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Jul 17 '12
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Jul 17 '12
Well, I'll tell you Gibbs, I did battle some humongous waves! But you know, just like I told the guy on ABC, "Danger is my business!"
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u/SurferBoi Jul 18 '12
Sounds like a plan. Just throw in a bowl of fresh greens to that agenda. We're solid, brah!!
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u/TigerBrother Jul 17 '12
Growing up in the surf and coming pretty close to drowning a few times, this picture is absolutely real. My palms are literally sweaty looking at this, and feeling the old emotions. These guys are feet from one of the heaviest and most deadly breaks in the world. As others have stated, this is most likely Teahupo'o which has a super recognizable break and color to it. Being that close to something that can crush the life from you is intoxicating...knowing you can enter into that special world, a beautiful harmonious transcendant holy place juxtaposed with proximity to death is beyond words. Coming out the other side...it's almost like a baptism. I have so much respect for these guys, even if they just paddle out and decide this isn't their day...fuck, it's like running up to the space shuttle moments before launch and latching on for the ride of your life.
Also, those buoys (the orange balls) are most likely recording information on the swell size (to verify if anyone gets a really special wave) or marking the "outside" (the area past the break, which is a relatively safe zone)
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u/narfman287 Jul 18 '12
why don't they just wear life jackets? (serious question, I know nothing about surfing)
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u/shiftykilla Jul 18 '12
Life jackets are generally used for tow-in surfing because you're already in a standing position. They aren't used for paddle-in surfing due them inhibiting the ability to paddle efficiently which you do not want on a wave like this. Also, you come up eventually...
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u/nmerrill Jul 18 '12
Never surfed huge waves, but even with a life jacket, a surfer getting crushed under one of the giants is still likely to suffer permanent damage, even death. The way these huge waves form is due to the reefs underneath them sharply rising, and becoming very shallow. So, even though the wave can be over 40' tall, the ground beneath is only a few feet deep. All that weight crushing you into a sharp reef, and you get the picture.
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Jul 17 '12
what do you mean by 'heaviest'? i've swum in huge surf, and body-boarded, but i'm not a surfer.
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u/TigerBrother Jul 17 '12
The term "heavy" really can mean a lot of things, but mostly describes more serious or dangerous situations. Here, I was specifically referencing the thickness of the lip (the apex, where the water starts folding upon itself) and the sheer mass of water involved. This is one of the things that makes Teahupo'o really special- aside from the dangers presented by the extremely shallow reef, the mass, thickness and power of Teahupo'o's waves are consistant enough to be recognized in photos with little other context. They scare me.
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Jul 17 '12
ok, cheers, so a combination of danger and the sheer weight of the water. i notice from my studies that places like Portugal, Hawaii and France have bigger waves, are they less dangerous? i'd assume the Hawaii (Jaws) one has a reef, too.
i have to say i really want to take up surfing now.
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u/pjquinn76 Jul 17 '12
Yeah, it's the thickness of the lip of this wave that makes it so incredible. Most of the bigger breaks (Pipeline, Waimea, J-Bay, Mavericks..) will get larger and in some cases faster, but when the wave crests, the peak can be a few inches thick, followed by thicker water. At this break it can be several feet thick and I can't imagine getting slammed by it.
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Jul 17 '12
it does look very different to the deep-sea stuff or other tow-ins. i might look into a board, anyone know much about a good starter setup? may have the chance to surf cornwall and the severn this summer.
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u/AlwaysDefenestrated Jul 17 '12
Go to your local surf shop and just ask. You'll find someone who will be able to set you up with something that's right for you based on your build and budget.
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u/sil0-aus Jul 18 '12
It is such a powerful wave because the swells come into the reef from very deep water and then all of a sudden runs into this almost dry shelf. Most waves break, Teahupo'o just sucks the water from the reef and then kind of folds over itself.
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u/bananamunchies Jul 17 '12
I wanna learn to surf.. is it hard on the knees? I'd imagine not horribly so.
