Massive early season surf around the world sets high expectations for an epic winter. Big wave surfers from across the globe have been regularly challenging spectacular swells in recent months - producing record entries in the WSL Big Wave Awards - and continue to ready themselves for an unprecedented level of intensity during what is widely anticipated to be among the greatest winters for high surf in history. While the past years produced many swells that were also "too big to surf" the evolution of modern big wave riding techniques and equipment has totally changed the game. And for that, we cannot wait when the ocean breaks loose.
Famously termed "too big to fail" by NASA climatologist Bill Patzert, the current El Niño weather phenomenon is among the most powerful ever recorded and is expected to wreak additional havoc around the world with exceptionally violent storms, especially over the coming winter months.
In a graphic provided by Surfline.com, the impacts of the 1982/83 El Niño are indicated by he purpse and red areas which consistently experienced much larger than normal significant wave heights. Swells from these storm areas traveled onward to Hawaii and the West Coast, setting many buoy height records over the course of the winter. Image courtesy of Surfline.com.
The legendary freestyle windsurfing event on lake Neusiedl is back! Since 1998 the best Freestyle Windsurfers in the world travel down to the Austrian water sports capital to compete in the European Freestyle Pro Tour. This edition, taking place
between the 27th of April and the 1st of May, will be…
For the surf community this superheating of the North Pacific Ocean is a source of great excitement, concern and preparation. Throughout the Hawaiian Islands and along the West Coast of North America, similar previous El Niños in 1969/70, 1982/83 and 1997/98 produced the biggest waves scientifically recorded since the sport was introduced to the world.
"Any veteran surfer will tell you that the three previous major El Niño seasons in modern history produced the most extraordinary big wave seasons of all time and we've all been warned that this one is of the same caliber," said Bill Sharp, the director of the WSL Big Wave Awards. "The difference is that today the surfing community has developed the capability to potentially ride any wave the ocean can produce and has been actively training to be ready for whatever does come.”
"The waves of January and February 1998 were the biggest we've ever seen," recalls Sharp, "but the idea of using watercraft to access big waves was only in its infancy and since then paddle surfing has reached another level as well. Where we were 18 years ago was Wright Brothers stuff versus today's Space Age capabilities in surf of that size. I don't think you'll find a single big wave surfer who doesn't have the sense that everything we know about the limits of both paddle and tow surfing will be heavily tested — and perhaps totally rewritten — over the next four months."
The biggest surf recorded on any populated coastline of the world in modern times occurred on January 28, 1998 on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Shore-breaking waves of 40 to 50 feet forced Oahu Civil Defense to issue an unprecedented "Condition Black" alert that closed all access to Waimea Bay and all other beach areas and caused millions of dollars in damage to coastal properties. In a pioneering moment in the emergence of the tow-surfing era, few surfers on jet skis were able to reach outer reefs and experienced waves well in excess of 70 feet on the face.
Kevin Wallis, lead forecaster at Surfline.com, has analyzed the data of these past weather events and emphasizes that while the big wave surfing community can expect a continuation of action in the coming weeks, the full brunt of the mega-El Niño will likely occur after the holidays.
"In past strong or very strong El Niño years we've seen a number of incredible storms, often back-to-back, very close to Hawaii and very close to the West Coast. Within these stronger systems we may see seas up to fifty to sixty feet — maybe even bigger than that — and we could experience some of the strongest storms we've seen in the last ten years, if not the last 30 years," said Wallis. "These storms have been known to produce incredible numbers, with hurricane force winds blowing over vast areas of the ocean.
"Typically, we would look for the peak of the swell producing activity to come in the heart of the winter, in January and February," added Wallis. "Even for surfers who don't want to ride a 70 foot wave, this El Niño is a unique opportunity as it can mean some of the protected breaks that need a huge swell to filter in will provide smaller but great waves." Stay tuned, this is going to be an epic ride!
The international top event this year is all about the new Olympic windsurfing class, foil windsurfing and wingfoiling. More than 300 world’s best windsurfers from 42 nations will compete in various foil classes on Lake Silvaplana.
The first of 16 GKA Kite World Tour events begins in Cape Verde this month.
Ten islands make up the archipelago of Cabo Verde which lies two hours south of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, due to their geographical location the islands are frequented with pumping swell and trade winds.
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