baby that's all there is to the coastline craze
February 9, 2016 5:22 PM Subscribe
God, I wish I was athletically inclined. But watching that video, I don't understand how surfers don't crash into each other or run over swimmers or go flying top speed right into the side of one of those boats. Maybe they just deal with that in the editing.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 5:44 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 5:44 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Amazing video! If anyone's as struck by the music as I was, I googled “Le Goudron” and discovered this page, with lyrics, translation, and surprising backstory (involving the Art Ensemble of Chicago!).
posted by languagehat at 5:55 PM on February 9, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by languagehat at 5:55 PM on February 9, 2016 [10 favorites]
Fantastic, but downright rude that they didn't give the music credit in the actual video.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 5:55 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 5:55 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh damn. That's the first time I've seen the endgame of "get to the other side of the wave."
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:17 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:17 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
But watching that video, I don't understand how surfers don't crash into each other or run over swimmers or go flying top speed right into the side of one of those boats.
Not a surfer, but reading about it once, it seems like there is a fairly complex-sounding (to me) system/etiquette of who gets to go on a wave and what to be doing when you're waiting for your turn, etc, for the reasons you mention. So the people are more organised than it appears.
You'll notice in the shots that there is always one surfer surfing at any one time, and a cluster of others waiting together, usually quite tightly in a group.
posted by anonymisc at 6:20 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not a surfer, but reading about it once, it seems like there is a fairly complex-sounding (to me) system/etiquette of who gets to go on a wave and what to be doing when you're waiting for your turn, etc, for the reasons you mention. So the people are more organised than it appears.
You'll notice in the shots that there is always one surfer surfing at any one time, and a cluster of others waiting together, usually quite tightly in a group.
posted by anonymisc at 6:20 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh. Ohhhh. That was beautiful. I ask myself, why am I not in the ocean right now.
Sharks and huge waves?
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 PM on February 9, 2016 [5 favorites]
Sharks and huge waves?
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 PM on February 9, 2016 [5 favorites]
Stunning indeed.
I'm pretty sure "Last week? I was surfing in Tahiti." is the coolest thing a man could utter in the course of a lifetime.
posted by davebush at 7:06 PM on February 9, 2016
I'm pretty sure "Last week? I was surfing in Tahiti." is the coolest thing a man could utter in the course of a lifetime.
posted by davebush at 7:06 PM on February 9, 2016
Ohh man. I know a guy with a nice drone rig and a guy who surfs. Clearly it's collaboration time.
posted by limeonaire at 7:11 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by limeonaire at 7:11 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
I ask myself, why am I not in the ocean right now
It might have something to do with a couple wipeouts in that video, where you can just see the surfer swept up in the curl and dashed on the sea floor that's clearly visible mere inches from the surface.
Now, if there was a drone that could not only take dramatic footage of me being a badass but was also able to yoink me up before I got smashed to bits, then I'd be all over it.
More likely, though, I'd be one of those on the beach enjoying the amazing scenery with a large cocktail in one hand, encouraging the young crazies to go out and ride that mother.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:24 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
It might have something to do with a couple wipeouts in that video, where you can just see the surfer swept up in the curl and dashed on the sea floor that's clearly visible mere inches from the surface.
Now, if there was a drone that could not only take dramatic footage of me being a badass but was also able to yoink me up before I got smashed to bits, then I'd be all over it.
More likely, though, I'd be one of those on the beach enjoying the amazing scenery with a large cocktail in one hand, encouraging the young crazies to go out and ride that mother.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:24 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
A little bit of math behind the unusual waves at the Teahupo’o reef break.
posted by hubs at 8:38 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by hubs at 8:38 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
There was a MF thread two years ago, surfing using drone footage: A different perspective. That video seems to be as much about the translucent waves as about the surfers.
One of the comments linked to this gopro video from the front of the board, with commentary: Kelly Slater 2013 "...you can see all these chandeliers falling down..." Oh, and another one from the video sidebar: Kelly Slater’s Left Barrel At Sunset Beach
posted by jjj606 at 8:41 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
One of the comments linked to this gopro video from the front of the board, with commentary: Kelly Slater 2013 "...you can see all these chandeliers falling down..." Oh, and another one from the video sidebar: Kelly Slater’s Left Barrel At Sunset Beach
posted by jjj606 at 8:41 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's the only footage of Teahupo'o I've ever seen that makes sense. The wave looks physically impossible in most photos, like it breaks downward into the ocean.
I don't understand how surfers don't crash into each other or run over swimmers
A few guys and girls in that video got just absolutely wasted by that wave.
posted by fshgrl at 9:14 PM on February 9, 2016
I don't understand how surfers don't crash into each other or run over swimmers
A few guys and girls in that video got just absolutely wasted by that wave.
posted by fshgrl at 9:14 PM on February 9, 2016
I can't get enough surfing videos, as a surfer who's been thrown around a lot by waves a tenth the size, this stuff never fails to blow me away, not just the bravery and athleticism it takes to do this, but the fact that only a small minority of these surfers die attempting this.
Also, Kelly Slater is perhaps the greatest American athlete of all time.
But really, I came to speak for the derail. I had never heard of Brigitte Fontaine before tonight and now I am certain to spend the next 2 weeks in a Fontaine Hole. And languagehat's linked YACHT track is enormous.
Time is a boat and the Earth is a cake
Indeed.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:32 PM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also, Kelly Slater is perhaps the greatest American athlete of all time.
But really, I came to speak for the derail. I had never heard of Brigitte Fontaine before tonight and now I am certain to spend the next 2 weeks in a Fontaine Hole. And languagehat's linked YACHT track is enormous.
