Judging Giants

By Dave Schauber .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

A truly sick view of the lineup at Killer’s!

The Todos Santos Big Wave Event

I awoke to the unmistakable smell of coffee creeping into my room from the lobby of the Hotel El Coral where I was staying while judging the prestigious Todos Big Wave Event. I watched from above almost laughing to myself as camera men were scrambling with their gear, media types were banging away nervously at their laptops, and the surfers were going over every last detail assuring they were fully prepared. Deep inside they all shared one unanimous feeling of uneasiness because in each of their respective ways, today was going to be filled with dangerous twists and turns. Boats and PWC’s would be adrift in the channel performing rescues, trying to get the photo, or just getting the best position to witness history as the world’s best big wave surfers put their lives on the line.

After a while I had to get my own self ready to do work, and prepared my waterproof bag for the boat ride out. While everyone else involved with the contest would be watching from the channel, the judges would be scoring from the comfort of the island, that is—once we actually got on dry land.

This would be easier said than done, however, as 4 judges, the spotter, a tabulator, and 3 camera men would have transform into watered down versions of Navy Seals to pull it off. With our wetsuits on we transferred from our support boat to awaiting rescue skis that would carry us into a surging high tide shore break and drop us off for a short swim to the beach. I went first having made a lot of beach landings out at the Channel Islands; this was going to be a fairly easy process. I timed my jump off just right, and made my way up the slippery stairs to the cliff’s edge. One by one, most everyone made it up, with only a couple people getting caught in minor surges, but all escaping unscathed. We clambered out of our suits and into our dry gear as we were all amping to get our first view of the “Killer’s” lineup.

After about a half a mile hike we reached our judging area, and could easily see that the swell was 18 to 20 feet, with a few bigger sets. A few guys were getting donuts taking heavy wipe outs and breaking boards before things even started. It was by far the raddest place I have ever judged an event, and the contest went off the entire day. When the final hooter blew I took advantage of the low tide and climbed down the cliff to the rocky shore below. I saw a nice Stretch quad that had gotten away from Garrett McNamara, and I wanted to recover it. After a successful scavenging mission I carried my gear and the board back to the staging area, suited up, and prepared for the commando mission boat ride back to the hotel harbor to enjoy a night of festivities.

At the awards ceremony the beers flowed and everyone was all smiles. Everyone who attended this historic event couldn’t help but feel as though they had been part of something very special, and personally, I couldn’t have agreed more. What a Life!

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