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One frame from Buzzy Kerbox's sequence of Brock Little at the 1991 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau. January 21, 1990: The 1990 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau remains one of the great big-wave contests of all time: Kerry Terukina’s wipeout, Brock Little’s tuberide, Keone Downing’s clean strategy and Richard Schmidt’s finless sideslip and recovery. There are many angles on this huge wave that Brock took off on: Buzzy Kerbox’s beach angle, Bernie Baker from the heiau, Scott Winer from somewhere in between. There were lots of photographers on hand that day. Which angle to use? This is one frame of Buzzy Kerbox's land angle. Photo: Buzzy Kerbox
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Thanksgiving Day, 1974: Five years after Greg Noll thundered into that giant wave at Makaha and then thundered off to NorCal to become a commercial fisherman, the first surf contest was held at Waimea Bay. The 1974 Smirnoff Pro has gone into legend as one of the best days of big-wave surfing in history. The minigun had changed big-wave surfing as much as it had evolved hotdog surfing, and the two Little Big Men who came out on top were as sleek and light as their surfboards. If Reno Abellira were sitting on Jeff Hakman’s shoulders, those two combined (Reno’s 5 feet, 7 inches and 135 pounds + Jeff Hakman’s 5 feet, 6 inches and 130 pounds) would have just barely surpassed the height or weight of a Greg Noll (6 feet, 2 inches and 230 pounds) or the Thunder Lizards who had dominated the big surf on their elephant guns through the previous decades. At the end of an epic day of surfing, Reno Abellira beat Jeff Hakman by a fraction of a point. Photo: Jeff Divine
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January 28, 1998: Ken Bradshaw on a moose of a big, clean wave at Outside Log Cabins on the Condition Black day. This is not the biggest wave Bradshaw rode that day. That wave came earlier, and was filmed only by Bill Ballard on a Beta machine. Condition Black remains one of the most spectacular tow surfing days ever – even with all that has come since. Photo: Brian Stephens
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January 30, 1998: Two days later, the Condition Black swell made it to the west coast, where Mavericks surfers ran into the Unridden Realm. This is the day Neil “Moose” Matthies wiped out hard in the bowl, the day Peter Mel did his best to catch $50,000 bombs, and the day Perry Miller (shown here) and Doug Hansen tried tow surfing at Mavericks – as the regular surfers made noises like Lurch. Photo: George Nikitin
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Shane Dorian, pre-vest days at Teahupoo. Photo: Fred Pompermayer
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Shane Dorian. Layback at Chopes, inflatable vest in tow. Photo: Fred Pompermayer
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Shane Dorian at the start of a Jaws 2013 wave that Evan Slater called: "The greatest big wave ever surfed in the history of the universe." Photo: Fred Pompermayer.
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Going back to the 1990s and some giant days at Himalayas and Waimea Bay, Brock Little has always said "Shane Dorian is the best big-wave surfer in the world." And Brock does not deliver such accolades lightly. Twenty years later, Dorian is proving Brock right - left or right, paddle or tow, tropical water or ball-freezing, Jaws, Chopes, Mavericks and who knows what he gets up to in hidden-away places in Hawaii. He's doing it for family, love, money, fun. He's a lad insane. Photo: Fred Pompermayer.
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Paddled in, locked in, XXL win. Photo: Fredric Pompermayer.
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Shane Dorian charging history, one day after the epic 2010 Mavericks contest. Dorian nearly ate deadly doughnuts on this wave. He wiped out and was held down for way too long - by the time he got to the boat, he could barely raise his arm to shake his rescuer's hand. It was this wave - and Dorian thinking about the wife and kids as he got beat to within an inch of his life - that inspired the fast and efficient innovation of the inflatable paddling vest. And the confidence from that innovation has helped push paddle surfers higher, deeper, heavier in the four years since. Photo: Frederic Pompermaer.
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November 26, 2002: Remember this one? Even with all that’s happened since, Garrett McNamara getting whipped into this barrel at Jaws still rates as one of the heaviest barrels anyone has made. Check it out on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmuxGvD2ztE How did he not get clipped as the lip was coming down and he was pulling up? Too bad Garrett wasn’t wearing a GoPro. Is this one of the Greatest Moments? Photo: Ron Dahlquist.
