New Big Wave Surfing Record?

Carlos Burle may have ridden the biggest wave of all time. The Cannonball record from Friday was pretty impressive, but this is a whole other level of incredible. Racing your Mercedes across the country puts you in danger of getting arrested. Getting towed in to a 100 foot wave puts you in danger of getting killed.

In fact, one of Burle’s fellow competitors, Maya Gabeira, almost died earlier that day. Burle was able to pull her back to the shore and save her life before heading back out and catching the wave you see in the picture. They were part of a crew that had traveled to Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal in hopes of breaking the world record. Severe storms in the Atlantic made for huge waves.

Look! Over there!

This is an amazing photo. And it’s a good reminder that one of the biggest skills a photographer can possess is knowing where to look.  Allen Hughes was at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz to photograph a surf contest. While everyone else was watching the surfers out at sea, he noticed this guy running. Apparently, he was late for his heat. Knowing the area, Hughes was ready for what was to come next. Sure enough, the surfer leapt off the bluff and into the ocean. It looks a bit more dramatic than it actually is. As Hughes notes on his facebook page, it isn’t unusual to see someone make this leap. Still, when stopped in time, it looks incredible. Click the photo above to see the full, wide-angle, view of the scene.