Body Surfers at "The Wedge" on 6-7-2013 10 to 15 ft+ Waves, Newport Beach, CA

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for Body Surfers at "The Wedge" on 6-7-2013 10 to 15 ft+ Waves, Newport Beach, CA

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Helcio Brasileiro - 6 years ago

impressionante.

pboxelement - 6 years ago

beautiful thanks

Barbara Young - 6 years ago

Yeah, These are great body slammers. I use to body surf the wedge back in the late 1970s, but these giant shorebreakers can be tough - even deadly.

Wayne Fay - 7 years ago

shit waves, no real rides
who would bother?
i'm gonna go finish the dishes....

clarkewi - 7 years ago

In the old days when only lifeguards surfed, Like Tom Blake and Sam Reid, the ultimate was body surfing. Board surfing was only for training.

Dave Munnell - 7 years ago

A lot of sand in those waves. Must be pretty shallow.

Samuel Cernuto - 7 years ago

2 to 3 feet shore break. Very dangerous.

MatteWolf - 7 years ago

black ball means no boards whatsoever

Pancho Villa - 7 years ago

looks like fun, but you have to be a little crazy to do it though.

Jeff Bruce - 7 years ago

i forgot to say two things~~~bad spelling (Wedge), and after i crawled out of the suds, i found meself shakin hands with the "duke"~~~ (owned a house just beyobd the walk)~~~tis my claim to fame for wuds and celeb~~~~LOL

10. comment for Body Surfers at "The Wedge" on 6-7-2013 10 to 15 ft+ Waves, Newport Beach, CA

Jeff Bruce - 7 years ago

the 'Wege" was a two--time playground for me~~~double-spiral iron cross and learned a good lessen~~~if yer in tons of power from 15+ feet, tuck yer head to belly on yer last roll, eh~~other that, tis a neck breaker with only sand and i bit'o'water for a landing~~~advice if you like~~~be with the croud, but ride the backer from the monster~~i say you'll get much more enjoyment from hagin there for a longer day

Alice Dalmeijer-Bender - 8 years ago

Why is it called the wedge? Because the shore line and the jetty forced the wave into a triangle or wedge shape.

Alice Dalmeijer-Bender - 8 years ago

My brother and I bodysurfed the Wedge almost everyday back in the early 70's. When there were only about 5-6 guys in the water and 80-90 on the beach watching with camera's. Try it at low tide. Don't know why my wives name is on this post.

john zimmerman - 8 years ago

Finally at 6:30 a nice, "comfortable" ride.

fnog9 - 8 years ago

1:45 omg that water is shallow. that was becoming a sand wave.

fnog9 - 8 years ago

why even bother? it looks like most of them are failing to surf, and just getting clobberred. i have concluded that the best body surfing waves are smaller ones. 3-6 feet maybe.

FishOutofWater00 - 6 years ago

It's not the size of the wave. It's the shape of the wave and the skill of the rider. Those waves are all drop. Get down fast or die of a broken neck in 2 feet of water. No taking away from the balls of those crazy BSers but those are short rides on near close out waves.

Matt Berry - 8 years ago

where is all the surfers at?

b.b. bashaw - 9 years ago

I am an old "Wedgehead" from along time ago, we body whomped at the "Bitch" from the late 1950's up into the 1990's and in those days their was no one capable of board surfing that wave, simply because the board designs did not allow it. Although there were occasionally some that came along, after the advent of the short boards and figured it out. But there was a whole lot of pissed off body-whompers and more than a few "lumpy" board surfers with knots all up on their heads for bringing a board and not bringing their manners or common sense. I don't ever recall any "Locals Only" bullshit back then. We were all nuts to go-out whompin there in the first place, and that was a Brotherhood in it own self.... and a lot of us just wore a pair of levis ( not shorts) as our wet suit......no shit!

Will Forster - 9 years ago

Awesome video, I've been doing the same in Costa Rica!! You can't beat warm water and blue skies!

Samuel Cernuto - 9 years ago

Good for you Will. Stay safe.

Duncan Wallace - 9 years ago

I love bodysurfing but that looks brutal! I mean they've got guts to catch such big waves but I'd be worried about hitting the sand and injuring by back. How shallow is it?

Alice Dalmeijer-Bender - 8 years ago

+Duncan Wallace It is not deep, with the backwash you would see sand underneath you. If you did not dive under the wave before the backwash you were suspended in mid air with that wave crashing down on top of you. I missed a few times and ended up on the beach a few feet from all the watchers. Don't know why my wive's name keeps showing up.

Duncan Wallace - 8 years ago

+Tony Newton Nice! If its deep then that makes me a lot less nervous when watching the video! Have you seen the body surfing movie "Come Hell or High Water"?

