Also the top six deadliest waves rank in order!
The very famous big wave surfer Garrett McNamara was interviewed by men’s interest magazine D’Marge recently and gave his list of the world’s 6 deadliest waves. We will get to them soon and also a fascinating statement about the potential volume of these sorts of waves but first I must report that I just returned from an assembly at my daughter’s elementary school. Some children were receiving awards for good behavior and others were entered into a drawing for bigger prizes. The principal read them out while the children listened with rapt attention. A Nintendo Switch. The children oooh’d. An Apple Watch. The children aaah’d. A surfboard. The children went mental, clapping and screaming and hooting.
We still got it, baby.
Back to Garrett. The D’Marge piece begins thusly:
Ranking the most dangerous waves in the world is like measuring your dick with Apple’s latest app: controversial. To reduce the subjectivity of judging something that literally changes with the wind, we hit up Garrett McNamara, legendary big wave surfer and 8 year world record holder for surfing the world’s biggest wave, to understand which of the world’s famous big waves are the most dangerous, and why.
Oh and a side note: McNamara says, “There are definitely big waves all over the world that are unchartered and that people aren’t talking about—and a lot of them get overlooked because we’re focussed on where we’re going… I guarantee you there’s tens of thousands of waves like these around the world, and we don’t go on the days when they could be good because we’re at our spots—everybody goes to the wave they like and they know.” For now, this is what we’ve got…
Before we discuss the deadliest six, are there really tens of thousands of unchartered waves like Jaws, Pipeline, Teahupoo etc. around the world? Tens of thousands is a lot but Garrett has seen a lot more than me. What do you think? Tens of thousands?
And now the six from least deadly to most.
6. Jaws: “Jaws has a barrel without too much risk.” It’s also, he tells us, “Pretty deep and there’s a defined channel.” Of course the risk of being underwater for a hell of a long time is there, but if you’re towing you’re pretty safe.”
5. Mavericks: Throughout this time there have been a number of high profile drownings at Mavericks, due to “The Cauldron”, a “hidden threat” just beneath the massive peak which Grant Washburn, longtime Mavericks devotee explained to National Geographic as, “A deep hole in the bottom of the ocean (that) inhales seawater, surging violently with each passing swell… responsible for regular two wave hold-downs, and the deaths of Mark Foo and Sion Milosky.”
4. Shipstern’s Bluff: “Shipstern’s is super high risk,” with a less objectively perfect reward (i.e. it’s not a perfect cylinder like Pipeline or Teahupoo). “The reward is there,” he says, “But the potential for injury is higher because it’s not perfect.”
3. Pipeline: Coming in at number one on most “Most Dangerous Waves” lists, more people have died surfing Pipeline, on Hawaii’s North Shore, than any other place (since 1989 it has taken the lives of seven surfers, and threatened the lives of countless others). However, contrary to popular belief, a wave’s death toll does not reveal its lethality so much as it indicates the number of people that surf it regularly.
2. Teahupoo: Garrett concluded that Teahupoo provides the greatest risk and greatest reward of all the waves he’s surfed. Since discovering Nazare (the world’s biggest wave, which doesn’t really barrel) back in the late 2000’s, Garrett’s focus has now changed: “I’d much rather get the best barrel—I searched for the biggest wave in the world and found it. I still go back there but now my focus is perfect barrels.”
1. Nazare: “It’s way harder than jaws—it has every bit of the challenge as Jaws as far as the wave and the chop, but it moves around and there are no channels so you’re never sure if you’re ok.”
Do you agree or are you out trying to find one of those tens of thousands gems?
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This fucker invalidates all of my excuses. He is the badass that I am not.
gee that Ben askus is a bit sensitive…
read the impervious Blondes reply , I think she just toasted your pussy……S888 is right when he says that with all the rescue teams, blow up vests..if they didn’t have them there would be deaths every session at Nazare/Peahi/the Right etc…so your point is moot!
So onya bike , Ben Unliked Marcus !
I knows you are really smart , and smarter than all of us , but might in the Queeny Charlotteto Icelands , youse really have to learned grammar!
is that Donald Hump and Pussy Moore , at Tara Moss landing , and Mrs White ?
Thanks Tom Morey!
Nazare? Crap
He’s obviously never dodged syringes at St Kilda.
Next time ask him who are the 6 biggest dickheads out there surfing.
