We are 100 percent guilty of this. And we are fully aware of what we’re doing when we do it. Well, I’ll speak for myself and admit I do this plenty — a tale as old as time now. An XXL swell swings through Nazaré and a handful of people tow into some absolutely mind-blowing waves and recency bias screams, “That’s the biggest wave anybody’s ever ridden!” And even though the actual world record for the largest wave ever ridden is nearly 20 feet short of the mark, we still throw that one magic claim out like candy.
“One hundred feet. That was 100 feet…Definitely.”
Forget that maybe three people on the planet actually know how to “properly” measure a wave’s height, let alone the fact that 98 percent of Nazaré footage comes from the deceptive angle of a cliff and we all have no clue where the bottom of a wave begins from that angle…
There is even an incredibly rad documentary series titled 100 Foot Wave that, spoiler alert, has no actual 100-foot waves.
So yeah, we get a little carried away with the claims. And Nic von Rupp called us all out on it. Touché.
What else happened this week?
Red Bull Magnitude wrapped up its second year of showcasing some of the best female big-wave surfers on the planet, with Skylar Lickle, Paige Alms, and Annie Reickert making it a Maui-dominated winter. When the folks at Red Bull told us in 2020 that they were going to create something that would elevate women’s big-wave surfing and create opportunities that didn’t exist, they were genuinely excited. Dedicating resources — water safety, videographers, jet skis — exclusively for talent that wouldn’t otherwise have access is hitting that mark two years in. Hopefully, this is a contest, and a concept, that can continue to grow.
Contributing writer Ella Boyd shared an opinion piece, diving into a trend in California concerning overnight parking bans at or near beaches. Ben Mondy explored the connection between surfing and protests of world events by highlighting the recent Walk for Peace in Biarritz.
Welcome to the Weekly Wrap, where The Inertia’s Juan Hernandez wraps up some of the best stories from surf and snow on our site each week. And follow us on Instagram for more.
