Everyone's fav Gudauskas recalls the Fijian
megaswell (of 2011).
Because the Fiji Pro (man, it must kill the
WSL to be missing an event sponsor) is about to go, and because Mr.
Goggans beat me to the punch with the 2012 retrospective, and
because I just got some bad news and don’t feel like writing, I’d
like to remind everyone that, before the 2012 Fiji Megaswell, there
was the 2011 Fiji Megaswell.
At that point the largest Cloudbreak anyone had ever seen
(though it would be surpassed the following year), the sheer
insanity on display that day blew the surf world’s collective mind.
And Transworld paid me to write an article about it.
I reached out to Dane Gudauskas to get some words about the
day, and ended up getting an essay in response. To be honest, on
its own it’s probably better than what I ended up submitting. So
behold, in all its unedited glory, Dane Gudauskas on the July 2011
Fiji Megaswell:
“the morning of the big day, i just remember pulling up on the
boat from the main island of nadi and seeing these lumps on the
horizons, and i swore they were oil tankers. I thought no way. i
didnt think they were waves at all from a distance, but as we got
closer we could see white water and could tell that it was pretty
massive. i first paddled out on a 9 foot surfboard. everyone must
have been on between a 7 foot board to a 10 foot board so i felt
pretty good right in the middle there. after a few wipeouts on my
first few waves though i realized it was pretty unique challenge
riding a board that big in the barrel, so i downshifted for my 8
foot 6 inch surfboard for the rest of the swell and it felt really
nice under my feet. It was a little more sensitive so you could
pump it in the barrel. It was bizarre to see a wave of that size be
so down the line. I was riding a thruster, but i know a lot of
people were riding quads, and they said they preferred that drive
down the line it was giving them.
I think we showed up 3 days before the swell, just to lose the
plane legs. It looked like the swell was developing really nice,
and just over a span of so many days with so much swell, you had to
believe there would be some golden moments in there somewhere. Even
if it was windy or something, there would have to be a moment that
would make it all worth it. And we really lucked out. The few days
before the swell were super fun inside ledge and everyone was
stoked. Barrels, sunburn, broken boards. all the rad stuff. then
the main force of the swell came and just blew all my expectations
away by a mile. At one point it glassed off for about 3 hours in
the middle of the day, and the waves looked absolutely surreal at
that size and perfection.
I stayed at a hotel on the main island of fiji. It was rad
though, we had a super cool crew hanging at the hotel. It was Reef
mccintosh, dave wassel, alex grey, Russo, mike peach, kohl
christianson and their friend andy. Fergal smith was there for a
bit, albee layer and a few friends from maui. Nathan and bruce were
on the main island too but just down the way abit. then i think
slater, walshy and healy were on tavarua. It was jsut a rad vibe.
We would just surf all day then come in and kick it and laugh
watching the sunset and drinking a fiji bitter. The comraderee was
one of my favorite things about the trip really. Just as fun as
surfing the waves, was sharing those experiences with everyone.
being in the water to witness some of these guys´waves of their
lives was a really special thing. it was like, you could feel this
crazy electricity, and everyone was really looking out for each
other too. it gave you a feeling like everyone was in it
together.
Stand out moments… hmm dam its hard to pick just a few. i mean
the whole few days were crazy. But for me, when i saw kohl paddle
into that wave in the morning on his 7 fot 6 surfboard, then hell
pump through two crazy sections and come out flying on his back, i
was just floored. Ive never seen anything like that. And having
been hanging with kohl for a few days, i was just so stoked for
him. Because you knew how pure and special that moment was for him.
It was on a deeper conscience level you know? i dont think words
could really do justice to the emotions that were pumping through
him after a ride like that. but everyone was on fire. It was all
time for me to see a generation of these big wave riders pretty
much coming full circle and each rising to the occasion to get some
of the best waves of their lives. I was inspired and humbled just
to be out in the water with them.
For paddle surfing, i think it was a pretty radical day. It just
goes to show that where there is a will there is a way, and with
enough commitment to putting yourself in the spot, you can pretty
much paddle into some crazy waves that previously might have been
thought to be unrideable. And looking around the lineup, there was
no shortage of commitment too. You could tell by looking at
everyone that they were excited to get in over the ledge. But to
watch that generation of guys who were out there, who have pretty
much dedicated the last decade or so to paddling into the biggest
waves possible, it was a really special day.
i guess i would finish with a thanks to anyone on the jetskis
picking guys up in the impact zone. when you´re taking whoopings in
the impact zone and you see that ski racing in towards you… i
swear, its as good as sweet tea on a summer day.”
