Yeah no kidding. The most disturbing image ever of a wave, in my experience. Worse than the morphing sicko slabs on big days of Shipstern's Bluff even and her many sister slabs about the world.
Part of the crucial component to this picture is not instantly obvious: it's the titanic backwash from the very steep beach. It doubles the wave height for a brief moment, but still the force coming shoreward is incomprehensible, isn't it? This is what Hegel meant by The Sublime. A natural spectacle that horrifies even with its power. Like waterfalls, he said.
It's great to see activity on this tread again.
Peter that is some frightening shore pound. The view of the wave with the Cove House Inn in the foreground provides a dynamic perspective. What a place to have a pint and watch the raw power of the ocean!
I love the images Leggs the portrait by drljefe is most striking, love it!
drljefe,that's a great climbing image man the colors are unreal. I could use a bit of that action myself.These days my climbing head is out. It would take some serious time on the dull end of the rope to be able to lead with any resemblance of authority.
My back yard
Photo: Olaf Mitchell
Credit: o-man
We are in the middle of what Ilima Kalama has described as the best Maui surfing winter that he can remember. And Ilima has been around the Hawaii surf scene for quite a while.
Judging from all the info that I have had it has been epic for you guys on the west coast as well.
The monster swells have backed off for a while now and have been replaced with substantial yet very doable and mostly windless conditions.
The diehard wind surfers and kiters are extremely grumpy especially the vacationers that spend soo much money to come here to enjoy the best wave sailing conditions in the world. Up until last Wednesday afternoon I hadn't even rigged a sail since Christmas Day and that is a long stretch for Maui.
I have been surfing here in my back yard nearly every day for the past several weeks and it is all a blur past last week.
I have been worked pretty good quite a bit and have hit the reef more than I like to think about. Two days in a row I got caught inside by cleanup sets that drilled me so hard that I was really needing air while they drug me on the reef deep in to the bay. Each time it took me a while to get shake it off and the hydraulics were so strong and confused that I couldn't punch back out so I had to paddle to the extreme back of the bay and walk the rocks back home.
A few days back I went for a rather large wave and my take off was a bit late which sent me over the falls I didn't have time to even get my arms up to protect my head and the force of that wave drove me deep and hard into the rocks. It felt like I had maybe really injured my right arm. I immediately got my arms up to my head before I encountered the reef again. That one took the starch out of me! I spent the rest of the session over on the right shoulder and picked up some scraps. Lucky my right arm was only bruised and no real damage was done.
Tracy Harrp at Hookipa
Photo from Tracy Harrp colection
Credit: o-man
My friend Tracy Harrp wasn't so lucky she was to deep on a close out and got pulled over the falls and landed on her board and got stabbed in the butt by one of the fins. I was paddling out as she was paddling in and she said " I took a fall Mate, and cut me bum!" (She's a hard charging Kiwi) I said let me see and it was bad and deep. her boyfriend Dean took her to the clinic Where the doc had to stitch her wound inside and out.
Tracy's wounded bum
Photo: Tracy Harrp
Credit: o-man
Olaf Mitchell It looked bad when I saw the wound as we passed in the channel when you were paddling in. I figured that you might need stitches but I had no ides the it was that deep.
10 hours ago · Like · 1
Tracey Harrap Yeah I didn't know it was that deep either Olaf until the doc said i can get my finger in to here as he pointed to his 2nd knuckle oh jeepers thanks doc, they needed to flush it out really good and sew in some internal stitchers as well as I had cut the muscle... least its not on my face as some people have had... so I am lucky. funny I took this photo while i was waiting to get some clothes and once I saw it I felt not so good lol .
Today the waves have gone away an we have junky on shore wind. It's time to catch up on a few things.
Let us know!