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January 19, 2001: Project Neptune at Cortes Bank. This was a frontal assault on a wave breaking 100 miles out to sea, by a dedicated, daring crew that included Peter Mel, Ken Collins, Mike Parsons, Brad Gerlach, Evan Slater and photographer Rob Brown. On this day Mike Parsons caught a monster wave that beat out Flea Virostko’s Mavericks bomb for the $60,000 2000/2001 Swell XXL Big Wave Awards money. Photo courtesy Rob Brown.
Condensing one hundred years of the greatest moments in big-wave surfing into one book isn’t easy.
A lot happened in big-wave world for the winter of 2013/2014: Twiggy winning the Mavericks contest, the Hercules swell and giant days from Portugal to Ireland, Maya Gabeira almost drowning at Nazare while Carlos Burle got close to a hundred-footer, Jamie Mitchell at Belharra, tow surfing returning to Jaws for the shooting of Point Break II – and those are just some of the highlights from what happened.
A lot happened this winter, a lot has happened in big-wave surfing in the last five years, the last 10 years and the last 100 years.
MVP Publishing has asked me to compile 82 pages of the Greatest Moments in Big Wave Surfing, and I need your help.
I worked at Surfer Magazine from 1989 to 1998, and during that time, I wrote about many of these events: The first article on Mavericks in 1990, the rise of tow surfing in 1992, the tragic drownings of Mark Foo, Donnie Solomon, Todd Chesser and Jay Moriarity.
Now I’m attempting to condense 100 years of big-wave surfing into the Greatest Moments – and it’s not easy.
Some of them are obvious: The first day at Waimea Bay in 1965, the Swell of 1969, the 1974 Smirnoff, Laird’s 2000 Millennium Wave, Shawn Dollar paddling into that 60’+ bomb at Cortes Bank in the winter of 201/2013.
But as you get into the 21st century, the contenders for Greatest Moments get denser and denser. Evan Slater said: “Half of the entries should come from the last five years. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but so many barriers have been shattered since 2009 — don’t brush over it. The paddle vest is the key.”
The inflatable paddling vest is one of the technologies that has given big-wave surfers the extra courage to paddle into the Unridden Realm. Those inflatable paddling vests are like a reverse parachute – if a big-wave surfer eats it, they know they are going to come up.
Greatest Moments will also be about surfboard design, technological advances and media that have allowed surfers to push the barriers: the elephant guns of the 1950s, mini-guns of the 1970s, paddling gloves, Personal Watercraft, four fins, the golden carrot of the XXL Awards and now inflatable paddling vests.
A lot to condense into one book, so I need input and opinions. Right now, there is a 92-page timeline of all the major incidents in big-wave surfing that covers 100+ years of incidents: Duke’s mile-long ride in 1917, the death of Dickie Cross in 1943, the flood of “coast haole” to Makaha after that AP photo hit mainland newspapers, the shift from Makaha to the North Shore, Darrick Doerner’s Super Bowl Sunday bomb, Garret McNamara’s insane tuberide at Jaws in November of 2002, Michael Ho and Bruce Irons pulling into the shorebreak at Waimea for the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau events – and all of the Eddie contests.
They’re all Greatest Moments. On and on through the decades, from Makaha to Mavericks, Duke to Dorian, hollow olo to tow boards, Ride the Wild Surf to Riding Giants.
Evan Slater also said: “Shane Dorian’s wave at Jaws in 2013 is the greatest big wave ever surfed in the history of the universe. Don’t forget that one. Even though it won the XXL award, it needs to be placed in historical context. No one has ridden a wave that big that well. Ever.”
Evan has opinions. Brock Little has opinions. A lot of people have opinions but, while I’m writing Go Big: Greatest Moments in Big Wave Surfing, I would like to hear yours.
The gallery above gives examples of a dozen possible Greatest Moments. Pick a few, and click the links below to help out.
There is a Facebook page for the book up and running, and there is also a struggling IndieGoGo crowdfunder that could use your help, too.
