Post by Taildragger on Apr 28, 2024 12:07:45 GMT -5
This "surf break" in Brazil is called Itacoatiara. It qualifies as what is commonly referred to among surfers these days as "a slab". The wave comes out of deep water an hits an extremely shallow, rock shelf, just in front of an exposed, rock shoreline: no sand. The wave pitches forward, thick and violent, often warbled by backwash and rebound off the nearby rocks. Just getting nailed by the lip of the wave in such shallow, rock-bottomed water is dangerous enough, but if (as happened to this guy) you thereafter get swept closer to the rocks, you wind up trapped in a tiny, cove-like area filled with powerful, chaotic currents, from which unassisted escape is extremely difficult. And, because subsequent waves continue to pour into the area unabated, you are in severe danger of being thrown onto the rocks:
The wave is a total mutant: only marginally "ride-able" (capable of being ridden to an orderly exit by the rider). The percentage of wipeouts is high:
One of the few waves that comes to mind which is more radically affected by lateral rebound occurs at Sandspit, near Santa Barbara, CA: