Category: Uncategorized

In Their Words–Laird Hamilton: Surfer Laird Hamilton has surfed the biggest of the big, he’s featured in Stacy Peralta’s hot new movie “Riding Giants,” and…he’s married to Gabrielle Reece. So as they say at E: “It’s good to be Laird.” Surfer magazine sat down with surfing’s Golden Boy for a two part interview. If you are a total surfhead, and want to read about board design, cavitation, and “foil surfing”, check out Part I (yawn..). But if you want to hear Laird talk about surfing egos, tow-in etiquette, and the money hunt, then Part 2 is for you. Here’s Hamilton on the search for the 100-foot wave:

“You know this whole 100-foot wave thing I have nothing to do with it. I am actively pursuing trying to find and ride the biggest waves in the world, period. And whatever those waves may be and how high and how wide and how thick and how shallow and how mean, the waves will determine. But this whole 100-foot thing is so ambiguous to me. I have a hard time knowing how big it is half the time we go out. We just go, “hey it’s big today” or “today it’s friendly” or “today it’s not friendly” or “it’s shallow here” or “this is a thick one” or you know so… And for me, I’m never going to pursue something that the end result is one climactic moment. That would be not only a waste of time but it would be sad to go, “OK my whole thing is to ride the 100-foot wave and then the 100-foot wave comes and you’re like OK and that’s it.” Then what? You’re done? You stop? That would be sad.”

Or you go looking for a 125-foot wave…



The Laird Of The Big Break: “Just another day at the office…Heh-heh.”

(Photo: LairdHamilton.Com)

Department of Up And Comers–Edurne Pasaban: TWC posted on Spaniard Edurne, 30, last week after she summitted K2 in miserable conditions, and became the only woman still living to have been to the top (yes, K2 really is a bitch to climb). Now Explorer’s Web has done a follow-up interview that caught my attention because it turns out that Edurne is as ambitious and tough as they come. First off, the price that K2 has exacted is two toes (one from each foot; frostbite). Edurne calls them not that “important.” Her partner on the K2 climb–Juanito Oiarzabal–is losing them all, and wants Edurne to go to Aconcagua with him in January to test their imminently toeless feet together. Pasaban doesn’t think she’ll quite be up for hitting Aconcagua with Juanito this January. Instead she’s aiming for Nanga Parbat next summer. If she succeeds she’ll add that 8000er to an impressive resume so far: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, GI, GII and K2. In fact, Edurne has bagged more big mountains than any woman on the face of the planet, so I clicked over to ExWeb’s profile of her. And guess what? It turns out that Edurne is a big mountain animal. She’s climbed seven of the world’s tallest mountains in just over 3 years, and nabbed three of them in the space of one year. Keep an eye on this girl. She could be one of the greats…



Peripatetic Pasaban: “Damn, I’m tired…”

(Photo: via Explorer’s Web)

Department Of Misunderstood Monsters–The Great White Shark: Sure, there has been a lot of bad pub, with the odd chewed up surfer and late night reruns of “Jaws.” But South African diver Michael Rutzen wants you to know that Great Whites are really pussycats (pussyfish?), and to prove it he has made a documentary of his exploits swimming free with the cuddly, over-toothed, fishies. Here’s a great gallery of hair-raising pics. And here’s his description of how he pulls off stunts like hitching a ride on a dorsal fin and living to film the tale:

“There’s a whole hierarchy among sharks and they see you as a predator, too. You’ve got to learn how their body language works and to work with it. I’ve had some incredible moments. To get a shark so relaxed that within 10 minutes it comes up to you and you can tickle it beneath its nose next to its teeth, that’s something…

I made some mistakes in the beginning. Like once I needed to come up for air and I pushed the shark away with a speargun to disengage and he came at me and gaped. I shat myself.”

Hmm. Don’t know the name of the flick, but better see it if you get a chance. Not sure there’s going to be a Part II…



“This is nice, sweetheart. But don’t go too deep or my ears will bleed…”



“Hey! It was a nice swim, but I don’t kiss on the first date…”

Annals Of Oops–Larry, Ernesto, People Of New Zealand, Get Out Your Check Books!: The America’s Cup circus just pulled off a fantastic week of racing in Marseilles. But then a little 65-knot gust whipped through the boatyard, and knocked the top three boats off their cradles. What does $20 million dollars worth of high-tech carbon fiber look like lying on its side? The Daily Sail, a subscription sailing site that is well worth the price, has the answer:



“Oh man! Am I just really hung over or are all the boats ass over end…?”

