The article appears a few days old since it was before they had the awards. Apparently they had the Big Wave 2025 awards two days ago, and declared that his wave was "only" 76 feet, but he did win the award for Biggest Wave for this year.
Source: (also the awards show is embedded here as a video)
I know nothing about surfing but I picked up Barbarian Days on Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/Barbarian-Days-Audiobook/B00YMMTO... and I was captivated. After I finished it I started looking for surf schools within driving distance of my home, still looking for something on the (New) Jersey Shore or Long Island. Anyone have any suggestions?
It's so surprising that we don't use a precise method of gauging wave height for these records. AFAIK they still estimate the surfers height while riding, and then count those heights up the side of the wave in a photograph.
I'd imagine we would have a method closer to surveying techniques by now.
there is a new, exotic method for measuring gigantic waves, that uses atmospheric disturbances to gps signals and gravity waves that ocean waves generate. SWOT
I wonder if he would describe himself as a construction worker, or maybe he would say he's a surfer who does construction to make a living? Sometimes you can see a struggle to define a person independent of their jobs, why does it matter here?
I see the headline here changed, it used to be:
[Calif. construction worker unofficially broke a fabled world record]
It’s how the size of the waves is calculated. They talk about it in the first season of the 100 Foot Waves TV show mentioned in the article. Video from several angles is analyzed using the surfer or another known object for scale.
It’s not easy to measure ocean waves unless you have a jetski riding right on the crest or a LIDAR system on shore which is expensive.
The underground rock formation that generates the Mavericks waves is actually pretty small. Photographers, rescue jetskis, and onlookers on small boats can be on very calm water, while surfers they're watching are riding a 100 ft wave just a few meters away.
They are typically bigger at Nazare, but it all depends on the swell. Its not impossible for Mavericks to receive a swell that could create waves bigger than whatever Nazare has received in the last 20 years, but it's less likely.
However Mavericks is definitely the "nicer" and gnarlier wave of the two imho, Nazare is massive but has no shape, so they just surf the shoulder for 5 seconds and kick out. Mavericks has much nicer lines.
I wonder if people who do things like this and free soloing "just" have some unique wiring in their brain where they don't care about instantaneously dying because of some small mistake they make. Or, is it just a matter of continually ratcheting up the difficulty - "I did a 1 foot wave, why not a 2 foot wave, why not a 3 foot wave, etc"?
While I agree that it's a trash site and an embarrassment to its roots as The Chronicle's website, anyone like yourself who notices how bad it is would do well to take it as a reminder that your adblocker is missing or not working. It appeared as though it were a normal site to me with ublock origin.
I'm going to read this article because the image is cool and I love California.
But I had to comment on how obnoxious this website is with my NextDNS mistakingly disabled. What have we done to the Internet! 3 popups to sign up for paid, newsletter and web alerts. scroll down to see auto playing videos, ridiculous full-banner ads.
Though The Chronicle is pretty bad, it is generally what I see when I surf without a Pi-Hole (or choose your fave ad-blocking tool). And, yeah, I honestly don’t know why people put up with it. I offered to put a Pi-Hole on my parent’s network. Mom wrote code for 30 years, she can handle the minimal intervention needed. Nope, they turned me down, they’re fine with things the way they are. First thing they did with that new TV was connect it to the Internet, too. For some folks, the slightest inconvenience is apparently enough to sit and look at ads all day.
Which reminds me that I need to pull a RPi off the shelf and provision another Pi-Hole for the camper now that there’s a Starlink attached. I’m not paying by the byte to have ads delivered.
I still believe there must be space in the universe for an ethical ad network that makes you less money but anyone caught fucking with your readership gets banned. There’s a bunch of sites that would appreciate a little supplemental revenue but just don’t use ads at all because it’s so scummy.
It just has to be better than selling your nonprofit’s contact list to other nonprofits.
When we first built the reddit ads system, this is exactly what we went for. We ran it ourselves, you could only upload a single static image.
