Koa Rothman has seen his fair share of dangerous waves. Recently, he’s been putting that experience to use for informational purposes, such as his list of the top five most dangerous waves. However, with the sheer volume of bone-chilling breaks out there in the world, a few had to get left on the cutting room floor, so now Rothman’s back with another five top picks.
The breaks that made the cut were Cloudbreak, Cortes Bank, Shipstern Bluff, Puerto Escondido and The Right. Each one is a unique snowflake of terror, with different reasons for making the grade. For instance, spots like Cloudbreak and the Cortes Bank got extra points for being far away from any sort of medical aid. Meanwhile, famous slabs like Shippies and The Right made the list based on not only the sheer power of the wave, but also the unpredictability. Puerto Escondido had the dubious distinction of being the only beachbreak to make the list and Rothman made a special note of the suffocating amounts of foam the wave produces.
As to ranking them against each other, Rothman acknowledged that it was somewhat of an impossible task. “It is tough to put a number on all of these waves,” he explained. “They’re all dangerous in their own way.” On the right day, any of these breaks can be the most dangerous in the world.
