WBig wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
W7 Girls is a 2001 documentary film about female surfers Layne Beachley, Serena Brooke, Heather Clark, Megan Abubo, Rochelle Ballard, Keala Kennelly and Sofia Mulanovich. This road trip film follows a group of surfers around the Pacific Ocean as they surf Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, and Indonesia. The film conveys their enthusiasm for the sport, sense of humor, and their respect for nature.
WBig Wave is the soundtrack album for the motion picture of the same name, produced and recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita. It was released in June 1984 and peaked at No.2 on the Oricon Albums Chart for a 19-week stay. The album was heavily influenced by the songwriting and production of Brian Wilson. Its first half consists of original songs, with English lyrics by Alan O'Day, while the second is mostly cover versions of Beach Boys songs.
WThe Cribbar, also known as the Widow Maker, is a reef off the Towan Headland in Newquay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
WEl Porto Beach is a California public beach managed by the County of Los Angeles, located in Santa Monica Bay beside El Porto, which is now part of the City of Manhattan Beach, between the beaches of El Segundo Beach and Manhattan Beach, and is protected under the state park system. The entrance to El Porto's large parking lot, which has meters, is at the west end of 45th Street from Highland Avenue.
WGhost Trees is a famed big wave surfing location off the 18th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. The wave breaks off the rock-strewn shoreline known as Pescadero Point. On rare winter days with the proper westerly angle, waves are focused by the deep Carmel Canyon to rear up as much as 60 feet in height. Formerly known as Pesky's, Ghost Trees is considered one of the most dangerous waves in the world due to its slab shape, massive boils, strong current, bull kelp, and the underwater labyrinth of natural rock pillars in the impact zone. It is also frequented by white sharks.
WMavericks is a surfing location in northern California outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 ft (8 m) and top out at over 60 ft (18 m). Routinely, waves that break can be recorded on seismometers. The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation.
WGarrett ‘GMAC’ McNamara is an American professional big wave surfer and extreme waterman known for breaking the world record for largest wave ever surfed at Nazaré, Portugal, surviving a monstrous wave at Jaws, and riding tsunami from calving glaciers in Alaska.
WNazaré is a municipality located in the Oeste region and Leiria District of Portugal.
WRiding Giants is a 2004 documentary film produced by Agi Orsi and directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding. Some of the featured surfers are Greg Noll, Laird Hamilton, and Jeff Clark, and surfing pioneers such as Mickey Munoz.
WSandy Beach is a beach on the South Shore of Oʻahu in Hawaii. It is known for its excellent bodyboarding and bodysurfing opportunities due to shore break and consistent barrels. Consequently, more injuries occur per year at Sandy Beach than any other beach in Hawaii, earning it the infamous nickname, "break-neck" beach. The water is especially dangerous during high surf, when strong rip currents are present. The beach park is located between Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Park on the west and Makapuʻu Point on east along 8800 Kalanianaole Highway in Honolulu's southside neighborhood.
WSunset Beach is on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii and known for big wave surfing during the winter season. The original Hawaiian name for this place is Paumalū. It is a two-mile stretch of mostly beige sand located at 59-104 Kamehameha Highway in Pupukea, 39 miles driving distance from Waikiki. Lifeguards are usually present.
WSurfline is a company and website based in Huntington Beach, California that specializes in surf forecasting and surf reports, live webcasting, photography, videography, as well as editorial coverage of the sport of surfing. Surfline.com is now ranked 1,180 in the US and 5,784 in the world in terms of popularity compared to other websites and is now the largest provider of streaming HD coastal cams. Since 2003 it has taken on buoyweather.com and fishtrack.com (2012), on average the family of websites receives 175,000 visitors per day. The site includes streaming video, surf reports and forecasts. Surfline.com offers streaming cameras at 150 surf breaks, and is one of the larger surf cam websites. Surfline currently has approximately 50 employees.
WTeahupoʻo is a village on the southwestern coast of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, in the southern Pacific Ocean.
WMark Robert Visser is an Australian professional big wave surfer, author, keynote speaker and ocean adventurer. Visser is best known for being the first person to surf Hawaii's most dangerous wave Jaws, Maui, at night in 2011. It was documented in a film called 'Night Rider'.
WWaimea Bay is located in Haleiwa on the North Shore of O'ahu in the Hawaiian Islands at the mouth of the Waimea River. Waimea Valley extends behind Waimea Bay. Waimea means "reddish water" in Hawaiian.
WThe Wedge is a spot located at the extreme southeast end of the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California known for its large waves that makes it a popular spot for surfing, and for bodysurfing without a board in particular. The Wedge is the intersection of the beach and of the man-made jetty that forms the breakwater on the western side of Newport harbor entrance. When a south or south/southwest swell is running of the right size and direction, the Wedge can produce huge waves up to 30 feet (9.1 m) high.