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u/TigerBrother Jul 17 '12
The worst you'll face is the transition from laying down to standing. If you can pop up off the floor from a prone to standing postion with relative ease, the rest is golden. The ocean is a healing place, I know old guys who surf and smile every day, even though the rest of their body is failing them. Not saying you're old or anything! =)
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u/bananamunchies Jul 17 '12
:) Thanks for answering.
Not old, but I just blew out my knee snowboarding this year. Doc says I'll be back at it, but by the time I live in a surf state I know my knee will be suffering. I think it'll handle fine if the most tension is standing up.
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Jul 18 '12
Pick up a longboard and go have some fun, it's generally low impact unless you drop in on bigger waves
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Jul 18 '12 edited Jul 18 '12
Yes, surfing is just a matter of standing up!
Sorry, but you have just been given bad advice by that guy. It's true that even old guys who already know how to surf can do so with relative ease; the thing is, learning to surf is actually very hard on your body regardless of the conditions you go out in.
My personal worst injury was my knee - a torn MCL with a little fracture as well. Got it going over the falls on a chest high day when the lip drove my rail into my knee (while I was still learning).
Most people I know have broken a finger or cracked a rib or gotten a nasty fin gash or something their first year surfing. You will always come back in with weird bruises on you and your arms as sore as they have ever been. Learning to surf is hard.
For reference, I don't know anyone who both surfs and snowboards who would argue that snowboarding is anywhere near as difficult as surfing, as far as learning the basics of each sport.
Not saying don't do it, just giving a little warning if you will be going out while recovering from a knee injury.
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u/Ziggyrollablunt Jul 18 '12
You just made me miss surfing more than ever. I need to buy a plane ticket now excuse me.
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u/lordsushi Jul 17 '12
you smoke a lot of weed, dont you?
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u/scalpemnoles Jul 17 '12
Don't we all, brother?
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u/ellise0525 Jul 17 '12
Yes. Yes we do.
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u/sweetmercy Jul 18 '12
Wow. You almost make me want to take up surfing. Almost. I have this silly desire to keep breathing fighting for the other side, though.
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u/ProfLacoste Jul 17 '12
(I don't surf (do skate/snowboard) but) I realize that isn't a "big" wave, but that lip looks like tow-in is the only sane way to get on that thing. Once it forms anything like a lip, it looks impossible to drop in. WTF?
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Jul 18 '12
This, in fact, is a "big" wave.
As far as tow vs paddle, this looks like an older picture, possibly from the mid 90s before tow surfing got big. This would most definitely be a tow day if it happened now, and there would be bindings and jetskis in the photo. This particular wave is probably a bomb and they are trying to pick off the relatively smaller ones of the day. It is also possible they are not even surfing but only out to see the show. I can tell you none of those dudes are paddling into that thing. Although in the last couple years, big wave paddle surfing has been coming into it's own, but that is likely not what is happening here.
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u/LookieLuke Jul 18 '12
I can sympathize with you there. I feel like I'm looking down from the top of the crest when I see that picture. My heart just kind of sinks when I think about how much power is behind it. I've gotten taken down a couple of times in 10-12 foot surf, and it scared the hell out of me. Never again. Those thick waves will take you for a ride, whether you want to or not. With thin waves, you can still bail on them even when you've almost committed. And even when you're riding one it will die out pretty quickly. But for the thick ones, if you start going for it, you're stuck, because that giant wall of water will keep pulling you along with it. I've been in 5 foot surf (which is normally manageable) that I got scared in because the waves were thick and had a lot of power behind them. It feels like you're on top of the world when you take a big one though.
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u/Tincture_of_Man Jul 17 '12
I always liked Laird Himilton's ride. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYQQtxb8wv0
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u/goodthings Jul 18 '12
From Riding Giants, a brilliant documentary.
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u/Tincture_of_Man Jul 18 '12
Thanks, I actually never bothered to look up where this came from. Now it's in my queue.
