The World’s 2017 Surf Wipeout Nominees Are Legitimately Scary
— 23 July 2017

The World’s 2017 Surf Wipeout Nominees Are Legitimately Scary

— 23 July 2017
Lachy Gordon
WORDS BY
Lachy Gordon

Each year, big-wave surfers frantically chase storms in a pursuit to charge some of the largest waves on this planet. Almost like clockwork, many of the monstrous breaks throughout the world hit their shores in the same two-month window (approximately), with some of the largest waves clocking in at 50-80 feet tall.

Hawaii’s monstrous Jaws rises in December-January; Portugal’s Nazare in November; Tahiti’s Teahupoʻo in August; and Mexico’s Puerto Escondido in June. And with each year of charging, their are wipeouts. Wipeouts that make you clench your teeth, cross your legs and make you wonder how one survives. With each year of nominees, I can only conclude that the hero’s chasing these waves must have some chemical imbalance in their body that allows them to pursue these close encounters with death.

After the 2016 WSL Nazare Challenge, big-wave legend, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker’, said that the wave at Nazare was too scary for him. “Nazare as a wave is a phenom, as challenging and beautiful as any big wave I’ve surfed but the dangers involved seem to outweigh the rewards… Those 20-30 minutes during each heat, on the back of a ski, holding on with all your strength while jumping 10ft foamies, were some of the most terrifying experiences of my life and something I can’t see myself repeating?”. It’s nice to know that these weapons are human after all.

The video below has the biggest recorded wipeouts of 2017. If these waves don’t slightly scare you, you’re either dead or a liar.

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Lachy Gordon
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