New Ghost Tree footage

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This is from Big Wednesday/Thursday last year.

http://surfermag.com/av/flash/exclusive-ghost-tree-12-07/

[smoknJay]

Whoa... and no PWC's right? if they were banned up there

Thats a hell of a paddle in

[JonS]

This is from Big Wednesday/Thursday last year.

http://surfermag.com/av/flash/exclusive-ghost-tree-12-07/


That was the craziest session I've ever seen in my life. I actually have some still of the waves shown in that vid.

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Whoa... and no PWC's right? if they were banned up there

Thats a hell of a paddle in


Dec 4&5 2007 buddy. All tow, all legal for these items of viewing pleasure of mine. Then again Mr. Davi was paddling here this first day, so I should say, mostly tow.

[JonS]

Dec 4&5 2007 buddy. All tow, all legal for these
items of viewing pleasure of mine. Then again Mr. Davi was paddling here
this first day, so I should say, mostly tow.


BrainWaves by Jon Shafer (in Blued Edge)

http://www.newspress.com/sbnp_be_2008/Brainwaves/BrainWaves_cvr.jpg

Ghost Tree. Just hearing the name of this haunting break can send a shiver down any surfer's spine. And, up until the last couple of years, the spooky mysto spot lurked as a relatively obscure anomaly in the West Coast surfing community. Save for a handful of Central California big-wave chargers – people like Don Curry, Tyler Smith and until recently, Peter Davi – the place was left respectfully, sanely, off limits.

But things have changed. Skis, money and serious nad have brought unprecedented media exposure, and now, with every new macking swell, Ghost Tree has become as notorious and photographed as its big-wave brethren, Maverick's.

During the last week of November, surf forecasters began tracking a monstrous Pacific storm system, and in the days leading up to December 4 predictions of wave faces approaching 70 feet were on the radar. Things on the coast were going to get interesting. On December 3, I received a phone call from a friend alerting me to the fact that some of the premier tow-surfing teams in the world would be assembling at Pebble Beach the following day to take on the massive surf at Ghost Tree. Having never before had the opportunity to shoot a spectacle such as this, I packed my gear, set my alarm and was on the road by 2 o'clock the following morning.

I arrived in Carmel at around 7:30, and with relative ease navigated my way up 17 Mile Drive to Pescadero Point. When I stepped out of my car I could immediately sense an indescribable presence of intense energy that was beyond eerie. Giant swells, unfathomable in size, exploded on the reef into churning surf, which, even from hundreds of yards away, created a heavy mist that fell like rain on the bluffs.

Watching the tow-in teams on their jet skis assemble in the channel I couldn't help but to contemplate the gravity of the situation. This was the real deal. One by one the surfers began taking off, insanely steep drops, long, sweeping bottom turns, followed by a drag race down the line through an obstacle course of boils formed by the huge boulders just below the surface.

Some of the surfers would even launch themselves airborne off of the boils and land some 20 feet down the line. To call this assault on the wave mind-blowing would be an understatement. Viewing all of this through the long reach of my telephoto lens, it was almost as if I were there in the water with them. I even began to react physiologically -- muscles twitching, heart pounding -- as I rode each wave vicariously from the safety of land. Soon, huge crowds of onlookers gathered. Television crews staked out the cliffs. Helicopters buzzed overhead, filming the liquid beasts from the sky. Ghost Tree was going off in all of its glory. As predicted, the surf continued to grow through the morning: 30-foot faces, 40-foot faces, 50-foot faces, and then a few rogue sets swept through that we so huge their faces were called at 70 feet.

As time passed, the glare from the sun made it too difficult to shoot pictures, so I drove down into Carmel Bay to see if I could get a decent shot of the barrel. As I left Pescadero Point, though, I found myself surrounded by a virtual squadron of emergency vehicles, Monterey County Sheriffs, ambulances, fire engines, search and rescue, the whole lot. I asked a passerby what had happened. "Somebody got killed out there," he said.
My heart sunk. I had a friend out in the water.

That night when I returned home I began to search for more information on the Internet. The major news wires were reporting the death of longtime local big-wave surfer Peter Davi, As the story unfolded, it became known that Davi, 45, had been paddle-surfing when his leash broke and had attempted to swim in through the Ghost Tree impact zone. Swim in through the Ghost Tree impact zone. It was unthinkable.

