Mel, It's called 'tow-in' surfing. They don't just use the jet skis to get outside, they tow the surfer on a rope and slingshot them into the breaking wave. These waves are so big that it is not possible to paddle into them unassisted. A group of these surfers recently came to the PacNW to train for this type of surfing and all the safety work it requires at Cape Disappointment: http://www.billabongodyssey.com/content/detail.cfm?ct=news&ocid=8 Here's a shot from a famous spot in NorCal: http://www.mavsurfer.com/mavsurfer_00/editorial/image_photo/mavericks_11_21_01/pages/burle_bomb3.htm A very well known shot from Tahiti: http://www.tim-mckenna.com/4345-70.htm Here's one from "Jaws", a spot off Maui: http://www.surfermag.com/news/index.shtml?section=news&content=jawsgoes Scary stuff... You could probably do it from a surf kayak with a big fin however without the availability of the knees to absorb all the chop that's present in these humongous waves, you'd be skipping like a flat stone... ...until you ate it in a very big way shortly after. Best, Thomas (depressed because he's not out in his surfkayak...) At 08:59 AM 1/12/2002 -0500, mel wrote: > Paraphrased from the review in the WSJ: > > <Snip> But a group of fearless(?) surfers managed to get past the > dangerous breakwater out to open ocean on jet skis, then surf the > tremendous waves. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Jan 13 2002 - 09:47:18 PST
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