Turns out you really can't make a lot of money that way. Especially now. If you don't offer re-targeting and bespoke ads, no one wants to pay you money for ads.
That's why I was compelled to post. We forget that this is how the Internet is for large portions of the population. It's bananas.
My dad still uses yahoo for all of his news. I've realized it's not uncommon to hear people use Yahoo as the front page of the internet still in 2025. I get it. Also, it's depressing. (left for the reader to see why. just go to yahoo with blockers off).
Yep, I've found blocking at at the dns level more convenient since I'd otherwise have to install script blockers per web-browser. I'm very happy with nextdns
I wanted to add that every time I use the internet without a blocker, it's so depressing to realize this is how a lot of people, mostly older, experience the Internet. Very sad as someone in the industry.
The article appears a few days old since it was before they had the awards. Apparently they had the Big Wave 2025 awards two days ago, and declared that his wave was "only" 76 feet, but he did win the award for Biggest Wave for this year.
Source: (also the awards show is embedded here as a video)
https://www.coastsidenews.com/review/news/santa-cruz-surfer-...
I know nothing about surfing but I picked up Barbarian Days on Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/Barbarian-Days-Audiobook/B00YMMTO... and I was captivated. After I finished it I started looking for surf schools within driving distance of my home, still looking for something on the (New) Jersey Shore or Long Island. Anyone have any suggestions?
https://skudinsurf.com/ may have something for you. They also do beginner sessions in a mall - https://skudinsurfamericandream.com/
Not my zone but I saw a few on yelp when I ran a search! Go soon before it gets colder :)
great book!
just took lessons recently with Matt from Lucky Dog Surf School. super chill dude, lots of fun.
It's so surprising that we don't use a precise method of gauging wave height for these records. AFAIK they still estimate the surfers height while riding, and then count those heights up the side of the wave in a photograph.
I'd imagine we would have a method closer to surveying techniques by now.
there is a new, exotic method for measuring gigantic waves, that uses atmospheric disturbances to gps signals and gravity waves that ocean waves generate. SWOT
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/swot/us-french-swot-satellite-...
I wonder if he would describe himself as a construction worker, or maybe he would say he's a surfer who does construction to make a living? Sometimes you can see a struggle to define a person independent of their jobs, why does it matter here?
I see the headline here changed, it used to be: [Calif. construction worker unofficially broke a fabled world record]
Photography of the surfers seems to be an important aspect of the scene. It’d be interesting to read a story about that.
In water photography is especially wild. Check out Leroy Bellet: https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/the-story-behind-leroy-b...
He rides BEHIND surfers in the barrel. Absolutely nuts.
It’s how the size of the waves is calculated. They talk about it in the first season of the 100 Foot Waves TV show mentioned in the article. Video from several angles is analyzed using the surfer or another known object for scale.
It’s not easy to measure ocean waves unless you have a jetski riding right on the crest or a LIDAR system on shore which is expensive.
The underground rock formation that generates the Mavericks waves is actually pretty small. Photographers, rescue jetskis, and onlookers on small boats can be on very calm water, while surfers they're watching are riding a 100 ft wave just a few meters away.
Isn't there a place in Portugal (Nazareth?) which has even more massive waves than Mavericks?
Nazare, there’s a show called 100 foot wave that follows a couple of surfers who ride there
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazaré,_Portugal
Thanks, yeah, I misremembered the name. But are Mavericks' waves bigger than Nazare? From the photos I've seen, Nazare's waves are truly massive!
They are typically bigger at Nazare, but it all depends on the swell. Its not impossible for Mavericks to receive a swell that could create waves bigger than whatever Nazare has received in the last 20 years, but it's less likely.
However Mavericks is definitely the "nicer" and gnarlier wave of the two imho, Nazare is massive but has no shape, so they just surf the shoulder for 5 seconds and kick out. Mavericks has much nicer lines.
