I watched three guys on two jet skis Sunday a.m. venture out to massive offshore waves off of Newport...one of the jet skis was towing the surfer up onto the crest of these enormous swells and the guy was surfing them and then quickly picked up before the subsequent wave could crush him and dragged around for another ride, it was an incredible sight, they were much bigger than the waves in the video and these guys were either supremely confident or completely nuts...
I watched three guys on two jet skis Sunday a.m. venture out to massive offshore waves off of Newport...one of the jet skis was towing the surfer up onto the crest of these enormous swells and the guy was surfing them and then quickly picked up before the subsequent wave could crush him and dragged around for another ride, it was an incredible sight, they were much bigger than the waves in the video and these guys were either supremely confident or completely nuts...
Yup - it's sort of Newport's answer to 'Jaws', the cloud-break that was in Riding Giants
They've been surfing it for over a year now from what I understand although I haven't seen it 1st hand yet
The spot in the video is Around the Corner at Ruggles Avenue off Cliff Walk - the outer reef at The Point was bigger
I've got some Kodachrome transparencies from Hurricane Bob at Ruggles I oughta dig out and scan
Last edited by Crafty Angler; 08-25-2009 at 07:48 AM..
"There is no royal road to this heavy surf-fishing. With all the appliances for comfort experience can suggest, there is a certain amount of hard work to be done and exposure to be bourne as a part of the price of success." From "Striped Bass," Scribner's Magazine, 1881.
Back in '86 when I was in the Navy...there was one that worked over in Payroll, Had to be 7 foot tall and 300 lbs, if she was an ounce. Could chop a man in half with her thighs. Rumor had it she ate a bowl of Testicles every morning for Breakfast.....she was big and she was mean....
Oh...Ocean Wave...Sorry.....I digress
"If you're arguing with an idiot, make sure he isn't doing the same thing."
Location: I live in a house, but my soul is at sea.
Posts: 8,617
Similar to Nebe in my youth I was part of a crew on a 52 foot racing sloop coming home from the southern circuit to NY, caught outside Haterous in what was the remnants of a downgraded hurricane in September. Rain so hard it hurt, waves that swallowed the boat between the troughs, 2 men on for 2 hours max....all you could physically take. Not that going below was much of a rest, never heaved, but it was impossible to sleep.
Middle of the night and while on watch, the small storm jib stay breaks. My mate and I called up a second set of crew, so we could go forward and haul it in, making sure our life lines were clipped in as we went. Remember sitting on the deck and watching this f***king huge wave cresting as we get to it (taller than our boat was long), then watching the ocean disappear as we are lifed high into the air. I remember falling somewhat slower than the boat saying Hail Mary's on the way down, followed by a wall of water burying us as we plowed through that wave. If we weren't clipped in with life lines, I'd not be typing this.
Flew back to Ft. Lauderdale after that trip, to join a crew delivering a 42 foot catch to San Fran. On that trip we had one hell of a ride in a storm off Costa Rica with 30 footers, but nothing to compare with the monsters we road of Hatterous the previous trip.
Middle of the night and while on watch, the small storm jib stay breaks. My mate and I called up a second set of crew, so we could go forward and haul it in, making sure our life lines were clipped in as we went.
Eh... We just call the off bow to come up and help the bowman with stupid crap like that.
Oh wait.
Thats usually me.
And sail changes.
And peels.
And going up the rig.
And kite gybes.
And anything else stupid that the back of the bus has no desire to do.
Love it.
40' on my very first trip on a cod long liner in the Bering sea, once the first mate had convinced me we weren't going to sink, the ride from up on the bridge became kinda fun.