Have A Wetass (Hurricane-Free) Weekend…

Wetass Of The Week–Mark Inglis: According to Explorer’s Web, right now he’s on the sixth highest mountain in the world, Cho Oyu (8,201 meters). Why is he a Wetass’s Wetass? How about because he is a double amputee, and his plan is to climb Cho Oyu…and then ski down. Ingals, a New Zealander, lost both legs to frostbite 22 years ago when he was caught by a storm and trapped in an ice cave for 14 days in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. His story was big media in NZ (Ingals was sort of the Aron Ralston–see Wednesday’s post below–of his day), but the former Search & Rescue climber just slapped some prosthetics on and went about his climbing, cycling, skiing Wetass life (he called the loss of his legs “a hiccup”). You can follow Ingal’s progress here. Hope the snow is good…



Future Climber?: “Blast! This isn’t going very well. I wonder if I can climb Everest with only one leg…?”

Department Of Animal Oddities–Doggie Edition: Some people treat their dogs like humans. It’s a little easier for an Oklahoma family called the Stringfellows: their dog Faith–a 19-month old Lab-Chow mix walks around on two legs, knows how to use the TV remote, and drinks beer. Okay, I made the last two up. But the dog has been standing tall ever since a birth defect left it with malformed front legs, and the Stringfellows taught it to use the two good ones it had left. Of course, in America, an animal like this means one thing: MONEY. Faith has already appeared on the Rikki Lake Show, and the Stringfellows are talking to the producers of the next Harry Potter movie about an appearance…



“Actually, I would like a beer…and some comfortable shoes…”

Had enough? Well, here’s one more: the Guinness Book Of World Record holder for the longest ears. They belong to Jack, a Bassett hound that lives in Germany. Each ear is over a foot long…



“Forget that stupid walking dog in Oklahoma. I’m learning to fly…”

Department Of Silver Linings–“Thanks, Frances!”: When it comes to hurricanes (see below), cable news armageddonites see nothing but death and destruction. Wetasses see, well, big surf. And as the remnants of Hurricane Frances ripped through the the eastern seaboard, monster waves started pounding the coasts from North Carolina to New Jersey. Check out this report from Surfer magazine (Warning! Surfer-speak ahead!):

“I’m checking 5th Street and I just about trip over my jaw. I witness a surfer cleanly exit a stand-up pit, fade back into a bottomturn and connect a mid-face snap back into the barrel. Again, the surfer cleanly exits…

Typical of hurricane season on the East Coast, the surf has gone from dead flat to overhead in the matter of one night. Also typical of the East Coast, it’s been flat for nearly three weeks. My surfing suffers. I battle the stiff offshores to get into a solid wave. Sloppily, I pull up into the tube. Luckily, the barrels are perfect, and this one lets me out. The first barrel on the first wave of the first hurricane swell-a feeling so pure, the Buddha would be jealous.”

Well, I don’t know about the Buddha. But I’m definitely jealous (note to self: learn to surf, you loser!)…



“I never thought I’d say this, but here goes: I love New Jersey…”

Annals Of Achievement–Will he Take His Cane?: Steve Cunningham, a 41-year old Brit, is planning to take his Ferrari 355 GT out next month and push it past 180 miles per hour. Hey, why not? That car is made to be driven at ridiculous speeds. Well, there’s one slight wrinkle. Cunningham is stone blind. Blind, you say? Yup, since the age of 12. Okay, readers of TWC with really good memories will be familiar with Cunningham, who last appeared on this page (scroll down toward bottom) when he was attempting to become the first blind man to pilot a plane around the United Kingdom. At the time he also owned the blind land speed record (set in a Dodge Viper) and the powerboat record. It’s his land speed record that he’s out to break. Good luck, Dude, but maybe it’s time to come up with some new ideas, like maybe the blind downhill skiing speed record. We’ll be there to watch…



“Woo-hooo! Err, am I still going straight…?!”

Hurricane Happy…: They’re rollin’ through, one after the other. Check out this NOAA satellite photo from yesterday. That’s Frances in the upper left, breaking up over the southeastern United States. And that’s Ivan (Category 5; winds up to 160 mph) barrelling in on the lower right…



“Move over Frannie. Heeere’s Ivan….”

(Photo: via Reuters)