Dylan Graves has surfed a lot of waves in his life. Good waves, bad waves, and everything in between. If it’s a moving lump of water, Graves is into it, no matter how it’s created. Man made, ocean made, river made, whatever it is, he’ll surf it. That’s why Vans picked him up for the Weird Waves series, where he surfs — you guessed it — weird waves. But none of those waves, perhaps, are weirder than the time Dylan Graves went tanker surfing with dolphins.
The weird waves market is cornered by a few souls. Ben Gravy, of course, buy Jamie O’Brien and Graves, too. Weird Waves is a great show in a sea of other not-so-great shows on YouTube. It has production value, a good host, and interesting subject matter. Tanker surfers are a funny little niche of surfers who, as their name implies, chase tankers around the ocean and surf the wake they produce. Since tankers are so large and so heavy, they displace a whole lot of water. When they get into an area that’s shallow enough to produce a wave, they… well, they produce a wave.
Graves headed to Galveston, Texas, to meet with the man who coined the phrase “tanker surfing.” It’s an interesting phenomenon, since the tankers’ routes are trackable, as are the sizes of the ships. With enough time and knowledge, one learns which ships will do what to different places. Much like following a swell and learning which direction and tide will make your local spot go off, tanker surfers are tuned into the movements of the tankers. But much like it is with Mother Nature, it’s not a sure bet, so tanker surfers often boat out to the channel, cross their fingers, and wait for the right ships at the right times. When everything aligns, you get something pretty incredible, like the three-mile, 10-minute wave that Graves found. And, as you’ll see, when you’re with the right guide, you’re going to score.