Ghost Tree functions when fast moving swells race in from deep water through undersea canyons, which channel the intense energy and then unload it over a virtual boulder field. It's almost a one-chance wave with no room for error as rescue by watercraft in the impact zone is out of the question. Towing-in is practically a prerequisite although some (read: very few) brave souls, people like Peter Davi, chance paddling in when it gets really big.
A firm belief in the big-wave surfing community is that if a surfer loses his board, he or she should be a strong enough swimmer to be able to get in under their own power to retrieve it.

Davi honored this code as it was later revealed that he refused a tow-team's ride to shore. Some time later, his body was found floating in a kelp patch. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and the beloved friend of many and the father of one, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later, as reported by the Santa Cruz Sentinel, an autopsy revealed that Davi was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of his death. Whether it was because of impaired capacity or judgment that he perished, we will never know. By definition, big-wave surfing in such extreme conditions is risky business. The ocean plays for keeps. And, with more and more surfers joining the big wave ranks, the likelihood of it "keeping" a few more continues to go up. I won't let the unsavory part of Peter's story tarnish his legacy. Ghost Tree is no playground. The guy charged. May he rest in peace. BE

The original thread here: http://santabarbarasurfer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=277

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Sweet. Do you think I can trouble you for some more pics of the last tow in swell of Ghost Tree?

[JonS]

Sweet. Do you think I can trouble you for some more pics of the last tow in swell of Ghost Tree?


It was really tough shooting conditions that day; light rain and lots of mist early, then overwhelming glare.


Chuck Patterson, Eric Akiskalian's tow partner:

http://santabarbarasurfer.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=981&stc=1&d=1231696096

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Awesome! Encore!

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Encore!!!!!! Encore meaning more pics of course.

C'mon guys, I know i'm not the only one who wants to see more pics of gnarl tree. Help me out here.

[JonS]

This is my favorite one, taken from several miles away, but at the right angle...

Btw, Ghost Tree was ridden (tow) at least a couple more times after that session.

http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/12387/MT2H4108_copy.jpg

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This is my favorite one, taken from several miles away, but at the right angle...

Btw, Ghost Tree was ridden (tow) at least a couple more times after that session.

http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/12387/MT2H4108_copy.jpg

I believe I have seen this one already, but it's sweet nonetheless.

Also, I didn't know that. I wonder if they are mabye the reason pwc's are banned there now. :confused:

[mbhalihunter]

a couple of guys have been paddling in lately.

[Cutback]

Nice.

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a couple of guys have been paddling in lately.

Right on. Which swell?

[JonS]

Wish the light had been better; getting a decent exposure was a b*tch!



http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3985.jpg

http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3542.jpg

http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3642.jpg

[JonS]

Alright, I've been reliving 12.4.2007 on my desktop.

Here are a few more for you Ghost Tree fans...

This is the Brazilian Carlos Burle (I think) in a free fall after skipping off of a couple of ramps...
http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3888.jpg

The lineup shot.
http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3457.jpg

Check out the boulders and the sub sea-level drainage...
http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3413.jpg

Mike Parsons does a longjump...
http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/MT2H3954.jpg

[mbhalihunter]

Right on. Which swell?

two weekends ago, the other big spots have been better than gt all winter. Those aren't really boulders, if they were they would have been tossed into stillwater, or at the bottom of the wall there ~90ft. They are just granite chunks, just like most of the other rock breaks around the pennisula.

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two weekends ago, the other big spots have been better than gt all winter. Those aren't really boulders, if they were they would have been tossed into stillwater, or at the bottom of the wall there ~90ft. They are just granite chunks, just like most of the other rock breaks around the pennisula.

Wow, I need to make the trek up there one of these days and try that out. I gots a new big gun I've been dying (mabye a poor choice of words) to try out. I was hoping to christen it at T's though.



Also, gnarly shots Jon!! Did Parsons eat it on that one? Pic # 3 is my favorite too.

[JonS]

Wow, I need to make the trek up there one of these days and try that out. I gots a new big gun I've been dying (mabye a poor choice of words) to try out. I was hoping to christen it at T's though.



Also, gnarly shots Jon!! Did Parsons eat it on that one? Pic # 3 is my favorite too.


Thanks!

Yeah, Parsons made it. I have a 4-shot sequence of that jump I think. That day that same launch ramp flung many a surfer into the air...