Tony Newton - 8 years ago

+Duncan Wallace ...grew up here. on bigger days like this, it's much deeper. I have never hit the bottom hard (it's all sand mind you) on a macker. I have never felt like the bottom was the issue. Taking one hard on the head and feeling like you can't get back to air has always been the bigger fear. just my opinion of course.

illmatk - 8 years ago

+Duncan Wallace Most riders here have the sense/ability to duck out before they endure the mass force of the wave.... that being said my father as a kid once witnessed a guy break his neck from hitting the shore break so it's nothing to take lightly

Duncan Wallace - 9 years ago

+Samuel Cernuto Wow, that's shallow. I agree, I've body surfed all my life but I wouldn't go near that. Local knowledge would be a must.

Samuel Cernuto - 9 years ago

The waves break in 3 to 4 feet of water. You have to know what you are doing in this place... and that only comes from a lot of experience. the body surfers you see in the video are very familiar with the break when it gets big. Lifeguard can tell if a novice is attempting to ride these waves and if they feel you could get in trouble, you are not allowed to body surf. Granted it only gets this big a few times a year, but when it does it's amazing.

20. comment for Body Surfers at "The Wedge" on 6-7-2013 10 to 15 ft+ Waves, Newport Beach, CA

CupojoePro - 9 years ago

looks fun

Santiago M - 9 years ago

What I want to know fro someone more experienced is how to not get your testicles bumped with the surface of the water. It happens only on fast and large waves 10 ft +.

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

Santiago M - double speedo? Wetsuitz? Still gonna happen...

Try to lay more on your side (hollower waves) in your lay-out. Or your back and shoulders.

Iron Crotch Chi Gung.

Wes Anderson - 9 years ago

Any kinda board should never be allowed in at this place....The Wedge is so extraordinarily mean that a board turns into a helicopter blade while underwater.....Danger to anyone around....Get clipped here & it might be Your last ride....Back in The Day no boards were allowed....body Surfing here is a no nonsense kinda thing..l.serious fun....

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

Wes Anderson - Gimmee a few Kneeboard waves - when itz firing. Or you deserve any lumpz you get while - "in the way".

Frankly - it rarely looks fun enough for me to want ANY. Bodysurf versus other options should be left to the good judgment of those who enter the water.

Is Mavericks any less dangerous? No. But, at least I don't generally have to get STATE approval (or at least acknowledgement) before claiming whatz MINE, in the fashion of my choosing - while in that locale.

NoOodles - 9 years ago

awesome waves i really want to go to the wedge

toby blake - 9 years ago

Wow! What a place the Wedge is. I surfed S. Cal in the 50s and 60s and graduated to the Wedge. Biggest wave I ever caught was 12 foot, I got it right at the tip of the wedge and went over-the-falls, and when I looked down, there was this face looking up at me-I missed him, but only by luck. If we'd crashed head to head it would'a been 'Brain soup' at the Wedge that day.

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

how is it that there are no surfers in the water competing with the body surfers?

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

Greg Dahlen - You trollin'?

It'z a political issue. Check the movie "Dirty Old Wedge" - it tells much of the story. Often quite well.
May (?3)1st to October 10AM-5PM is Balled.

The word has a fraternal significance. It is also a regime followed at many more crowded beaches in the SoCal Summer. Most BlackBall allows Boogies - Wedge is unique in that respect - to my knowledge.

Boomers, near La Jolla Cove, has a similar stricture against Floatation devices - but 24/7/365.

On O'ahu - Point Panic is similarly zoned. Where, if you like surf Sandy's...we like laugh. Pipeline is according to Terry Ahue - "Blackball'D wit BLACKSHORTZ". So apparently there are other wayz.

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

+b.b. bashaw sounds like you're a body surfer?

b.b. bashaw - 9 years ago

their are no surfers in the water competing with the body surfers because the body surfers Bar-B-Q' them and had them for lunch.....not bad if you have good beer to wash e'm down with............................ But remember .. never swim on a full stomach...............................but the Wedge will take care of a little stomach problems too.

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

+Samuel Cernuto do you live near here, Samuel, is that why you film it?

Samuel Cernuto - 9 years ago

+Greg Dahlen Not sure why they didn't allow boards and boogies back then. I don't believe they had the right equipment. Short boards were not invented till much later. Even fins, which were scuba dive equipment, in those days were cumbersome. Thanks to the designers, these waves can now be conquered. The consequence of injury attempting these waves will never go away. I've seen a lot of injuries come out of this break. Not for the novice.

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

+Samuel Cernuto do you know how they decided in the '60's that only body surfers would be allowed? Wouldn't surfers and boogies want a shot at those waves?

Samuel Cernuto - 9 years ago

+Greg Dahlen The day this video was shot there were 4 lifeguards on duty. The area involved is maybe 100 yards where the break takes place. Assumed that the guards were telling surfers what could be in the surf. Early morning the surfboards and boogie boards were allowed. Body surfers for certain hours then back to surfboards later in the day. Next time the Wedge breaks I will pay attention to the flags. When I use to body surf this place in the 60's, the crowds were as big with only 1 lifeguard and maybe 15 body surfers. Surfboards and boogies were not allowed at any time.

