One day a couple of guys decided to team up so that one man could have a big-big wave. One he couldn’t catch by paddling, so they had to pull him in with a jet ski. They called it “tow in surfing”. That day turned surfing up side down : a new realm of possibility was discovered. No one talked about Nazare before that - it was just not a surf spot. I projected myself in the chaotic scenery of 15m+ waves, and thought it was worth sharing a few thoughts.
The story of “the millenium wave”
This is the story of a wave ridden at Teahuppo on August 17th 2000. It changed surfing forever.
Laird Hamilton had been chasing big tubes around Tahiti for two weeks, but was unsatisfied with the footage he collected. He understood the mechanics of Teahuppo and thought he could go deeper and bigger. So he extended his trip.
On August 17 at 8am, Laird and his tow-in partner Nelson Kubach took a few minutes to pray before heading to the line up. That’s the photo above. I love how calm the water is - it kind of sets the scene of a divine intervention. After that, they charged the first bomb that came. At the last second, Laird decided not to let go off the rope and pull out of the wave. It was low tide and the glassy wall of water morphed into some sort of shredding monster as it hit the reef. One photographer of the team says “It was a split-second decision that probably saved his life”.
“Man, that shit’s impossible, you don’t do that…” Greg Noll
At 11:38am a “freak of hydrodynamics” rolled in. The tide was better and Laird was ready. As the wave was standing up, his driver looked back to say “don’t let go”, but Laird had already committed. What comes next is a miraculous ride. Other than the sheer size and the deep blue glassy wall, Laird’s backhand drag is completely out of this world. (You usually drag the other hand, on the face of the wave).
Bigger and scarier waves were ridden at Teahuppo since, but the millenium wave remains Laird’s title.
Absolutely nuts
August 17th 2000 changed surfing. We’ve all seen footage of Nazare, and I’m not sure there’s a size threshold anymore. Let’s not take that for granted. Take 5 min to project yourself in the chaotic scenery of 15m+ waves. What do you see ?
Think of the surfers sitting shoulder deep in the water strapped to their board. They’re hundreds of meters from shore. Thousands of tons of water are moving beneath and around them. It’s XXL everything and they have to wait for a sign from their buddy on the jetski : a big whistle, a nod towards the horizon and they’re off. Now they have to be relaxed enough to surf their way down a mountain of water as is collapses. The mood switch is just phenomenal.
Kudos to the drivers too. They scrutinize the horizon to pick a building-size wave for their amigos to risk their life on. In the meantime, they are bombarded with info in the walkie-talkie about other surfers needing rescue, or sets approaching. Most of all, it’s not a stretch to say that they have to go save their friend’s life everytime they fall. I struggle to choose between wine or spritz for a friend at the bar... How they consent to take such responsibilities for one another, I don’t know - but it’s pretty fucking fascincating.
Guinness nuts record
Every Guinness world record holder is a wacko. Sebastian Steudtner grew up in waveless Germany, and then rode a 26m wave… 🫨 Check out the video, it speaks for itself. These guys are nuts.
Song of the week
Big big big big big crush… I’ve got more of these in my Spotify playlist soft 👀
IG of the week
Into longboard aesthetics these days, so here’s a cool account you should check out.