Surfing the JAWS

Surfers have been chasing big waves since the 1950s when Californians first headed to Hawaii to tackle big winter swells that smash onto the northshore of the island of Oahu.

Yet there was always a limit to the size of wave a paddling surfer could catch, as the bigger the wave the faster it travels.

In the mid-1990s a group of Hawaiians led by Laird Hamilton, the world's best big wave surfer, used a jet ski to whip themselves onto giant unbroken waves at around 30 mph (48 kmph).

As the massive wave broke, the surfers were already speeding down the wave face, outracing the thunderous lip. The development of small tow boards with foot straps enabled them to use their speed to carve turns on the giant watery canvas.

Advancements in surf forecasting has also fuelled extreme big wave surfing, with surfers using the Internet and satellites to track storms and forecast when a giant swell will hit a reef.



Hawaiian Pete Cabrinha holds the title for the biggest wave ever ridden -- a monster Jaws wave measuring 70 feet (21 metres) which broke on a reef off the Hawaiian island of Maui in 2004.

But the big wave surfers who follow the world's winter storms, hunting down massive ocean swells off Hawaii, California, South Africa, Mexico and Australia, believe a 100-foot (30-metre) wave will one day be ridden.

Rogue 100-foot waves, the height of a 10 storey building, were once a maritime myth but scientists say they are out there. Pressure readings from ocean buoys in the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Katrina indicated waves of that magnitude in the storm.

Via PinoyHack