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Noobs-R-Us
08/16/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
This is a story that's not going to end well. If he keeps up this sport there's only one way it'll end.
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
North Shore waves commonly get as high as 40 feet (measured from the back), so I really fail to see how a face of 100 feet is that ridiculous.

Besides, I've been nearly dragged to my death from a 20 foot face and stayed out of the ocean for a good year afterwards (I'm a wimp).

It takes an incredible sportsman... or a lunatic to face that kind of a wave.
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
Hi Laird.

*waves*
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Nick
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
alright, guys. for once, let's forget this is the internet. stop trying to call the author out and disprove his accounts of his story. the man lives on the water and i am sure he can substantiate anything you would like to challenge. his story is a thrilling victory in his life and you fools just sit and bicker over every miniscule detail to promote yourself in your own heads. for what? what do you need to prove to us and why do you think this is the forum to do it? i am in a bad mood and you fools aren't cheering me up at all.

now, tell me a joke.
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frigg
08/15/09

@Nick: OK. A joke. Here's a good one.

A surfer, a wind surfer, and a monk walk into a bar. The surfer orders a beer. The wind surfer orders a smoothie. The monk asks if they make burgers. The barkeep says "yes, we make burgers. Would you like that for here or to go?"

hahaha.. get it?! For here or to go!! That cracks me up every time I hear it!!!
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Edited by frigg at 08/15/09 12:33 PM frigg was starred frigg was unstarred

frigg
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
I've been pummeled by small waves, and have been surprised at how powerful they are. There's no way to fight them even though you want to. You're helpless. The weight of the water pushes you down and there's nothing you can do about it. What was shocking to me was just how much force a small wave has, so I can't imagine what it would be like to get pummeled that far down by a monster.
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olegna
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
100 foot waves? How about a little fact checking! That's the height of a 10-storey building! Some of the worst tsunamis in history (including the 2004 tsunami that killed 230,000 people) MIGHT have produced a couple of 30-meter-tall waves, but most tsunamis produce waves that are rarely over 20 feet high. This guy's talking about 100-200-foot waves. Hang loose (with the facts), dude! You know what kind of gelogic force is needed to produce a 100-foot wave? Were talking about a 100-mile-long, 6 foot crest, moving 500 miles per hour from the epicenter of a major underwater earthquake, striking suddenly shallow water, compressing the wave into a monster that inundates entire islands and killed hundred of not thousands of people. This guy is not surfing a wave like this because he would end up a bloated corpse a mile inland tangled up in debris.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/15/09

@olegna: IIRC, waves have a "crest" and a "trough". Through the center of the two is your "level". So a 50 foot wave would be 100 feet in the trough. Also, please investigate "rouge waves", which happen a lot, and have been recorded at 110' in the middle of the ocean, not near shore.

Included, please see a 60' rouge wave which crests OVER the wheelhouse of a crabbing vessel.
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frigg
08/15/09

@olegna: There are places in the ocean that produce 100 foot waves due to underwater mountains. Elite surfers like Laird Hamilton seek them out.

Here's an article in the NYT about them:

[www.nytimes.com]
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Nick
08/15/09

@frigg: nobdoy reads the Times, frigg. stop linkin' to them. you have been warned.
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olegna
08/15/09

@frigg: OK, so I stand corrected. In the Cortez bank, far from shore, the ideal geological situation provides these monster waves that, according to the article, were confirmed by judges at 60 feet. (The boarders themselves were claiming 80 to 100.) That's impressive, very impressive, thanks for the reference, but it still ain't 100 to 200 feet. (My mistake was assuming these waves were breaking close to shore.)
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Edited by olegna at 08/15/09 2:13 PM olegna was starred olegna was unstarred

bwcbwc
08/15/09

@olegna: We could be comparing 80 feet from mean sea level to peak, vs 100+ feet from trough to peak. If you're in the trough, an 80-foot wave is 160 feet above you, and has 160 feet worth of energy and momentum coming down on you.

The claim I wonder about is the being dragged down 1/3 to 1/2 a mile. Apart from the likelihood of decompression sickness, 1/3 of a mile is over 500m and the world record in the 400m freestyle is around 3:40. His bouyancy would help him move faster, but the waves, being unable to breath and the fact that he's not a world class racing swimmer would work against him. So he's asking us to believe he was able to hold his breath for at least 4 minutes while going all-out to reach the surface before he drowned. My best guess is that he was down around 300 feet down, 500 max. If he was judging the depth by the amount of light in the water, he could easily have been thrown off by particles stirred up by the waves that made the water more opaque than he realized.