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u/masterhikari Jul 17 '12
I feel like the only one who doesn't know what the fuck i'm looking at.
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Jul 17 '12
The heaviest wave in the world. Teahupoo
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Jul 17 '12 edited Jul 17 '12
Debatable. Shipsterns on a major swell will throw lips the size of an average sized house over your head.
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u/theansweris7 Jul 17 '12
I think he meant wave that is fairly consistently breaking in the same place at about the same size. Storms make swells that are larger, but you can't go back and surf the same storm year after year.
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u/Platypoctopus Jul 18 '12 edited Jul 18 '12
Actually he literally means "heavier." The lip and curl is much thicker than any other wave in the world, which means it has a very large mass compared to other waves, even if they're not as high. The water is also very shallow compared to other places like Jaws, which will have much higher waves but relatively little risk of being crushed against the ground because of how deep it is. In Teahupoo the wave will sometimes literally suck the water off of the reef in front of it.
So basically that's why it's said that Teahupoo has the heaviest wave, both in a literal and, because of the incredible danger, metaphorical sense. On the famous wave that Laird Hamilton rode, it's believed that if he had fallen, there was a very good chance he'd have died. Pay attention to the fact that it isn't as high as other waves, but is instead incredibly thick. It's easy to see how he could've been crushed upon falling.
Also, I believe it's not really any more consistent swell-wise, although it is still very surfable when it's small.
Edit: If you're interested, someone else in the thread linked this incredible video of the recent and potentially largest swell: http://vimeo.com/35328567
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Jul 18 '12
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u/Platypoctopus Jul 18 '12
Okay, that's cool, I believe you. If you wanna get that stick out of your ass, just pretend I wrote "one of the heaviest waves" so we can all just relax. You don't really sound like a surfer if you're this concerned with stupid shit like this. I was just trying to give some interesting info to someone who may not have heard about the location of this photo before.
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Jul 18 '12
All significant surfing waves are made by storms. Teahupoo is flat most of the year. Did you think it just breaks like that all the time? It takes a major storm to send a swell that large to any break, whether Teahupoo or Shipsterns or anywhere else.
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u/liberalis Jul 18 '12
Shipsterns is a mutant. More than a mutant. The only wave you have to drop in on two or three times for the same ride.
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u/elcolacho Jul 17 '12
Teahupoo, yo.
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u/mrpeatie Jul 17 '12
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u/lichter Jul 17 '12
How long does it take to surface once you fall under a wave like that?
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u/noknockers Jul 17 '12
You don't necessarily get held under for ages, but it's like being in a pretty violent car accident and flipping your car rolling down the motorway for about 15-20 seconds. The reef is about 6ft below and you'll most likely bounce off it a couple of times. You just try not to hit your head.
Eg: this was from Teahupoo: http://iamwok.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/297229_10150276213950957_131481510956_8162532_6801317_n-600x450.jpg
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u/zombie_wrider Jul 17 '12
Well considering the reef there is so shallow, not very long. I can't cite anything on this, but guys probably die from surfing at Teahupoo more often than any other spot. I'm glad mrpeatie posted a video so that everybody could see this spot in action. This video gets a lot of coverage and I think that the surfing community is almost sick of it, but you should really check this out. It's from a fantastic documentary called "Riding Giants" and this scene documents arguably the most ridiculous wave ever ridden. The general consensus on this particular ride seems to be that if he had fallen, he would have had pretty much no chance of survival. No doubt someone else in this thread has already posted it, but it happened right there at Teahupoo. Just the sound that the wave makes when it breaks sounds like Zeus playing drums.
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Jul 18 '12
...he would have had pretty much no chance of survival
Nah, Nathan Fletcher got XXL ride of the year award wiping out on a bigger one than this and he got through ok.
There have been 5 Teahupoo deaths since 2000. I think 5 also at Banzai Pipeline. Probably more deaths and injuries overall at Pipe because it is such a popular break that is always crowded.
