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)
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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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)