Nazare definitely maxes higher then Mavs
There's a series called 100 ft wave on HBO. Great overview of the big wave community.
Also recommend the documentary Riding Giants.
>riding (surfing) a world-record-shattering 108-foot-tall wave.
That is rather wild.
Imagine being ten stories up on a freakin' wave. People like this guy are just incredible.
I wonder if people who do things like this and free soloing "just" have some unique wiring in their brain where they don't care about instantaneously dying because of some small mistake they make. Or, is it just a matter of continually ratcheting up the difficulty - "I did a 1 foot wave, why not a 2 foot wave, why not a 3 foot wave, etc"?
Surfing is the best! Big ups Alo shaka
This site needs to be banned from HN. It's borderline spam employing every trick in the book to maximise your pageview.
Clickbait title, interstitial ads, floating vid, back jacking, newsletter, notification...
When I open the page it's only a third that's content -- and that's only the clickbait title.
What garbage...
While I agree that it's a trash site and an embarrassment to its roots as The Chronicle's website, anyone like yourself who notices how bad it is would do well to take it as a reminder that your adblocker is missing or not working. It appeared as though it were a normal site to me with ublock origin.
Maybe we can just block the actual origin of the ads; No need for excess plugins.
I'm going to read this article because the image is cool and I love California.
But I had to comment on how obnoxious this website is with my NextDNS mistakingly disabled. What have we done to the Internet! 3 popups to sign up for paid, newsletter and web alerts. scroll down to see auto playing videos, ridiculous full-banner ads.
wow
Though The Chronicle is pretty bad, it is generally what I see when I surf without a Pi-Hole (or choose your fave ad-blocking tool). And, yeah, I honestly don’t know why people put up with it. I offered to put a Pi-Hole on my parent’s network. Mom wrote code for 30 years, she can handle the minimal intervention needed. Nope, they turned me down, they’re fine with things the way they are. First thing they did with that new TV was connect it to the Internet, too. For some folks, the slightest inconvenience is apparently enough to sit and look at ads all day.
Which reminds me that I need to pull a RPi off the shelf and provision another Pi-Hole for the camper now that there’s a Starlink attached. I’m not paying by the byte to have ads delivered.
I still believe there must be space in the universe for an ethical ad network that makes you less money but anyone caught fucking with your readership gets banned. There’s a bunch of sites that would appreciate a little supplemental revenue but just don’t use ads at all because it’s so scummy.
It just has to be better than selling your nonprofit’s contact list to other nonprofits.
When we first built the reddit ads system, this is exactly what we went for. We ran it ourselves, you could only upload a single static image.
Turns out you really can't make a lot of money that way. Especially now. If you don't offer re-targeting and bespoke ads, no one wants to pay you money for ads.
Brave browser worked well, and I didn't see any of those, or the blank spaces another commenter was complaining about with their blocker.
The question is in anyone actually reading it with those adverts?
That's why I was compelled to post. We forget that this is how the Internet is for large portions of the population. It's bananas.
My dad still uses yahoo for all of his news. I've realized it's not uncommon to hear people use Yahoo as the front page of the internet still in 2025. I get it. Also, it's depressing. (left for the reader to see why. just go to yahoo with blockers off).
FWIW, I use noscript and had no issues. Granted there were some blank spots which I guess where ads.
More tips to make the Internet suck less here: https://www.smokingonabike.com/2025/08/01/tips-for-making-th...
Yep, I've found blocking at at the dns level more convenient since I'd otherwise have to install script blockers per web-browser. I'm very happy with nextdns
I wanted to add that every time I use the internet without a blocker, it's so depressing to realize this is how a lot of people, mostly older, experience the Internet. Very sad as someone in the industry.
Reader mode works wonders for me.
ooh you're right, reader mode is great for this article. thanks
It doesn't always work though, I assume the major publishers are employing some counter-measures. Also generally javascript heavy websites.
Clicking a link within the page in reader mode and then clicking back to reload it almost always works for the stubborn sites IME