Biggest Swells ever Surfed Caught on Video

It’s no surprise surfers have a natural affinity for the ocean and it’s waves. However, select surfers have the bold and daring nerves to conquer some of the largest swells in the ocean. Although measuring the exact height of a wave is challenging, most waves are larger than they appear. Thanks to YouTube these surfing swell videos have gone viral, and are a source of inspiration for future surfers to overcome fear and conquer the wave of their dreams.

The Originals
Check out some of the original surfers to conquer some of the largest surf. Names like Eddie Aikau and Greg Noll make waves for future surfers. The Quicksilver Big Wave is named in honor of Aikau, who lost his life at sea in 1978. Noll became famous in 1957 for surfing giant swells known as the Pipeline in the Wiamea.

Teahupoo
Laird Hamilton takes on the giant waves filled with mass, power and velocity. What seems like a death-defying stunt comes out with a possible belief that conquering something imaginable is possible even in the ocean. This break in Tahiti is known as one of the most dangerous wave in the world.

Waimea Bay
Shane Dorian and Mark Healey paddle the waves at Waimea Bay for some after storm swells. With the crowd surfing and a giant black wall of water, these two lucky surfers successfully caught this monster.

Billabong XXL
Explore some massive swells from the 2009 Billabong XXL event. The four minutes of footage is nonstop riveting action in Maui. From successes to wipeouts, these are the bset of 2009 Jaws.

Oahu’s North Shore
Surfer Ken Bradshaw chats with news anchor about conquering his 65 to 85 foot waves on Oahu’s North Shore. Clips were part of a PBS documentary, and unfortunately only the 65-footer is shown in the video. He faced 70 mile per hour winds, and only he could imagine life on waves this big.

Nazare, Portugal
Garrett McNamara takes on 90-foot wave on the coast of Portugal. What seems like he’s about to biff in the bluff, comes out as a success to what is one of the largest waves ever surfed.

Cortes Banks 
Mike Parsons believes surfing 100-foot waves is possible. Cortes Bank is in Southern California and is a very shallow chain of underwater mountains with some peaks reaching three to six feet from the water’s surface. Parsons was one of various surfers in a group riding in Cortes back in 2001, putting the Banks on the ranks of tallest waves surfed. This is definitely a danger zone for surfing.