On Saturday, Brazilian surfer Rodriguez Koxa broke the record for highest recorded wave ever surfed at an estimated 80 feet, according to The World Surf League. Koxa rode the monstrous wave off a Portugal coast and said after that it was “a dream come true” (Tampa Bay Times).
First of all, I’d just like to ask who in their right mind would dare take on an eighty-foot wave. Wanna know what else is 80-feet high? A seven-story building, four giraffes standing on top of each other, and half of the Arc de Triomphe. Just imagine being on the edge of a seven-story building and looking down at a pool of sharks––that’s probably what it’s like at the crest (yeah, I know wave properties) of an 80-foot wave. Let me be the first to say that I’d piss myself.
When I read about this impressive fear this morning, at first I was impressed. I thought about how I wouldn’t even be able to stand up on a surfboard, much less ride an 80-foot wave. Then I decided to break down the dangers and physics of surfing said wave and figured out it was just downright stupid.
It took some research, but I found that surfers typically ride at half the amplitude of the actual height of the wave. In this case, that height would be about 40 feet above the still water level; in other words, a four-story drop. Now, imagine Rodriguez Koxa is 160 lbs and he fell right off his board and dropped 40 feet (assuming he dropped straight down); the speed at impact when he hits the surface of the water would be about 28 miles per hour. At that speed, you could imagine the water would feel more like hitting wet cement than stepping into a nice bath. Then, after hitting the deck, Koxa would have to worry about the several tons of 80-foot wave crashing over him and the possibility of drowning and/or getting eaten by a shark.
With all that in mind, it’s impossible for me to justify breaking this Guinness World Record, but then again, people do some crazy stuff for fame.
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