On January 28, 1998, the day Oahu’s outer reefs played host to 35-foot-plus surf, Ken Bradshaw selected a board he’d made over a year before. At 7’10”, just over 17 inches wide and two inches thick, it seemed the kind of board some surfers would use to paddle in, not tow. “Some people have gone […]
Two major events occurred during 1969. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and in Hawaii, Greg Noll rode “30-plus” Makaha. Most surfers reckon it was a toss-up. The giant surf during the winter of 1969 was the benchmark for big-wave riding, and Noll is credited with catching the biggest wave of the epic swell. It […]
Surfers wonders what future holds after North Shore’s biggest wave. It’s a legend now. Surfers call it “Big Wednesday.” The day last winter when Ken Bradshaw took on the biggest wave ever ridden on the North Shore.
Twenty years of preparation pay off for Ken Bradshaw as he nails a bottom turn on a solid 35-foot-plus wave at Outer Log Cabins, Oahu, January 28, 1998. The phenomenal reef break off Rockpile has long been regarded as an Everest of North Shore surfing; jet ski tow surfing finally put it within range this […]
Condition Black is the official Hawaiian Civil Defense alert that declares the ocean off limits to everyone. When conditions are black, the ocean is in full roar and tourists and watermen stand side by side in slack-jawed respect. On Wednesday, January 28, the Pacific Ocean put on a once in a lifetime show, and the […]
For the world’s premier big-wave surfer, staying on top is all in the training. When The Beach Boys sang, “Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world,” they were, of course, speaking metaphorically. Big-wave surfer Ken Bradshaw takes the notion literally. He’s sat on hundreds of waves with faces that measure upward […]