The document discusses tow-in surfing, which involves surfers being towed by jet skis into massive waves up to 100 feet tall. It focuses on Laird Hamilton, a pioneer of big wave surfing and creator of tow-in surfing. Tow-in surfing allows surfers to catch waves they otherwise couldn't due to lack of paddling power. The document examines how tow-in surfing has pushed the limits of big wave surfing but is controversial as some see it as "cheating". It also explores how scientific research on waves has expanded due to the need to predict rogue waves for surfers' safety.

1. Cheating the
Wrath of God
By Valerie Lawler

2. Overview

3. Surfing is roughly defined as a sport that
entails riding the crest of a (large) wave by
either standing or lying on a long, narrow
streamlined board (surfboard). The Wave by
Susan Casey is more than just a surfer story.
Casey dives into the science of massive
waves and why we need to understand
them beyond big wave surfing.

4. Massive waves, some
70, 80, and even 90 feet
tall, have been jumping
out of the ocean,
sometimes with no
warning. They can destroy
everything in their path
whether it’s a 850-foot
cargo ship like the
München, a 400-foot-long,
337-foot-high oil platform
like the Ocean Ranger, or
an entire coastline of
heavily populated area
like New Orleans
(Hurricane Katrina) or an
Indonesian city like Banda
Aceh (tsunami wave).
Just how massive are
these waves, really?

5. Casey looks to Laird Hamilton as a
pioneer of big wave surfing and creator of
tow-in surfing. Surfing a big wave isn’t as
easy as riding a small wave; it requires
accelerated momentum and an entirely
new approach to catch a monster wave.
Laird Hamilton
Hamilton and friends
at Teahupoo, Tahiti.

6. Hamilton and some friends combined
concepts used in “windsurfing and
snowboarding, creating shorter, heavier
surfboards with foot straps, and thinner,
stronger fins that sliced through the water like
knives” (Casey, 2010). The surfers needed that
starting momentum, so they added a tow rope
attached to a jet ski in order to get them to the
wave (instead of paddling out). The Wave
follows Hamilton and crew while they
challenge these big waves, not to conquer
them, to become one with them.
Tow-in surfing.

7. Book Selection

8. Surfing has long been an interest of mine. To me, surfing
combines a certain silent communion with the rush of competition
against Mother Nature. This book, out of all the others, stuck out to
me because of the combination of surfing and science. Author Susan
Casey chases the big waves as well as where they come from and
how we might predict them. Prediction of massive waves isn’t only
about choice surfing, it’s also a necessity for survival in and out of
the water.

9. Critique

10. Casey does a wonderful job combining
science, surf, and sanity. It allows the reader
to see big wave surfing for the extreme sport
it is, as well as the respect it requires and
deserves from athletes and spectators.

11. It talks about how prize money became a
factor for new surfers. In 2001, a surf wear
company named Billabong, issued a prize of
$500,000 to any surfer who rode a 100-foot
wave. That prize brought out every novice
and pro who thought they could tackle a
monster. “They’re going straight to the Indy
500 as soon as they get their drivers’
licenses,” (quote from a friend and fellow
pioneer of Hamilton’s, Dave Kalama) (Casey,
2010).

12. This book reaches tow-in surfing at its
highest level while addressing issues of
competence, sponsorship, determination,
and dedication. While Casey roams the
globe with Hamilton, catching some big
waves, she absorbs the culture surrounding
surfing. Casey and The Wave immerse the
reader in all of the things that are important
to this sport.

13. Connection

14. This clip is an interview
with Laird Hamilton on the
CBS news program, 60
Minutes. The last few seconds
bring up something
interesting: cheating. Is tow-in
surfing considered cheating?
This relates to our section on
what can be considered an
unfair advantage in sports.
Does big wave surfing, which
is an extreme sport, step over
the line for surfing purists? Is
the creation of tow-in surfing
an inevitable evolution of
surfing, or for extremists only?
Laird Hamilton on 60
Minutes.

