Today was a day that will go down in history.
I've been surfing for you know over 30 years now, 33 years old and uh I can count on one hand how
many days I've seen like that it's uh it's just it's when everything comes together. You got a
good crew, you got a good vibe, good environment, you're in one of the most beautiful places
in the world and the swell over delivers. The conditions are better than you could ever
dream of. Everything outdid all expectations and in surfing strike missions traveling
around the world chasing that it's it's so far in between how many days you get like this in
a lifetime of Surfing I've traveled every coast, every ocean around the world and today was a day
that I'll I will never forget seeing some of my best friends you know CT Surfers, Qs Surfers,
free surfers, Hawaii surfers, Africa, Australia, every one of those guys got the best wave of
their life. And if that doesn't tell you enough, I don't know what does. Check out
the footage and chase the swell !! the yeah one of the great days mate so stoked to be
part of it and like for you you've been everywhere, you've seen it all? ''Seen it all, i had two incredible
years chasing waves around the world and that was just like, I mean I've been a part a lot of big
wave sessions and bigger sessions for sure where there was bigger heavier waves and maybe the
rides of the ever went down, but to me that was the level of surfers out, the conditions and the
size of the swell which came in over forecasted, was just condensed to make a session that was
just guaranteed to be historical. Every single person that entered the water and rode a wave
got pretty much one of the waves of their life. And you just don't see it usually one guy gets
the wave of the day but it was this wave of the day, after wave of the day, after wave of the day
like, and blue bright, light offshore, 18 to 20 foot barrels. I just mind everyone who spoke, said this
is mind-blowing! It's one of those. I got the best waves I've ever had this trip for sure. I've ridden
some crazy big waves here. So this is would be my third XL swell here. Each one I got a wave
that was special because the swells are unique but today was the cleanest and bluest visions for
sure.'' ''Like we know that Cloudbreak can provide a quality way but did you ever expect it to be as
good as it was''? ''Um, I dreamed of it being that good, I expected it, you hope it's that good, you
never expect it to be that good, you just hope one day you'll be a part of a session that maybe
off chance does it, right, session like those days like Kohl rode his wave and Bruce got the wave and
Nate got the wave like, that today felt like one of those, where it was just like you just got to
appreciate how lucky you are to be a part of one of those days''. ''Does that go down your your history
books, is one of the great days of us surfing any wave paddling into perfect bombs''? ''Oh for sure, I mean
that was the best day, best day of all our lives. I think we've never seen a day like that anywhere in
the world.'' ''And just seem to get better and better he like yeah, yeah just like was so insane in the
morning and then the conditions just got cleaner and cleaner and we're like, every like hour we were
saying how could it get any better than this and it just kept getting better, and tide dropped and
yeah it just got insane, and we got the waves of our lives, and never seen barrels that big or been
in barrels that big''. ''And licking? too just like crazy, shaking and like emotional feelings coming out
of those things, so yeah, unbelievable''. ''Just I kind of couldn't believe what I was seeing honestly, it
was so big, so clean, and there wasn't that many I mean guys out, like we were all it was a really
kind of nice, casual lineup, everybody was kind of taking turns, and seemed like everybody got a
couple really good rides, and I was thinking today after, like I so many guys must have got the wave
of their life today, just because it was that kind of day. So, so special to be a part of it. I was just
grateful to be here and so stoked to be staying at Tavarua''. ''And what was some of the highlights, did you
see Benji's wave''? ''Yeah, Benji, I mean which one? Benji got so many crazy waves it felt like. Benji's wave,
I thought um Nathan Florence's wave, Soli Bailey Billy Kemper, I mean Jai Glinderman. Like everybody, I like I
said I thought everybody out there felt like they at least got one incredible ride so, yeah it was
just special day to be a part of kind of just one of those pinch me days as a surfer and yeah''.
''You any messages from ya friends elsewhere in the world''? ''you know yeah a couple friends and family
from home just checking in to make sure we made. It we were uh, it was a big swell. Like that was
for me the biggest waves that I ever surfed in um the first time that I've ever really surfed the
outside ledge, doing its thing. So, it was a great chance you know to just learn and that was kind of
my mentality going out I was just going to watch and see if I could pick and choose the right wave
and it was just so there's so many, so yeah it was fun''. ''Describe one of those drops and then down the
line you know is there anything that remember''? '' know you clearly remember?'' ''Yeah, like my one kind
of bigger one, um that I got, I had a pretty steep late drop and I was just, I don't know I was just
trying to pull myself up so much, and I was paddling in and a couple guys gave me a yell, a little
extra, little extra effort came out so. Yeah it was just crazy, it was such crazy commitment off
the takeoff but then that's just when it starts. It just starts running and running down the
line. And kind of felt like a pipeline point in a way, you were just pointing shooting in these
just giant giant tubes. And it was kind of almost like, kind of hard to comprehend how big it was.
