Vitor Oliveira

A new scientific study presented at the International Workshop on Waves, Storm Surges & Coastal Hazards at the University of Cantabria in Spain suggests that Brazilian surfer Vini dos Santos may have ridden a wave over 100 feet (about 30.5 meters). The ride happened at Nazaré, Portugal, on February 25, 2022. The work was led by PhD oceanographer Douglas Nemes. Nemes is the same scientist who validated  Lucas Chumbo's wave at Laje da Jaguaruna as the biggest ever surfed in Brazil. The study was reviewed by a panel of scientists and won attention because it indicates Vini's wave may have passed the 100-foot mark. The current official world record is 86 feet (26.21 meters). That mark was set by German surfer Sebastian Steudtner at Nazaré in October 2020. Science and Surfing Collide "The study was submitted to the International Workshop on Waves, an important event for the scientific community, where experts from around the world discuss phenomena, measurement pro...

Cape St. Francis is one of those postcard gems you will find on South Africa's stunningly eastern coast. But, for surfers, the region hosts a spot that is absolutely legendary: Bruce's Beauties. The right-hander that once broke there was forever encapsulated into surf culture by Bruce Brown's 1966 film, " The Endless Summer ," when Mike Hynson and Robert August reach the top of a dune and contemplate heaven. For decades, the wave has been fickle. Lately, in the first two decades of the 21st century, it has been quieter and less reliable. However, an ambitious coastal project named the Long Term Coastal Protection Scheme could change that. The plan is simple in idea and complex in execution. Engineers will build rock groins that stick out into the sea and then pump or truck sand back onto the beaches. The groins are meant to stop sand from being carried away by longshore drift. The nourishment will widen the beach and rebuild the spit that protects the cana...

A recent study from San Diego State University (SDSU) found that riding waves may ease the hidden scars of war. In a weeklong surf camp run by nonprofit Operation Surf, 41 military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) wore fitness trackers and took standard anxiety, depression, and trauma surveys. The results collected by Jonathan E. Ossie, a marketing lecturer at SDSU's Fowler College of Business, were striking: average anxiety scores plunged 59 percent right after the surf week and stayed 30 percent lower a month later. Depression ratings fell 44 percent after the week (p<0.01) and stayed 30 percent lower at 30 days. PTSD symptoms dropped 38 percent immediately (p<0.01) and were still 35 percent lower after 30 days. These gains were "statistically and clinically meaningful," showing real improvement in mental health. Who Took Part and How The 41 participants were all U.S. military veterans (66% male, 34% female, average age 41.6) who had bee...

When surfers talk about fear, it's usually about drowning, rocks, wipeouts, shallow reefs, sharks, or getting held underwater in a multiple-wave hold-down nightmare. Interestingly, you rarely hear about fear of heights in surf talk. But the truth is that acrophobia exists in roughly 3-6 percent of the population and overlaps with a broader group of people who have visual height intolerance, that is, around 28 percent of adults. Several studies also consider that women are about twice as likely as men to meet full acrophobia criteria. Just a side note: vertigo is often mistakenly used to describe the phobia of heights, but it is something scientifically different. So, we'll adopt the term acrophobia, originating from the Greek "ákron," meaning "peak, summit, edge," and phóbos, "fear". In that case, what happens when this uncontrolled fear is transported from the top of a tall building or a bridge into the surf? Why do some surfers get anxiou...

Every surfer is a potential amateur oceanographer and surf forecaster. The more we know about waves, the better we will ride them. So, let's look a bit deeper into their motion mechanics. Stand at the shoreline and watch the swell come in. You'll notice the water rise and drop before surging forward. But if you pay close attention, you'll notice the motion doesn't match the neat categories you may have learned in a science class. Ocean waves are neither fully "up and down" nor fully "back and forth." They're a mix of both. They're orbital waves. To see why, let's look at the two basic types of waves scientists use to explain motion. Transverse Waves: The Up-and-Down Movement A transverse wave moves energy by making particles shift at a right angle to the direction the wave is traveling. The easiest example is a rope. Hold one end, snap your wrist, and watch a ripple race across to the other side. The wave moves forward, but each...

This is the story of a wipeout. The monster wave came out of nowhere. It rose on the horizon and surged toward me, looking hungry. Furious. My heart hammered in my chest. Adrenaline shot through my veins like electricity. "Paddle! Paddle as fast as you f*****g can." I dropped to my stomach, paddling frantically to get past the crest of the wave. A solid wall of blue towered in front of me, rising higher and higher. My arms sliced through the water with desperation. My shoulders and triceps burned as I tried to outpace a force so much bigger and stronger than I was. I was no match for the power of this wave. The top of the wave began to curl, frothing with white foam. "Just one more stroke, and you'll be over the crest. Push, Jane. Push!" My right arm exploded forward as I threw everything I had into a final stroke. But it wasn't enough. With a great thundering crash, the wave detonated, slamming into me with brutal force. I somersaulted backward and...