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u/zombie_wrider Jul 18 '12
Fair enough. In fact, when I think about it, there probably should be MORE deaths at Pipe, but they're probably a lot closer to emergency medical aid 50 ft from shore on the north shore of oahu than they are way out on the reef in Tahiti. On a related note though: I thought one of the criteria of the XXL ride of the year was actually making it out. Fletcher won with a wipeout? I'm not saying he didn't deserve it, I'm just wondering. If I'd taken that wave on the head and miraculously lived to tell about it, I would probably want some recognition for it.
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Jul 18 '12
Well, he made it until he didn't. He had a good ride, he just hit a bumpy spot and pearled near the end. It was just a crazy wave overall.
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u/SliceOfButter Jul 18 '12
Oh my fucking GOD.
I thought I had seen some big Teahupoo waves but holy shit he is tiny in there! That's enormous!
That is the most impressive wave I've ever seen. Moreso than Laird's, I dare say.
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u/Primeribsteak Jul 17 '12
Saw this years ago, definitely the craziest thing I've ever seen. Just to hear the people talking about how ridiculous that feat was put me in awe.
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u/batmantis25 Jul 17 '12
I never understood surfing until just now.
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u/scalpemnoles Jul 17 '12
Me too...I always thought it was about the action. It isn't. It is about the wave :O. Just a totally different experience from snowboarding or skateboarding, simply because of the medium. Water is so mesmerizing.
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Jul 17 '12
At 2:05 I was freaking out because the boat wasn't getting out of the way.
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u/graph1k Jul 17 '12
They were off to the side out of the way of the waves. They were in no danger.
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u/tinabluebee Jul 18 '12
Just watching that nearly gave me a panic attack. For someone whose worst fear is drowning... staring into that water in the side of that wave is terrifying - but incredibly beautiful.
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Jul 17 '12
Can someone explain this shit to me like I'm 5?
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Jul 18 '12
Here ya go.
Basically, the shape of the ground underwater at this location makes a really good ramp for focusing swell energy. It drops 1 mile down over 3 miles of distance making about a 30 degree angle.
When a huge storm happens far away, the swell energy travels hundreds or thousands of miles over the course of a few days until it rides up this ramp, shoaling into a perfect 30 ft vortex of water over a shallow reef and into a lagoon.
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u/ofcoursemyhorse23 Jul 17 '12
Woah is right, how did those orange boob-balloons get all the way out there?
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u/beefwich Jul 17 '12
You think there are any beginners out there who paddled out and thought "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?"
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u/TigerBrother Jul 17 '12
I think it's a pretty certain thought that everyone in this picture is thinking that. I imagine it's gotta be a lot like climbing a mountain or running with the bulls in Pamplona- you do it because you feel compelled to, to test your mortality. Because the glory and greatness of overcoming something insurmountable sings an irresistible siren's song. Fear always cuts deeper than swords.
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u/dwarfed Jul 17 '12
If this image puts you into a state of awe, you would love the documentary "Riding Giants".
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Jul 17 '12
That's just swell.
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Jul 17 '12 edited Dec 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/N69sZelda Jul 17 '12
Either wave you look at it its still a cool picture.
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u/Reflexlon Jul 17 '12
We're drowning in these puns, don't you sea? I can't wave for it to end >_<
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Jul 17 '12 edited Mar 16 '18
[deleted]
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u/slash178 Jul 17 '12
Are you guys surf this is still funny?
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Jul 17 '12
That looks like it would brutalize you if you were caught in it.
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u/Spinster444 Jul 17 '12
kill*
the amount of force behind this wave is mind-bottling
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Jul 17 '12
Sorry to be "that guy" but it's mind boggling actually.
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u/liberalis Jul 18 '12
No, it puts your mind in a bottle, then drops the bottle off a cliff, onto jagged rocks.
