Duffy is right--it isn't the size but how it breaks, and more importantly what is beneath.
I would have no problem being towed into whatever at Cortes, because the landing is soft, as is the pounding--you might get held under by the size, but you aren't going to be pinned. And unless you tumble from the top...well never been there. And if you are comfortable in the water, you can survive being held under, unless you are pinned or KOA by hitting something. That being said...80'...FM.
Laird once did a wave at Tea' that was almost what Duffy posted---apparently he was jacked for days. There is zero margin for error there. Closed out at Cloudbreak/Tea' at 3-4' is more dangerous than double at most spots--when you are dropping in & all you see is reef the pucker factor is huge.
And Duffy is 10x a better surfer than I am. And I've never seen him surf.....but there is a huge difference between daily & available. I simply have had the privilege of (up until recently) a lifetime on the water or the means to access it, easily (tow) for the big stuff. B/C I was stupid & comfortable & paddled out in a CA El Nino when it was big & I was young/fit, isn't the same as dropping in anywhere where it takes real skill.
FWIW, my reference point for fear is on a boogie board at the Wedge going over the falls when it was big. 20+' to sand and no way out hurt way more than any pounding/scrape I've ever had surfing.
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"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers
I would have no problem being towed into whatever at Cortes, because the landing is soft, as is the pounding--you might get held under by the size, but you aren't going to be pinned. And unless you tumble from the top...well never been there. And if you are comfortable in the water, you can survive being held under, unless you are pinned or KOA by hitting something. That being said...80'...FM.
Laird once did a wave at Tea' that was almost what Duffy posted---apparently he was jacked for days. There is zero margin for error there. Closed out at Cloudbreak/Tea' at 3-4' is more dangerous than double at most spots--when you are dropping in & all you see is reef the pucker factor is huge.
And Duffy is 10x a better surfer than I am. And I've never seen him surf.....but there is a huge difference between daily & available. I simply have had the privilege of (up until recently) a lifetime on the water or the means to access it, easily (tow) for the big stuff. B/C I was stupid & comfortable & paddled out in a CA El Nino when it was big & I was young/fit, isn't the same as dropping in anywhere where it takes real skill.
FWIW, my reference point for fear is on a boogie board at the Wedge going over the falls when it was big. 20+' to sand and no way out hurt way more than any pounding/scrape I've ever had surfing.
____________
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers