Surfing the World’s Biggest Waves

There are five oceans in the world, from the icy Arctic to the massive Pacific. And where there are oceans, there are waves. These curls of water form when winds blow on the surface of the ocean. The faster and longer the winds blow, the bigger the waves grow.

An average wave is 11 feet tall, about the height of a basketball hoop. But some waves are bigger—much bigger.

For thousands of years, people have been surfing waves of all sizes. Surfing started in Hawaii and islands in the South Pacific Ocean. In the 1900s, the activity spread to other parts of the world. By the 1950s, people were surfing the biggest, most challenging waves— and the sport of big-wave surfing took off. 

There are five oceans in the world. One is the icy Arctic. Another is the giant Pacific. All of the oceans have waves. These curls of water form when winds blow on the surface of the ocean. The faster and longer the winds blow, the bigger the waves grow.

An average wave is 11 feet tall. That’s about the height of a basketball hoop. But some waves are much bigger.

For thousands of years, people have been surfing waves of all sizes. Surfing started in Hawaii and islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The activity spread to other parts of the world in the 1900s. By the 1950s, people were surfing the biggest and most challenging waves. That’s when the sport of big-wave surfing took off. 

For a second, fear washes over you. Surfing a wave this big could be deadly. The wave could pull you underwater. It could toss you around like a rag doll in a washing machine. Then you remind yourself: You’ve spent years training to ride a killer wave like this. You’re ready.

You watch the way the water moves. At just the right moment, you jump up on your surfboard. Whoosh! You slice through the wall of water with accuracy and speed, turning the 90-foot wave into a thrilling ride. Cheers roar from the beach as you surf into the record books with the ride of a lifetime.  

For a second, fear washes over you. Surfing a wave this big could be deadly. The wave could pull you underwater. It could toss you around like a rag doll in a washing machine. Then you remind yourself: You’ve spent years training to ride a killer wave like this. You’re ready.

You watch the way the water moves. At just the right moment, you take off on your surfboard. Whoosh! You move through the wall of water with accuracy and speed. You turn the 90-foot wave into an exciting ride. You hear cheers from the beach. You surf into the record books with the ride of a lifetime.