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

+Samuel Cernuto how did you think they told people it was now the time that only bodysurfers can go in?

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

+TheSoCalSurfer69 and that means only body surfers can go in? Kind of funny, can't see the connection between the picture, a black ball on a yellow background, and only bodysurfers, you might think they would fly a flag with a bodysurfer drawing on it.

Samuel Cernuto - 9 years ago

+TheSoCalSurfer69 Thanks for that info Greg. Was not aware of that even though I've shot video there.

SmileSurferStyle - 9 years ago

+Greg Dahlen....it's a flag that the lifeguards fly from their tower. It's yellow with a black ball in the center.

Greg Dahlen - 9 years ago

+Izzy Jorgensen what does "black ball" mean?

Izzy Jorgensen - 9 years ago

black ball

Samuel Cernuto - 9 years ago

Hi Greg,
At certain times of the day only body surfers are allowed to body surf this spot called the Wedge. They do have times for the surfers and they are many videos showing the surfers and bodyboarders.
Thanks for watching,
Sam.

Rick Narveson - 9 years ago

Thanks Samuel! I lived for south swells at the Wedge from 87 thru 90. You brought back epic memories.

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

Rick Narveson - Those were good times - had by all...

margaret smith - 10 years ago

But the waves are pretty large

Meril Jean - 10 years ago

i body surfed all up and down the coast in the 50's and 60's--including the wedge (almost died a couple of times), thought I'd die of joy when I made it. Moved to Colorado for twenty years. Got off the plane and hit high tide in Santa Monica. Thought I'd gotten so lame 'cause I just wasn't handling 'em like before. Went up to the house and they told me there'd been a hurricane or something in Haw, and there'd been red flags out because it was crashing our shore. Felt better. And, yeah, peak to sand!

vanmelum - 10 years ago

Every now and then...these waves open up and go all the way to the sand. Peak to sand. That's what you are looking for. You can't catch that wave unless you take off. We're all searching for that one PERFECT wave.

30. comment for Body Surfers at "The Wedge" on 6-7-2013 10 to 15 ft+ Waves, Newport Beach, CA

Nick von Wiesenberger - 10 years ago

i'm guessing that wave was a last minute commitment? Looked like a trashing good time :P

Timothy Butler - 10 years ago

I miss "The Wedge", I use to live in Orange County and body surf from Seal Beach to Newport. Now I live in Colorado.

Aubrey Miller - 10 years ago

in the sixties we would measure the height by the tower at the end of the jetty. if the peak was as high as the top of the tower it was full '22' feet, but this wave is a brain jolter at 8'. cudo's to all body wompers.

Richard - 10 years ago

They'll all have sand in their ears for the next decade.

alexis calderon - 10 years ago

Don't like surfing

Bethy Robinson - 10 years ago

Huge green wall:-)

dave lehi - 10 years ago

Body surfing is usually done close to shore because you have to tread water the entire time. The break is faster so its easier to catch. If its out further the paddle is much longer and therefore nearly impossible to catch without a board. Either way you're gunna get wrecked while body surfing. But trust me, those few seconds of adrenaline are ALWAYS WORTH IT. North swell in Hawaii today!!

DasBeast22 - 10 years ago

Can some one answer my question. Why bodysurf these waves? There huge but break very late? This seems dangerous as fuuuu. When I heard of the Wedge for body surfing I figured it would be farther out to allow tumbling after getting wrecked? Any ideas? It still probably fun as hell though

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

DasBeast22 - Catch'em early - hang high til you shouldn't grab sand, and pull out through the bottom of the tube and back.

@ 8'-9' Hawaiian, or lower tides with more S - SE swells it starts to offer more shape. Even "easy" roll-ins. Full freights can have great shape. But the speed and unrelenting nature make them the 'unridden realm' for most Bodysurfers. Not all tho'.

vitinhofaria22bm - 10 years ago

too much zoom!!!!!

Abraham Contreras - 10 years ago

Newport Beach

Tom S Matheson - 10 years ago

Surfs Up.

SVTsupercharged - 10 years ago

This isn't Hawaii TARD

Contra_For_Life - 10 years ago

ummmm, hell no that is accuarate they have hade 35ft waves bitch i am a junior lifeguard there and sprint to there, it is 6ft surf on lowest average

rlunny057 - 10 years ago

you're right. I grew up in so cal and when calling surf report and them reporting 4-6 foot waves we think 5-8 foot faces. at least I did and was usually pretty accurate. I body boarded and body surfed Aliso Creek (when the pier was still there) which was a similar break as The Wedge but I liked it more. something about the break and the ride.... nothing like it.

rlunny057 - 10 years ago

you're right. there were some 15 foot faces on probably 8-10's.