Time is a boat and the Earth is a cake
Indeed.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:32 PM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Here's a dramatic wipeout clip of Teahupo'o from 2015, along with a brief interview.
posted by doctord at 10:13 PM on February 9, 2016
posted by doctord at 10:13 PM on February 9, 2016
Interesting that Tahiti would have such dynamic wave action and a weird and relatively wimpy tidal regime:
posted by jamjam at 10:28 PM on February 9, 2016 [4 favorites]
In a recent piece on tides ("Tidal patterns" Issue No. 54) we stated, "There are locations in Indonesia and other South Pacific islands where the tide adheres to the solar day, with high and low tide occurring at the same time each day." Since we didn't give any explanation for this bizarre effect, I thought I would expand on it a bit.Seems likely that the unusual configuration of the coral reef there, which is responsible for the wave pattern according to hubs' very interesting link, is conditioned by the strange tides; for example, since the tides are so weak and consistent, a coral reef could sit a lot nearer the surface at high tide without danger of being exposed by low tide.
To understand the effect, it is necessary to view tides within entire ocean basins. Rather than marching east to west across oceans following the moon's shadow, high tides often rotate through oceans around some central point or points. These central points are called amphidromic points. (This does not occur in the South Atlantic where every 12 hours, a high tide moves steadily south to north from Antarctic waters to the Caribbean.)
The amphidromic point for the North Atlantic is some 350 miles east of Newfoundland. In the North Pacific, there is a major amphidromic point about halfway between California and Hawaii. In the South Pacific, there are at least two amphidromic points: one about 200 miles southeast of New Zealand and another centered near Tahiti.
It is this last amphidromic point that is most interesting. Tide level at a lunar amphidromic point is unaffected by lunar tides. High tide radiates from an amphidromic point, so it is always in the high region. As a result, the small solar tide, which is usually overwhelmed by the lunar tide, is evident. On an island near Tahiti there is a high tide every midnight. Tahiti, then, is one of these exotic South Sea isles mentioned in the article. ...
posted by jamjam at 10:28 PM on February 9, 2016 [4 favorites]
Wow. That is amazing. It's the first surfing video that made me want to be out there with the surfers.
posted by persona au gratin at 12:27 AM on February 10, 2016
posted by persona au gratin at 12:27 AM on February 10, 2016
But watching that video, I don't understand how surfers don't crash into each other or run over swimmers or go flying top speed right into the side of one of those boats.
AFAIK it's a universal rule that if there are more surfers vying for the same wave, the person closest to the breaking point gets to ride it and the others must drop out. Once a wave has been claimed, no-one else can join in, except by mutual agreement. (This is why some surfers are cranky about stand up paddlers, because unlike surfers, they can catch waves already a little before they're breaking and thus "steal" them before surfers get a chance).
On many beaches, the zone where actual surfing takes place - where the bigger waves break predictably, steadily and cleanly (due to ocean bottom topography) - is smaller than you'd think if you're a landlubber to whom all waves look surfable. I've seen surfing spots where the good breaking zone is very narrow and on a busy day, there's an actual queue for it on the side. (I've also seen utter dicks, shouting matches and international sign language when the social order occasionally fails.) Also, in the surf vids with really big waves, you'll see the boats generally placed in an area a little to the side where the waves, huge as they are, won't break (and surfers won't go).
Swimmers - or surfers paddling back - generally try to avoid the active surfing zone, but as a rule it should be on the surfer to avoid the slower goers. Waves also arrive in sets so between sets is a calmer period to paddle back and get in position. If a collision looks inevitable, the surfer can easily drop out (either by surfing over the lip to the backside of the wave, or - the only method my skillset allowed - by jumping off the board).
posted by sively at 4:35 AM on February 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
AFAIK it's a universal rule that if there are more surfers vying for the same wave, the person closest to the breaking point gets to ride it and the others must drop out. Once a wave has been claimed, no-one else can join in, except by mutual agreement. (This is why some surfers are cranky about stand up paddlers, because unlike surfers, they can catch waves already a little before they're breaking and thus "steal" them before surfers get a chance).
On many beaches, the zone where actual surfing takes place - where the bigger waves break predictably, steadily and cleanly (due to ocean bottom topography) - is smaller than you'd think if you're a landlubber to whom all waves look surfable. I've seen surfing spots where the good breaking zone is very narrow and on a busy day, there's an actual queue for it on the side. (I've also seen utter dicks, shouting matches and international sign language when the social order occasionally fails.) Also, in the surf vids with really big waves, you'll see the boats generally placed in an area a little to the side where the waves, huge as they are, won't break (and surfers won't go).
Swimmers - or surfers paddling back - generally try to avoid the active surfing zone, but as a rule it should be on the surfer to avoid the slower goers. Waves also arrive in sets so between sets is a calmer period to paddle back and get in position. If a collision looks inevitable, the surfer can easily drop out (either by surfing over the lip to the backside of the wave, or - the only method my skillset allowed - by jumping off the board).
posted by sively at 4:35 AM on February 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
To top it all off the surfer at the 3:53 mark is lit on fire!!!
posted by hubs at 1:27 PM on February 10, 2016
posted by hubs at 1:27 PM on February 10, 2016
And languagehat's linked YACHT track is enormous.
No matter how many years pass, he will always be the guy that bragged about using cracked software to make all his music and then got reamed on the internet for it. That’s all I know about him, and all I ever will.
posted by bongo_x at 12:15 AM on February 11, 2016
No matter how many years pass, he will always be the guy that bragged about using cracked software to make all his music and then got reamed on the internet for it. That’s all I know about him, and all I ever will.
posted by bongo_x at 12:15 AM on February 11, 2016
« Older Carbonating the World | The Woman Who Makes Prosthetic Pinkies for... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by valetta at 5:35 PM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]