I know some of you guys are into surfing (as am I)...and I remember hearing about this place a few years ago. So I did a little googling and found a nice video clip of some guys who went out to ride Cortes Bank...which supposedly has some of, if not the largest waves on earth. What is Cortes Bank...well, it's an underwater mountain range that peaks extremely close to the surface...some spots it's only a few feet underwater. So when Arctic storm systems sit off the coast of Alaska and generate underwater wave power...it all comes together at Cortes Bank. Here's some additional info... http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/sandiego/a/bigwave.htm and here's a great clip of some huge wave riding. http://www.surfermag.com/av/tow-in/crtsheist/ Pretty cool stuff...it's definitely something I would never do...but I would love to go out on one of those trips and watch those guys ride. Jeesh...I couldn't even imagine what riding a 40 ft. + wave would feel like.
yep, i love surfing. i'm assuming you've seen "Riding Giants." this line in the article you posted is awesome: The same wave, after traveling over a hundred miles and reduced to a quarter of its former size, surprised surfers at San Diego's Blacks Beach three hours later.
I've read a lot about this place - amazing just to watch waves break there much less have someone surfing them. Putfile/ Youtube etc. also have some cool footage. Thanks for posting.
What blows me away about that place is how the ocean can be perfectly calm for miles and miles in all directions, yet you've got this awesomely powerful event taking place in such a small locale (out in the middle of nowhere). Now, living in Vegas (and having in-laws that live in LA)...I'll be able to spend more time riding decent waves in California. I've spent most of my time trying to learn to ride the weak waves in Galveston (and not being too successful ). A trip to Hawaii in August to visit the wife's home island will also allow me to ride some *real* waves.
While those waves are obviously big and way bigger than anything I would ever attempt in my wildest dreams, they don't seem that impressive compared to what Laird Hamilton, Ken Bradshaw (a Houston native) and those guys are riding off the outer reefs around the Hawaiian Islands.
~btw~ 37th street _______ If you're ever down in Galveston and need a board or whatever head down to Surf Specialties -- James will hook you up. He sold me my first board long ago...
That stuff is always fascinating. I can't imagine doing something like that even though I love to surf. I get worked over pretty well by even 3 footers sometimes, I can't imagine what would happened on waves like that. It is a blast to watch those.