15. This book also takes a look at
the impact sponsorship has had on
this sport. As mentioned earlier,
when Billabong surf wear offered a
$500,000 purse, called The Odyssey,
for the first rider of a 100-foot wave,
other companies started showing up
for the proverbial party; they
wanted to be the name worn by the
surfer who could ride that
monstrous wave. It seems that the
more extreme the sport, the more
media attention they could garner,
which means more money.

16. Another connection to our course material ties extreme sports to
societal views of norms and deviances. Why would anyone knowingly
put themselves in harms way? Are they chasing fame, fortune, or status?
When it comes to extreme sports, the answer is a resounding “no.”
These sports are called extreme because of the dangerous nature, not for
the standard rewards a professional athlete may get. These people risk
life and limb every time they face, and challenge, Mother Nature. What
creates a human willing to stare down the barrel of a water giant,
standing only on a board, balancing between calm and panic, yet feel
nothing short of the communion of peace and exhilaration? The culture
connected for these surfers is more about what can be accomplished and
celebrated, than it is about being a social lunatic.

17. Impact

18. The interesting aspect of tow-in surfing is the scientific
research that has continued to develop around, because of,
and for it. This research has a direct link to maritime research
which will enable ships to navigate in safer waters and allow
for oil rigs to be structured in new ways. The ramifications of
the satellites and science could be pivotal when attempting to
predict rogue, monster waves – beyond the surf world. The
additional funding surrounding this type of wave prediction
has also been important with more global impacts. Warmer
water, melting glaciers, and 100-foot waves all mesh in a
collision of epic proportions, forcing the world to better
understand the words “global warming.”

19. The Quest Continues…
Garrett McNamara
riding an estimated
90-foot-tall wave.

20. Citations

21. Billabong. (Photographer). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://top.freewallpaper- s.net/rwx/billabong_7.JPG
Casey, S. (2010). The wave. New York: Doubleday Publishing Group.
danielknn. (Photographer). (2006, October 07). Laird Hamilton Surfing Teahupoo [P Photo]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfPYVYc0U3M
Divine, J. (Photographer). Peak [Web Photo]. Retrieved from
http://ffffound.com/image/9eb16fbbcff26f63234fb7347452ad6cc06a1c36
Divine, J. (Photographer). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.samys.com/g/divine_friedkin2011/2649.html
Flindt, J. (Photographer). (2011, May 25). Hawaii [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.theinertia.com/surf/portfolio-jeff-
flindt/
forokiters. (Photographer). (2006, June 06). Tow-In Surfing [Web Video]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=LhKFTqxn6qs
Hornbaker, J. (Photographer). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jeff hornbaker
Laird hamilton: Tow-in surfing[Web Video]. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=497
lilkid101. (Photographer). (2011, November 11). OMG Largest Wave Ever surfed (OFFICIAL) [Web Video]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHnHIUugClw
McKenna, T. (Photographer). (2012, December 21). Phil Kelly Training & Blogging [Web Photo]. Retrieved from
http://philkellytraining.blogspot.com/

22. Ocean Wave 1 [Audio File]. Retrieved from http://www.soundjay.com/nature-sound 3.html
Russi, J. (Photographer). Flying Through the Clouds [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://wearelookingsideways.com/surf/flying-
through-the-clouds-the-photogra of-jim-russi/
Smith, N. (Photographer). Retrieved from http://www.natesmithphoto.com/surfing/action/
Smith, N. (Photographer). Retrieved from http://www.natesmithphoto.com/surfing/ocean/
Smith. N. (Photographer). Retrieved from http://www.natesmithphoto.com/rememberfilm/
Surfchannel. (Producer). (2012, November 07). Storm Surfers-How Heavy is a Big Wave? [Print Photo]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9- CaewvynA&list=UUSZy7dboa_o9X8itlpQx7yw&index=59