Before last year seems like a distant memory let’s step back and spend a moment to remember the near-death experiences many a surfer went through while pursuing their passion, in the gnarliest wipeouts of 2016! There’s something about watching nasty wipeouts that never really gets old, and no matter how many times you replay a clip the flinching never stops.
Surfline pulled together some of the guys who eat some serious shit over the course of last year and asked them to explain exactly how it felt. The surfers include Tyler Larronde, Albee Layer, Tom Dosland, Grant Baker, Garrett McNamara and many more, so here’s what they said…
It’s funny how surfers can recount almost dying with a smirk on their face, but at the time of those beat downs it would have been no laughing matter. Now let’s take a look at a few other huge wipeouts from last year, all of which have been entered into the running for the Wipeout of the Year Award!
Matt Rott – Maverick’s
Check out Matt Rott take off on a Maverick’s bomb during a huge November swell in California. After losing his footing he skims along the surface of the water, bouncing his way to a spot right under the lip before disappearing into the foam ball. That one had to hurt…
Tom Lowe – Nazaré
The biggest wave ever surfed was ridden at Nazaré, and British surfer Tom Lowe was going for broke when he dropped into this behemoth breaker at the famed Portuguese spot. As the board wavers beneath his feet he pulls the ejector seat and pencil dives into the face of the wave for a not-so-lucky escape…
Danny Griffiths – Shipstern Bluff
The steps of Shipstern Bluff proved too much for Danny Griffiths in June last year, and as he tried to shift up the wave he went straight through the face. Then the lip picked him up, took him over the falls, and into oblivion….
Francisco Porcella – Jaws
Here’s a clear and close up clip of Italian Francisco Porcella holding on for dear life as he tries to keep an edge in on the face of Jaws. Needless to say he wasn’t successful, and he luckily just falls over his board to clear it ahead of being pummelled by a Hawaiian beast…
Well that’s it for last year, but if you have any more clips of insane wipeouts feel free to share them in the comments below!
Featured image: Surfline via Instagram