But even allowing for the "tall tale" aspects of his story, I don't doubt that he was in a very scary situation that few of us "normals" could have survived.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/16/09

@bwcbwc: He was speaking of being dragged ditsance, not depth. Like saying he went 20,000 leagues under the sea.
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Nick
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
Laird, being tossed like that is probably one of the scariest things in the world i can think of. do you run any drills to help with the breath holding and not wiggin' out underwater and sheet. sincerely, Nick.
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North Star
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
When I saw the title, I thought that this was going to be a standard "biggest wave I've ever surfed" story. But this is far more impressive. Congratulations on saving your friend.
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Lux Gurusamy
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
why are you calling your self in third person?

if not - why does it say this article is by Laird Hamilton? whoever you are.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/15/09

@Lux Gurusamy: The parts in italics are editorial additions, used to explain who is talking/writing and more information about them. It is also used to "set the scene".
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Nick
08/15/09

@Lux Gurusamy: you are banned from the internets for one day. please disconnet your keyboard as well. non-compliance is punishable by donkey punch. good day.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/15/09

@Nick: I love Nick when: he lays down the DP.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/15/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: My Scariest Wave
So was your friend not wearing the cut off lanyard, or had it snapped off/failed?
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macpatrik
08/15/09

@GitEmSteveDave_IsTheStig: I have had numerous jet ski lanyards fail on me, and I'm definitely not in 100 foot waves.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/15/09

@macpatrick: It's a shame, as I bet the lanyard itself could have made a good tourniquet.
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Hectorvex
08/13/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: 4 New Ways to Surf
Everyone geeks out about something, and Laird is a surf geek. Who in the evening dons a Ronald Reagan mask and get chased by Neo through the Matrix.

Hey Laird - what happened to the clothing line? Those shirts were cool!
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
08/13/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: 4 New Ways to Surf
Honestly though, where are these articles coming from? Is there a blog I don't know about?

I'm a dim wit when it comes to famous people. I asked Tony Hawk to kindly get out of my way at a local sporting goods store.
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Hectorvex promoted this comment

Hectorvex
08/13/09

@Shamoononon, Vampire Grater: Did he? Or did he beat his chest screaming, "I am Tony Hawk! Who are you to ask me anything?"
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PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
08/13/09

@Shamoononon, Vampire Grater: It's because it's Summermodo and this guy has made and/or influences a lot of high tech innovations in surfing. If you read the last paragraph it says he's also on the board of directors at H20 audio, makers of pro-level waterproof iPod cases and has his own line of waterproof earphones. There's the gadget connection.
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Wilson Rothman promoted this comment

Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
08/13/09

@Hectorvex: The lady behind the counter gave me a snotty look and locked eyes with him. I heard her whisper something to the effect of "I can't believe she doesn't know who that is tee hee ..."
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
08/13/09

@PMD: I completely agree: I'm not denying a gadget connection, I'm asking where these articles are coming from. Does Laird have a blog or is he specifically sending these into Gizmodo.
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Wilson Rothman
08/13/09

@Shamoononon, Vampire Grater: Naw, these babies are exclusive. Laird's ours for the week! (Stay tuned for tomorrow's big finish.)
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ninjagin
08/13/09

@Shamoononon, Vampire Grater: Little known fact -- ninjagin was born on the exact same day as Tony Hawk. It's like we're twins, only he's the talented millionaire-ish one and I'm, uh ... here at the office making a comment on gizmodo. Okay, so maybe not "twins" exactly, but I think it qualifies as a close personal connection ... kind of... I suppose.
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FriarNurgle
08/13/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: 4 New Ways to Surf
Hasselhoff could kick Hamilton's butt
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redkamel
08/13/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: 4 New Ways to Surf
laird hamilton is pretty awesome. If you have any interest in oceansports, this is totally cool, even if its just to see how he writes. It'd be like Michael Jordan guest blogging about basketball.
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Nick
08/13/09

In reply to Laird Hamilton: 4 New Ways to Surf
oh, yeah? well, i got a new way to walk. walk, walk.
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