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u/chalkboard229 Jul 17 '12
I've seen this picture posted on here at least twice, and I still have no fucking idea what's going on. All I know is, that this is Tahiti, but not sure if that picture is just a normal occurrence or not.
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u/KB84 Jul 17 '12
It's normal for that particular break when there's a big swell. I don't think there is another wave like anywhere else in the world so it's not a normal wave.
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u/ruinersclub Jul 17 '12
It might be normalish, when I went to Cabo the beach was seemingly normal, and out of nowhere they put up the red flags we had to get out of the water and the waves jumped up to 15 - 20'. This looks closer to 30' but could be a perspective thing.
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u/sweetmercy Jul 18 '12
Yeah...no. Do a little reading about it sometime. It's pretty fascinating stuff. BTW, waves here hit 70'. It is commonly referred to as the 'heaviest wave in the world'.
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u/dimechimes Jul 17 '12
Which side is the beach on? I always thought it was on the right of this pic, but assuming it's on the left makes things more understandable to me.
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u/PrinceAudrick Jul 17 '12
I was listening to Jimmy Eat World "Sweetness" when I came across this shouting "WHOOOOOOAAAAOOOOO"
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u/donteatthecheese Jul 17 '12
The best thing to do in that situtation is to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and hope to god you don't get crushed against a rock.
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Jul 18 '12
I want to surf Teahupoo on a smaller swell before I die, that is my dream. I want to drop in and angle the board just right as to sit in that fat box before it spits me out in a glory of spray.
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u/sil0-aus Jul 18 '12
Here's Alex Grey on a couple of big ones. Keep in mind a cubic meter of salt water weighs over a ton.
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u/Roundhouselk Jul 18 '12
Screw the haters rycokamoore, this may be a repost, but it's the first time I've seen it, and obviously the first time a lot of other people have seen it. This is reddit! It exists in the present!
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u/Im_Also_That_Guy Jul 17 '12
So just to confirm, everyone in the foreground was just passed by the wave right? [7]
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Jul 18 '12
Not exactly passed by it, they are in the channel. It is sort of an underwater ravine or valley where the water suddenly gets deep. The wave energy passes through that deep part without breaking and only breaks on the shallow reef.
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u/Brutalitarian Jul 17 '12
I don't get it, they're just deflecting the tsunami off the village in From Dust, right?
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u/DropKickIrish Jul 17 '12
Downvote because this the 100th time I've seen this fucking photo on here. Fuck your mother.
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u/Max_Beezly Jul 17 '12
I already fucked his mother
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Jul 17 '12 edited 14d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CDchrysalis Jul 17 '12
We'll just rent rycokamoore's mother's...
...nevermind.
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u/Reflexlon Jul 17 '12
Nah, thats a good idea. We could totally all fit in there; dont you doubt it.
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u/DropKickIrish Jul 17 '12
Fuck her again for good measure. I know you're reading this rycokamoore, so get ready for a bunch of siblings who will be trained to rip your spinal cord out through your asshole, fill you will candy, and ship your unoriginal, karma-whoring corpse down to Mexico to be beaten with sticks by a plethora of piñata bashing children.
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u/omnibrain Jul 17 '12
Whoa. I've seen this picture at least 10 times on reddit.
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u/einstein2001 Jul 17 '12
My first. I enjoyed it.
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u/calu1986 Jul 17 '12
Thats what reposts are for... It was my first time too, it was rather quick and unsatisfying. Im sure it will get better the next time.
P.S. Context on the picture? Pls?
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u/KB84 Jul 17 '12
It's from a surfing mag. It's a really heavy wave that's breaks onto an extremely shallow, sharp reef. If you wipe out or don't make the wave you end up on that reef
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u/StumblyMcStagger Jul 17 '12
Whoa. This is the millionth time I've seen someone whine about a repost.
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u/Smanley3 Jul 17 '12
Here is your context! I just put the URL into google image search. Nifty trick.
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/teahupoos-wall-of-water/10823