Big Board Surfing

You paddle into the breakers and duck dive six or seven times in quick succession. You're out of the white water and began going over the large swells and ducking the huge lips coming at you in sets of 3. Finally you're on the outside and you're ready to take the next wave. In the distance you see a swell that's larger than most waves you ride. You turn and paddle for the shore at break neck speed. The swell picks your big board off the glassy surface and you're flying in the air. The wave is about to break and you look down to where you're dropping in. You're looking over a 4-5 story building. Half of your huge 8-9 foot board is hanging off the lip of the wave as you pop onto the deck. You push the big board onto the face and reach speeds up to 35-45 mph. Any board smaller than what you have under your feet would pop up on any of these small bumps that a wave this size is known for. With a quick bottom turn the lip of the wave crashes behind you and you ascend the massive beast till you're in the golden pocket. Your big board is nestled deep in a triple overhead barrel. An elated you and your big board shoot out of the tube at breakneck speed. You just road the strongest force known to man - mother nature's ocean.

A big board rider rides waves that have plagued coastal villages for centuries. These are rogue waves that reach heights above a 4 story building, and they come crashing down with enough energy and force, it could power a major city. The boards that are made specifically for this purpose are called the big boards. They have a larger amount of surface area on the wave itself. They have rails that are built with a little more bulk, so when you make your turns you're still going to have quite bit surface area in the water. These boards are shaped by t he great master shapers, because it takes a keen eye and hand to shape a board that can withstand bumps the size of boulder.

On the other hand, the long board is made to slide into a wave and be as stable as possible. Long boards were made to walk and move on. One of the most classic long board tricks is the hang 10. This is when you pocket the long board's tail into the wave, and you walk all the way out to the nose and hang all 10 toes off the nose. This type of stability and buoyancy on the surface of a big wave would toss the surfer off the face in a second. The long board is specifically designed and made to catch smaller waves, and to glide down the face of the wave to catch that endless summer. A longboard is made so that it will give a surfer of truly working and living with nature.

On the contrast, a big board surfer takes hold of the biggest bull they can find and hangs on tight. Each time a big board hits the water, the surfer is in danger and could die any second.