http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/43/14/03/9224384/9/920x920.jpg
And no, he doesn't make it...
Posted on 01/08/2016 9:59:17 PM PST by dayglored
The surf at Mavericks was at its most treacherous on Thursday, one of the biggest days of recent years. Conditions were far from ideal, and there was no talk of holding the annual big-wave contest at Half Moon Bay's fabled spot. One particular episode, however, got everyone's attention.
The biggest waves were steaming in at some 50 feet on the face. It was a clear, relatively windless day, but the ocean was so chopped up from recent storms, very few surfers were out - and even fewer were willing to meet the challenge.
One of them was Garrett McNamara, who is not on the 24-man list of Mavericks contest invitees but has been a storied figure in big-wave surfing for years. On a day when most of the really giant waves went unridden - just too dangerous - McNamara stroked into one of the biggest waves ever paddle-surfed (as opposed to tow-surfing, with a jet-ski assist).
He did not get far. About halfway down the drop, McNamara went down, hard, and as San Francisco surfer Grant Washburn described it, "He skipped like a stone and flew into the air," at one point getting so dramatically airborne, it resembled a man being catapulted off a trampoline. Then, to make matters worse, McNamara was crushed underneath the wave's massive lip.
"Shocking," said Washburn. "Maybe one of the worst wipeouts ever filmed."
Badly shaken, McNamara wound up in the hospital for surgery on his arm and shoulder. "It happened early," Washburn said. "The crowd was understandably cautious the rest of the day."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The video of the big wave and wipeout has an announcer exclaiming, so watch your audio levels.
Wow!
Hey dude, that is a gnarly wave.
As the Black Knight would say, ‘tis but a flesh wound...’
That it is.
McNamara is the fellow who rode that 100-foot world record breaker at Nazare, Portugal a couple years ago. He's no slouch.
But that wave today was a killer. He's lucky to only have dislocated his shoulder.
"Wot?!? Flesh wound? Your arm's off!!"
Thanks for the info from Mavericks. I drove past there recently when it was calm and innocent. A few weeks a year Mavericks changes from calm to deadly. The big waves just show up without advance notice and surprises the surfers who scramble to avoid getting hammered.
“McNamara was crushed underneath the wave’s massive lip.”
Brutal wipeout. According to the photos, McNamara, a pro surfer, took a massive wave half way down, then leaned forward, skidded off the surface of the water in front of him, tumbled, and then got plastered by the giant wave. Crushing. We all know how tough it is to hold one’s breath while swimming under water. It is tougher to hold one’s breath when totally freaking out.
By the way, Bruce Jenkins wrote the story and in 2006 wrote a book about Mavericks with Grant Washburn, quoted in the present story.
Also, when living in Berkeley in the 90’s every Saturdays for me meant coffee at Peets and reading the SF Sports with Bruce Jenkins and Tim Mead. Mead moved to ESPN magazine and Jenkins stayed with the SF paper. After a few months I realized that Jenkins is a crazy liberal who approves of adultery, rejects capitalism while making tons of money, and refuses to give thanks to God for his amazing writing skills. Thus, he is boring.
The moving Riding Giants has great stories about Mavericks.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389326/
Yah, mon!
Best comment so far from the YouTube video:
Shot from a wide angle far away so his balls could fit into the frame.Roger that!
Thank you for that great comment!! I’ve been a McNamara fan from afar for years. My own experience is just body-surfing (mostly tame stuff in NJ but also some rougher stuff in California and Hawaii) so I’m in awe of these guys...
McNamara is very well respected.
Mark Renneker is a medical doctor who started surfing at Mavericks in the 1980’s. Very smart guy, very humble and yes, totally brave to the max.
Head’s up. As you probably know, the pro surfers in Hawaii have a lot of down time and boredom. Thus, the pro surfers in Hawaii have major troubles with drugs. Sad. If you go pro in Hawaii, then keep the faith, have good friends and stay busy when not surfing.
The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.
Bless you for those kind words and good advice. But I won't be going pro -- I turn 64 in a week and I have to take it easy these days. I'll stick to the little waves from here on out... I was once advised to "Never eat anything bigger than your own head", so I think I'll morph that into "Don't try to bodysurf any wave that's taller than you are". This old carcass can't take the kind of pounding it used to laugh at.
Thanks again! :-)
What a bunch of fools.
Yeah, but consider how much worse the over-population problem would be if people didn't do stupid stuff.
(Just kidding, sort of...)
late drop at Mavericks. Not good. McNamara has been a part of the scene there since the beginning. Hope he’s better soon.
This calls for surf music.
How about a song called “Mavericks” by a Bay Area Band?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Of5tzGOYfc
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