my breathe away. He got bucked on the inside bowl while travelling at warp speed, landed on his guts and got winded, skipped along the surface, swatted by the lip, before going up and over the falls, and only then did the wipeout proper begin. Gruesome shit. And if someone could watch that, think to themselves "I can handle it", and then paddle out...well, all power to them. It's a kind of mental strength I'll never know.
be real interesting to see what happens this winter if they get some kind of El Nino.
seems like a lot of people ready to go over the edge.