Greg S - 10 years ago

If you've ever been to the wedge in Newport beach, you would know that normal wave measurements are useless and don't apply. The backwash at the wedge comes so fast that the bottom drops out of the waves and they double up, causing an 8 foot wave to instantly become a 15 foot wave. I listen to people argue all day about the size of the waves here. Neither side is ever completely wrong or completely correct.

kingsbreed - 10 years ago

in hawaii we measure the waves from the back, in cali you guys measure the face yeah? so maybe those were 15 foot face. most of the waves this guy caught in this video are kinda ugly breaks. blown out. i think the best drop was at 3:08. cleanest break best drop. good fun.

JRussStuff - 10 years ago

15 foot faces guysss

vanmelum - 10 years ago

Cool story Hansel.

riverjetties - 10 years ago

cool video but definitely not a 15' wave

50. comment for Body Surfers at "The Wedge" on 6-7-2013 10 to 15 ft+ Waves, Newport Beach, CA

ditimely - 10 years ago

I could watch this all day. Somebody should piece together all the good videos of the Wedge into a 10 hour segment. I would be glued to it.

CrayEditz - 10 years ago

These waves are freaking dangerous

KAI LACEY - 10 years ago

Those waves are awesome

subasurf - 10 years ago

Definitely not 15 foot waves. You're measuring the wave incorrectly.

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

subasurf. - there was a sub- freight size set. maybe 7'-8' (back) - so 15' face (trough to crest standing up at its peak) isn't far off.

Jahkgdm - 10 years ago

I love bodysurfing so don't get me wrong . But not one in & out barrel. Seems like a waste. They need to dump that wussy blackball flag and go back to the way it was!!

Jahkgdm - 10 years ago

So boring when blackballs up . No floatation device!! Hi ya!!

Another WorldView Is Possible - 6 years ago

Jahkgdm - what board you wanna ride when the wind and tide are up? It isn't as bad as you think. If itz firing...sometimes shit slipz by. Bumbry goes out and the lifeguard gets called away. That sort of thing.

Jennifer Miller - 10 years ago

Love the ocean, lived in Jacksonville most of my life. I don't surf, got a spinal injury in a fall from a horse when I was younger. But how do these guys not get injured? They have to be scraped from top to bottom. This takes guts.

soopa mann - 10 years ago

This is not 10' to 15' right..?

TheGroynoodle - 10 years ago

Two ways to measure..back of the wave or the ride-able face. The face sure is 10 to 15' but the back is only 6-8'. It is a long debate but if a spot is 3'in the back but 20' in the front how can we call it a 3' swell? The"swell" is a mariners term affecting boats and small watercraft, remember Surf swell prediction is still in its infancy causing debate over terms and how to call a swell. Either way it looks fucking big to me .

johnnyjm36 - 10 years ago

This is not even close to 20+.....I grew up bodyboarding this place with guys like barba and scott carter, trust me this is double overhead (still not for the inexperienced though, chiropractors make a living off this place)

1980WestSt - 10 years ago

I know the size of the surf is not the point but it was huge, regardless. To call them 20' plus is stretching it though IMO. Some of the much smaller waves looked a good 6' . I'd rate the day at about a solid 8-12' which is big on my 'scale'. Those body surfers must be so talented not to get seriously hurt on any wave at that place. It looks to me like a certain spinal injury every time they take off. Absolutely incredible. Balls of steel. *****

Brenden Kaaikala - 10 years ago

The back wash causes that little jump before each break and you need to take the auto fix off of this video it distorts the waves big time.

vanmelum - 10 years ago

Well if it makes anyone feel any better, I'm the guy on that first wave and that wave was about 15 feet. I'm 6'5". The point isn't the size though, it's that it was big and super fun. Also, the video is slightly distorted...the waves were slightly bigger than this video is making it seem.

caliindica - 10 years ago

Its the jetty guys not underwater hill..the wave reflects off then doubles up..

cfactorstout - 10 years ago

Cool Video!

Troll Masters - 10 years ago

Did you watch the whole video? Toward the end a much larger set comes through, plus Hawaiians will say its always smaller than what a Non Hawaiian would say. Wave it is too subjective anyway, if its 6-8 ft in your eyes, ok then...

1booyaka1 - 10 years ago

How did you get to that calculation? 6 to 8 backs or faces?

Kevin Pham - 10 years ago

congratulation you're wrong!

Adam Markowitz - 10 years ago

looks about 6-8 ft maybe...

snapsalot - 10 years ago

yea when it slams you into the sand it sure does lol

Daniel - 10 years ago

after living on the beach for 14 years i was there at the wedge on the 8 and was in the 10-12 footers, let me tell you it takes your breath away.

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