# World record kayak surf???



## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

eaproductions,

I'm sure the waves you were surfing were pretty big, however after watching your video it looks like you only have footage of yourself surfing waves about 1/4 the size of the ones in Tao's article and video. As for being towed into the waves, that's the method that all big wave surfers I'm aware of use because of the logistics of getting onto a wave that big and going that fast. My understanding is there's a very real danger of trying to catch the big ones from a standstill - not being able to get the speed to actually ride the wave as opposed to being pulled up the wave's face and going over the falls.

Granted I doubt eaproductions has the resources to get the high-dollar production and video crew, specialized surf kayak big wave boat, and so forth, but I just don't see the evidence that you're on the same level as Berman's drop from what you've provided. And you're calling Berman's record fake while offering no proof of your own exploits.

It's kind of like if I were to boast about running Kootnai Falls in my oar rig to set a world record waterfall oar rig drop but I just couldn't be bothered to get any photos to prove it. 

If you want to rag on me because I'm a rafter and "wouldn't get it because it's a kayak thing" go ahead. However I grew up around surfing, have been around whitewater for quite a while and have a buddy who's taken the US West Surf Kayak team to the World Championships a couple of times.

-AH


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## montuckyhuck (Mar 14, 2010)

Andy, Guys like Shane Dorion and Bruce Irons have been paddling, not towing into MONSTER waves for a while now (see Mavs, Jaws, Teahupoo, Waimea, I think The Right. etc) so yeah. Also Kootanai Falls is about 13 feet of vert, so I don't think you would be setting any records wether you got the shot or not. Hmmmm


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## Ture (Apr 12, 2004)

Tao's waves were orders of magnitude bigger than your Kaua'i waves. Not even the same world. If you think your session was burlier then you have a lot to learn about judging waves.

I've surfed the right at Hanalei in winter... on a surfboard.. During a real swell. Yes it is a good wave... And that was a fun sized day in that video, I'm sure it was a rush but it was not even a big day and no way it was near what Tao did.

I didn't like the clip of you dropping in on a surfer on that one right... I assume that was THE right at Hanalei... I'd be surprised if nobody talked to you about that one. Do you know what dropping in, shoulder hopping, snaking is? You don't belong at that spot.

Kayaks are super easy to catch waves with but they are not nearly as maneuverable as a surfboard. You have to be extra, extra careful about following the rules if you decide to get in the lineup in that thing. Don't ever ever ever drop in on a surfer in a kayak... Fucking NEVER.


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

*not dissing Tao*

I never said that the footy in vid from decade + ago was bigger than when he was towed into the waves in OR. And I know all about wave etiquette and have prob. been surfing, butt surfing and SUP surfing way longer than Ture but all that said, I agree never drop in on anybody. But actually if you are butt surfing you get cut off and put over the reef as da boys don't like wave skis, butt surfers or SUPers for the most part. Ture I did drop a quad overhead at the main bay break back in 2002 and have been butt surfing etc. since the dark ages and spent TONS of time on Kauai surfing, kayaking surfing, wave skiing, and pioneering first river Ds. The wave I dropped was in 2002 when we were filming whitewater first D out there for Salomon...no biggie but it was stupid and way more life threatening then being towed into the edge of that mondy mush - not minimizing Tao's waves as he is in a league of his own. My guess is other rad dude boaters have dropped bigger/more serious waves than in Tao's vid...and just heard that some boaters were out in Kauai trying to run Wailua Falls...183 ft....3 feet short of the true world record. Is the risk worth it? Aloha


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## Dwave (Mar 23, 2009)

the music score for the video...now that's some sick stuff!!!


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## craven_morhead (Feb 20, 2007)

"In conclusion, big wave surfing is a world of contrasts...."


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## dirtbagkayaker (Oct 29, 2008)

eaproductions said:


> I have been butt surfing way longer than Ture but all that said, da boys don't like butt surfers. Ture, I did drop a quad overhead and have been butt surfing since the dark ages, but it was stupid.


I kind of found your response a bit wordy and cut it down a bit. But I think I captured the jest of it. :-o


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

*Beat it Haole*

Yeah butt surfers get plenty of grief in the line up, at least the surfers now can wrath out on SUPers...as one of those also I can get grief standing up now and sitting down! "Beat it haole" heard that one before.


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## dirtbagkayaker (Oct 29, 2008)

eaproductions said:


> Yeah butt surfers get plenty up the can. I can stand up and "Beat it".


hehehe :razz::razz:


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

I love dirtbags humor!!! But seriously, how can Tao claim a world record when he never asked around?


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## dirtbagkayaker (Oct 29, 2008)

I hear ya. There are alot of people all over the world doing sick s#!t locally and some TV crew brings in a sponsered redbull sellout, does the deed, renames the move, and claims a first! Then ppl watch it on TV and believe its ture. But you know how the story goes: second mouse gets the cheese!


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

*dirt bags rule*

What is ture is ture...did not appreciate him dssing me when he did not have a clue but all good. OK, well said about falsehoods, for example we did the first d of the North Fork of Crysal and I wrote up info for guidebook and it was being published, then Lucero and posse claimed a first D and was in article in Paddler mag...Oops! The ture is the ture....:razz: Don't claim a world record or a first D until you at least ask around!!


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

a little of topic but didn't some guy shatter Parson's big wave surf record on a massive 100 ft.plus wave off Portugal a couple weeks ago?
C
Ear,
Are you Paul T.? If so loved your vids back in the day.


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

Yeah that would be me...do I know you from year's of running Gorefest or paddling adventures? Had not heard about that new big wave record?? Thanks for the props on vids. Yeah will have to post some of those old vid segments from Paddlemania, Meltdown Madness etc...vid below from best job I ever had!
Southwest Airlines Commercial - YouTube
Think snow!!!


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

no I don't know ya just had those videos...the guy was Garrett Mc Namara (I think) from Hawaii I guess he shattered his own record of 78 ft....I don 't really follow surfing just saw a photo of him.riding a small mountain of water on yahoo


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

I see you have been paddling since 1995...that is the big water year we filmed Meltdown Madness, Slaughterhouse got up to 8K! LMK if you are up this way for a paddle, my house is right by Slaughter take out.


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

hey thanks tor the offer...I don 't get up that way much..did work in Aspen for a couple years in the early 90 's,one summer on a big job near the Fork a little above Slaughterhouse and lived at the confluence of the Frying Pan and RF in Basalt.I could have paddled all or part way home from work everyday if I 'd had a clue...unfortunately in '95 I was a beginner duckier got on the Dolores at great flows and the Front Range rookies circuit...never progressed beyond 4 plus and have gone downhill from there but could probably handle Slaughterhouse at normal flows not Meltdown Madness!


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## Hartje (Oct 16, 2003)

EA loved the old school vids. remember them from my newbie days in FOCO, thinking the kayak world didn't go beyond CO state lines. thanks for the links and the years of VHS stoke. 

a handful of us still getting after it here in central/norcal. mosty in real surf boats with WW backgrounds at uncrowded spots that are optimal for paddle powered craft. plenty of room/size in this part of the world, no need to deal with assholes. as for world records, there's a long history at steamer lane during the yearly competition and during other swell events there where lots of bigguns have been ridden in skirted boats. tao pulled into some bigguns and did so with his usual flair/documentation and that is great. i wish more durable young paddlers would take to the sport using composite shapes because today's paddlers have great freestyle technique from a young age and their bodies can handle the abuse of being attached to a boat and throwing down in big waves. certainly there are easier, less committing ways to surf big waves, HP kayaking is not one of them and that makes it a grade more special/stupid/sadistic in the realm of wave riders. good news is apparently if u ride a really big one you can then retire and that is great.

Cheers!


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

Hartje...thanks for the iniste! Actually I broke my neck in Hanalei Bay surf kayaking about 4 yrs ago, but that is another story. Could have drowned and been a quad but still here surfing it up a bit here and there. A long custom wave ski being towed into jaws would be the way to go, and if you got caught inside you could pull your belt (if you decided to be crazy enough to have one and drop in in the first place) and dive down before the washing machine from hell rocks your world, hoping the jet ski picks up the pieces. But yes, there should be a true kayak surf world record in a skirted boat and a sit on top wave ski...nothing really documented yet as far as I can tell.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

If you fly with a wave ski do you have to call it a kayak? I found the video entertaining and it looks ridiculously fun, but two people on this thread have broken their necks kayak surfing in the ocean. It's making the activity seem increasingly unappealing to me. I have to admit that I don't much care what the record wave size is in a kayak. It's kind of like asking what the biggest huck on a skibike is. Tao amazingly seems to be able to turn it into cash though. That may go down as his biggest accomplishment, unless he finally gets elected to the Senate.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

A lineup of territorial board surfers just sounds like a great place to hang out for the afternoon. I'll take the rio, thanks!


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

KSC said:


> I found the video entertaining and it looks ridiculously fun, but two people on this thread have broken their necks kayak surfing in the ocean. It's making the activity seem increasingly unappealing to me.


My thoughts as well, better to use a surfboard than a kayak it seems.


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

*beat it haole*

Dependent on the airline, way cheaper to fake a wave ski as a fat surf board. On the broken neck thing, when I broke my neck was a dumb move on my part just on a slammy shorebreak, that said, in a surf kayak you can not bail if you get caught inside by mondo set, the boat could snap during a vicious beat down and you could break your legs and worse. Yes way safer on on surfboard, but surf kayaking and wave skiing are way fun...and SUP surfing can blend the best of both worlds. I do have to say that paddlers are so much more mellow and friendly than some surfers, when has a kayaker waiting to surf at a whitewater park screamed at another paddler to beat it!


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

eaproductions said:


> Yes way safer on on surfboard, but surf kayaking and wave skiing are way fun...and SUP surfing can blend the best of both worlds.


Have you ever surfed a SUP board? I have a massive cruiser board that I can surf on easy waves at play parks and I'd love to try it on the ocean if I could. Is it a hard transition learning to catch an ocean wave vs. river wave?


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## eaproductions (May 8, 2009)

"Granted I doubt eaproductions has the resources to get the high-dollar production and video crew, specialized surf kayak big wave boat, and so forth, but I just don't see the evidence that you're on the same level as Berman's drop from what you've provided. And you're calling Berman's record fake while offering no proof of your own exploits."

SUP surfing soooo much fun, in da waves and on the river...ocean SUP surfing takes time just like reg. surfing to answer your question. Wanted to address this sorta dis above. When I dropped a wave comprable to those mushburger (breaking over the top big waves) in Tao's vid I did it just cause it was there. The boys know the true story. And the lokes were smoking pakalolo and watching the soul survivor - me - the idiot about to drop in Hanalei Bay in SIK storm surf. But to our rafters claim, I could give two shits about providing proof. Just fyi I got respect from da boys for a few years as they all witnessed the drop from a long way away at H-bay, watching from their puff place is a ways out there and I dropped for the FTFOI for the fuck of it, n had no clue anybody was watching!


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