Big Juice Epic Tales Of Big Wave Surfing

by Long, John; George, Sam

• ISBN13: 9780762769933
• ISBN10: 0762769939
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-08
• Publisher: Falcon Guides

Summary

The best and newest big-wave surfing stories from the sport's insiders More than a decade ago, John Long published his now-classic The Big Drop,an unprecedented and visually stunning look at that most attention-grabbing category of images and stories--surfers hurtling down titanic walls of water. Since then, big-wave surfing, which ranks with the most exciting of adventure sports, has exploded in popularity. Now, Long and former surfing pro Sam George provide a worthy sequel for a new generation of surfers, The Big Juice. A powerful, contemporary look at the men and women who live and breathe for the next big wave and the bigger, more dangerous challenge, The Big Juicepresents a rich history of characters, controversies, heroism, humor, and tragedy define the sport. A vein of true grit runs through the cutting-edge athletes who challenge these monster waves, and that same vein can be found in this outstanding collection of more than twenty stories illustrated by jaw-dropping photographs.

Author Biography

John Long’s adventure and instructional books—including The Big Drop (FalconGuides), Mark of the Shark and Long on Adventure—are best-sellers of outdoor publishing, with more than a million copies in print. A renowned explorer and rock climber, he divides his time between Venice, California and Venezuela. Sam George is one of the world’s top surfing authorities. A former professional competitor and editor of Surfer magazine and Surfing magazine, he is the author of several books, including Surfing: A Way of Life, and the writer or director of award-winning documentary films on surfing. He lives in Malibu, California.

Excerpts

 

Fifty years ago, pioneering big-wave surfer Buzzy Trent said, “Big waves are not measured in feet and inches, but in increments of fear.”

 

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Up at Mavericks [one of the best big wave surfing spots in the world, located near northern California], Peter Mel had surfed two amazing waves and was up on his third when it hit an undersea ledge and jacked vertical, sucking the bottom out of the wave. As the six-story wall of water folded and detonated, Mel simply ducked, covered, and prayed. “It was like I was run over by Niagara Falls,” he says. “I thought it was going to tear the limbs off my body.” His partner Ryan Augenstein rushed in and stopped cold.  The ocean was so churned, the propeller couldn’t get a grip in the foam - like a car spinning its wheels in snow. As another wave bore down, the jet ski suddenly caught, Mel grabbed the sled and the two shot to safety. “It was one of the most amazing saves I’ve ever seen,” Mel says. At 12:30 a rescue team motored out. A crab boat named Good Guys had foundered, its two fishermen lost to the waves.

 

Down at Ghost Tree, Anthony Ruffo had tow-surfed into four menacing bombs. Peter Davi was determined to tow into at least one wave on his traditional paddleboard. “I’m 45 years old and I want one of the fucking waves,” he said from the back of Sorensen’s Jet Ski. “Those were the last words I heard him say,” Sorensen says.