Read the book. Tell us more about the wave!
Here’s a legit question… To list the World’s Most DEADLY waves… Doesn’t someone actually have had to die there before? Do you list the world’s most deadly spiders, sharks, wild land animals, roads, water crossings if no one has died from them before? That being said, I’d classify Jaws and Nazarene as amongst the most Dangerous waves no? I don’t know of anyone dying there yet. Mostly because they are proliferated with rescue teams and it’s pure insanity to surf there without them. I’m sure a 6-8 ft mysto slab on a dry reef in Patagonia with no one or hospital in sight is just as “deadly” as 40 ft Jaws with 50 rescue teams out right?
“Jaws has a barrel without too much risk.” Why even give this asshat a platform? Did anyone doubt he was going to name Nazarene – a wave he pioneered as #1?
If you want to know the hidden gems above and below Santa Cruz just ask Ben Marcus. In fact just ask him if you need to know anything about anything.
The most dangerous waves I know of are in New Jersey…. they induce suicidal tendencies
Every time Garrett McNamara speaks I think he shouldn’t.
It will be a gloomy day when the like-kind list Top Six Deadliest Wave Pool Waves is filled. When i think about it, probably not a good day to be first on the list. Which is worse? The first? Or when someone has died at every wave pool iteration thereby making the list pointless?
damn, i’ve been writing for the wrong men’s magazines. that lede!
It’s not a quote of Garrett’s but it sure sounds like it is.
Ha ha, i know! The writer did that! And the editors didn’t neg it! That is like a Christmas miracle right there.
and you can wave to the web cam while your out there ?
Garrett would be #1 on my top six biggest blowhard donkeys in surf list if Laird weren’t still alive. But we all know Laird will never be passed…mostly because he’s going to live forever and remind us of that the entire time. I’m sad for my great grandchildren.
I always get amazed at blowhard donkeys that comment on guys who have actually achieved something in their lives , like riding big waves /pushing limits and pioneering ……just because of their personality!
But then again there would be nothing to talk about would there , unless of course we all just talked about out cocks!
Well just pause for a moment and remember that when the Tahitian kid Briece had his face smashed into the bottom at Teahupoo, and came up unconscious and with his jaw pretty much literally gone, Garrett did not hesitate to clear what remained of his airway and performed CPR until the ambulance got there, and thus somehow kept the kid alive long enough to give him a fraction of a chance, which sadly wasn’t enough. Which is to say, when shit actually happened, Garrett showed up.
Also, Garrett is good at pushing into the non-generic realm [sponsored by Mercedes Benz, wasn’t he?]. He doesn’t underplay his acievements, to be sure, but neither does he overplay. He is legit. I saw him paddle the Bombie at maxing low tide G-land with one other guy [Dave McGill], no ski/ flotation vest and no photographers, just Man Vs Nasty massive. He caught 2 or 3 waves all the way through. Fucking impressive. I’d call him a true professional.
[The cunt did steal my board bag rope to use as a Macgyver quick release for his leggie, though, but I forgive him.]
Nooooo you’re way outta line old mate.
Garrett’s a decent, friendly family guy, and he does his own thing which is charge harder than anyone on the planet. Anyone.
Nobody goes like Garrett.
On the biggest days at the heaviest waves Garret has his own agenda above and beyond anyone elses.
He goes and TRIES to do what the best big wave guys DREAM of doing. Figure that out.
He’s like the uncle of all the top big wave guys. Everyone who is anyone respects Garret and what he’s done for surfing.
And he’s done it without any help from the major surf brands.
Garrett doesn’t talk it up, he’s just re telling what he actually did and it sounds too crazy for some.
Garrett never asks permission, he just goes.
And he’s what, 50ish+? And still charging harder then guys half his age.
The longer Garrett keeps charging, it extends all of our surfing lifetimes by what’s possible.
Truth of the matter is….being hardcore on the laptop is easy.
Doing what professional big wave guys do isn’t.
I found one of the ten thousand! Turns out it was Swami’s all along.
The Apple dick measuring app has me most intrigued…
Also I intend to avoid The Cauldron, going forward.
Spend sometime in the Indian Ocean, Northwest Pacific Coast or traveling the South Pacific islands, yes there are plenty spots but are they consistent? Or are they one day wonders? Is it’s fucking freezing? One thing for sure, you want it coming get it. Leave the cameras at home!