I actually read an interview with someone who had, quite by accident, surfed a tsunami. I think it was off the coast of somewhere in Peru. He was already way out, surfing, and suddenly the water started pulling out---and took him with it. He figured the only way to get into shore again was ride it, but it was a churning mess. Interviewer asked if he'd do it again and his response was "What, are you crazy?."
My feeling is that prior to the Indonesia tsunami last year, there could be some sympathy for a surfer who foolishly thought he/she'd be getting the "ride of their lives." But with all the video that was taken of that tsunami, there's no excuse anymore for not knowing what one is getting into.
There actually *was* at least one video, at Koh Lanta, which showed a theoretically surfable tsunami wave: it had a face, wasn't more than 20 feet high, and didn't have follow-up waves right behind it. Problem is, the form the wave will take is so dependent on the local offsea geography that there's no way of knowing with any certainty what's going to show up until it actually does arrive. "And by then, of course, it's too late."
My other question on the sanity of the idea is, even if the surfer does get a rideable wave & surfs it in, then what? In most of the videos, the wave doesn't recede; there's follow-up waves at least as large as the initial wave right behind it, lots of debris in the water, etc: as you say, a churning mess. It reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from "Pirates of the Caribbean", after Elizabeth stabs Barbossa with a dinner knife:
[Barbossa pulls the bloody dagger from his chest] Barbossa: I'm curious. After killing me what is it you're planning on doing next?
Anyone actually serious about doing this, and not just blathering bravado (or alcohol), should probably try surfing the storm surge of a weak typhoon or hurricane as practice. The experience will be similar, and probably more survivable.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-11-10 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-11 05:10 am (UTC)There actually *was* at least one video, at Koh Lanta, which showed a theoretically surfable tsunami wave: it had a face, wasn't more than 20 feet high, and didn't have follow-up waves right behind it. Problem is, the form the wave will take is so dependent on the local offsea geography that there's no way of knowing with any certainty what's going to show up until it actually does arrive. "And by then, of course, it's too late."
My other question on the sanity of the idea is, even if the surfer does get a rideable wave & surfs it in, then what? In most of the videos, the wave doesn't recede; there's follow-up waves at least as large as the initial wave right behind it, lots of debris in the water, etc: as you say, a churning mess. It reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from "Pirates of the Caribbean", after Elizabeth stabs Barbossa with a dinner knife:
[Barbossa pulls the bloody dagger from his chest]
Barbossa: I'm curious. After killing me what is it you're planning on doing next?
Anyone actually serious about doing this, and not just blathering bravado (or alcohol), should probably try surfing the storm surge of a weak typhoon or hurricane as practice. The experience will be similar, and probably more survivable.