“With the offshore buoys reading 17 feet at 16 seconds, we knew this was going to be a big swell and a unique angle given the size. Most swells this size are N or NW swells coming from massive cold fronts, where this swell was from the NE, generated by an extratropical hurricane in the Atlantic. Normally, Wilderness closes out and you’re forced to head over to Tres Palmas, which holds waves this size more predictably. The NE swell angle changed all that and made Wildo the go-to spot…clean, square and nearly perfect.
It’s easy to make the mistake of riding too small a board at big Wildo, which never ends up going well. The playing field is just too big and you have to sit so far out that you just get lost and annihilated on a small board. To avoid this, the plan for this swell was to ride my 9’0″ until it literally started flying away, and then switch to my 9’10”. I got this wave on the 9’10, which is a Rawson gun and one weapon of a board. It’s 9’10” x 22″ x 3 5/8″ x 86.4L set up as a quad with a macking stringer, double glassed and a 12′ leash. I ordered the board last year but had to let it sit on ice 13 months waiting for enough size to use it. So stoked I bit the bullet and had it ready for this swell. It handled like a dream, which is the case for all the boards Pat’s made me. He just knows how to make boards for juice….plain and simple.” – Trip Forman
The Gear:
Villa Sessions
Rawson Surfboards
Futures Paddle Gun G10 Quads
Dakine 12′ Peahi Leash
Dakine 10′ RECON Boardbag
O’Neill Skins Rashguard
Watermans Sunscreen