Coz, the barrels, it was just I don't know it's hard to tell and when i'd get to the channel, I'd
look back and just be like, what the [ __ ] this is like craziest thing I've ever seen so. Yeah, I
mean so many good waves, so many good moments. So many just [ __ ] waves of a lifetime, it was
pretty, pretty.'' ''Oh, I mean I definitely don't even put myself in the realm of big wave
surfers compared to what Billy and Nathan and these guys do for a living you know but uh I've
always kind of wanted to step it up and get some bigger waves and Cloudbreak's been always one of
my favourite waves in the whole world and Parker and I've dreamed of having a session out there on
the outside ledge, since we were coming here when we were kids, so to see it do it thing and be here
with like such a rad crew and just the conditions. I mean that might be the best day of waves I've
ever seen my whole life'', ''Yeah, they don't come all the time let me tell you. After a few years of
shooting. Um ,so what were some of the things you remember that blew blew your mind? I mean there
there any standout moments that went [ __ ] that was''? ''Oh there's so many, like literally I just
got to the boat afterwards my mind just felt melted from playing everyone's waves in my head
but um freaking I mean just to see Parker like taking off on a huge huge wave at Cloudbreak, um
was crazy like watching him and just being like, Oh my God, I hope he makes it. It's so nuts and I
was like right there for both of his drops kind of like paddling out up the face, so that was super
special, and then to like hear everyone cheering in the uh in the channel, when he made it, was so sick
and then Benji's wave, was absolutely insane like I didn't see the whole wave in real life and then
Billy's wipeout, I was like paddling up the face just watching him fly through the air, uh freaking,
I don't know there's so many moments Nathan's wave was insane, Soli's like, pretty much everyone
out there just got some incredible waves, uh and you know, if not the best waves of our lives. So it,
was so special. It's just felt surreal being out there and so stoked to be here and be a part of it.''
''Were you surprised on how good it actually was? What were you expecting''? ''It's funny yeah like, I I just kind
of had this weird gut feeling about this swell. I was like I think we should should be there for it
and everyone was it's always so hard to know like I've been here so many times when it's like oh
there's a swell coming, it doesn't quite happen or sometimes though it's like, oh there's not really
surf forecasted and it's four feet at Cloudbreak and it's raining, so um, yeah I was just like kind
of had this weird feeling and I was talking with Benji and Parker and obviously Kaeo and and Dylan
Fish, like I've known them forever and they were like [ __ ] it looks pretty good. But I kind of
just had this feeling it was going to be really good so I'm so stoked that, that gut feeling
was right and I mean I think that swell way how it out performed and just everything came together the
low tide in the morning. the super clean conditions it was insane''! ''It just improved all through
the morning. Ay, it just seemed to get better and better or was hard to tell it was raw
a bit, in the morning''? ''Yeah, high tide and then as soon as that tide went out a little bit and
it just like got the wind just like groomed up a little bit it, just went like mechanical it was
psycho. Craziest waves I've ever seen in real life. I mean, I've seen huge waves waves at Chopes, like
get towed into, but just to like how perfect it was and we were all just paddling, and like you
know to be able to paddle into those waves and like, most waves were getting ridden, like once
everyone kind of got, got like in a groove, like that was just insane to see.'' ''Yeah, it was pretty,
I think it exceeded all the expectations was pretty cool, which is actually rare these days
in my opinion we always expect this like crazy thing from crazy numbers and this one had small
numbers and way over performed. Um it was epic. You know, it was like cleanest can be, um little slow
at times but when they came they're just insane. There's flurries that went off and that was so
sick.'''Started, started like pretty raw I thought and it was quite big and coming from like that kind
of early morning Cloudbreak and then it settled down with the tide dropping on it? ''It totally, yeah kind of
had like a little lump on, it we stepped off on a couple waves in the early thing, early first thing
in the morning with the before everybody got out on the boats and you could just feel like the kind
of lump and the fresh incoming swell real quick and then it within an hour it was like buttery
and killer so, and the wind even backed off more and more and more throughout the whole day and it
just waves just got better and people were just hucking it and getting crazy waves. It was pretty
sick. The crowd wasn't crazy, which is nice and um I'm sure the next time it does that, it be a lot
more crowded. But uh I, it was cool everybody was kind of like, whoever, the waves kind of were kind
of choosing people today, and um some people came out with the waves of their life and some people
got slapped by Cloudbreak and i got a few and you know, every, everybody had a different session.'' ''Yeah,
I mean it it definitely wasn't as big and crazy as some of the some of the big swells that like the
Volcom swell and there's been some really big giant swells that I've been here for that are definitely
much more like substantial to me but today it was just like dreamy you know it was like it was a
mellow crew and insane big barrels and I mean it's always historic in your mind if you're here for
that and it's rad you know.'' ''Well, that's it. I can't, It's been an incredible couple of months, there's
been so many exciting swells to chase and and they've been really good, but this one certainly
tops it. I mean NAZARE was huge and crazy but this was the most perfect Swell chase I've ever been
on and when you' got guys like Nathan Florence and Billy Kemper, raving about one of the greatest
swell chasers ever, you you know you've done something really special, it was historic, I loved
every moment of it. Hope you like the video. If you did like it, leave a comment and please
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And we'll see you, as I always say, on the next Swell Chase..