I am one of those surfers who takes the car key to the water inside my wetsuit - not necessarily because I want to, but because I can. If you're not one of those lucky individuals who can walk to your home break and then back home every time you surf, then this might relate to you. However, the following words apply to anyone carrying any type of key inside their neoprene protection while riding waves. I am writing this because, after more than three decades of surfing, I just experienced a slightly dangerous situation involving these small, uncomfortable metallic objects that we take close to our bodies into the water. So, here's my setup. I own a Nissan Qashqai. It came with an anti-theft system key. It's basically a bundle: an electronic remote with a detachable, water-resistant intelligent key. They need each other to start the engine, so it's my most convenient setup when I don't have alternatives. The Car Key Under the Wetsuit Method So, whenever I g...

"You should've been here yesterday" is one of the most unpleasant things a surfer can hear from another. It's annoying and almost offensive. Surfers can be particularly mean to each other. What is the point of making clear to someone in front of you that they've just barely missed an amazing event or experience? What do we gain from telling another surfer we just lived an unforgettable moment that the other person missed? To frame our point of view, the starting point for this reflection is the realization that surfers are the worst. If you disagree or you're not able to cope with different ideas and opinions, then it's probably not worth continuing to read this. The Lineup as a Catwalk So, here's the harsh truth: surfing is a show-off sport . Yes, we get pleasure from the rides and the contact with the ocean, but a relevant part of the process is also attracting attention and admiration. A lineup is a vanity fair with a liquid catwalk on whi...

Surfers and swimmers are among the groups of humans that more often face sharks, and when they do , the consequences can be severe. Australian scientists from Flinders University have now put near "shark-proof" wetsuit fabrics to the test, biting into them with live sharks, to see if new materials can cut down the damage. But these fabrics aren't medieval-like chainmail. They're actually wearable materials. Modern wetsuits could soon incorporate ultra-strong fibers like Kevlar and Dyneema (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) as an interesting protective layer to stop big predators while still letting surfers move, paddle around, and catch waves. In the 1970s, chainmail shark suits gave divers extra protection, but they were heavy and stiff. Innovative Fabrics in Wetsuits The future of anti-shark bite wetsuits uses different approaches. Four cutting-edge fabrics were tested: Aqua Armour: a modern chainmail-style system with metal link pads layered insid...

The idea that waves do not carry matter - just energy - is quite fascinating. When we're by the sea watching beautiful swell lines marching from infinity through the horizon line and toward the shore, our vision witnesses two things: a form and movement. In other words, and to make it even simpler, we watch a kind of hidden rolling pin traveling underneath the water surface in our direction. Eventually, that cylindrical shape we call a wave feels the bottom of the ocean and collapses closer to the beach. We tend to associate things we see with our eyes with matter, thus mass (weight and inertia). Wikipedia's "matter" entry says it all in the first sentence. "Matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume," the article tells. And this description is quite clear, isn't it? It's objects and palpable things. So, when we look at a wave, we tend to see a "thing" in motion, just like a Formula 1 car going at fu...

Many people think that in navigation rules, one boat automatically gets a "right of way" over another, like cars at an intersection. That's not actually true at sea. Instead, the rules talk about two roles: The "give-way" vessel, which must move or change course to avoid a collision; The "stand-on" vessel, which is supposed to keep its course and speed steady so the give-way vessel can predict its movement and steer safely; But "stand on" does not mean you get to do whatever you want or that you own the water. It's an obligation, not a privilege. In fact, if the give-way vessel isn't taking action quickly enough and a collision looks likely, the standing vessel must also take action to avoid an accident. And sometimes there isn't even a stand-on vessel at all. For example, if two powerboats are heading straight toward each other, both are give-way vessels - they both have to change course to avoid crashing. Neither has...

In the middle of the Arizona desert, where you'd expect dust, cactus, and maybe a few roosters, a small group of builders has created something no one thought they'd find there: a private wave pool called The Wave Source. Pro surfer and YouTuber Ben Gravy was the first outsider invited to test it. "I got a message on Instagram that just said, 'Call me. We have a backyard wave," he recalled. At first, he ignored it. A follow-up note explained, "It's our first prototype. We'd love your opinion." A phone call and a signed non-disclosure agreement later, Gravy was on the road from California to rural Arizona. When he arrived, it was far from tropical. The desert morning was about 45 °F (7 °C), cold enough to see your breath. The pool sat inside a compound "in the middle of nowhere," he said. But what waited out back was a working surf machine built without contractors, designed with nuclear-grade parts, and designed to be affordable...

If you're an airline manager or a corporate communications professional working at an air passenger carrier, then this article is for you. Let us introduce ourselves. We are surfers. We travel often - by foot, car, bus, metro, train, and airplane. And yes, we are aware that the airline industry is a tough business and one of the least profitable sectors in modern capitalism. We also know that reputation is still one of your greatest assets and that it many times makes the difference when a consumer chooses this - and not that - airline. That said, we agree that each airline has its own commercial priorities and preferred revenue streams. We reckon it is OK to change strategy. It's fine if you can't please everyone. Fair enough. The problem is that you go very quickly from selling and promoting yourselves as a surfboard-friendly air carrier to despising the large, fragile, and difficult-to-transport wave-riding object. This isn't new, though, and it makes it real...

Santa Cruz is famous for Steamer Lane and its cold water surf, but a new study led by Save the Waves Coalition shows just how much those waves are worth and how climate change could wipe out a big chunk of that value. Researchers found that surfing brings in at least $194.7 million a year to the local economy, with about $44.5 million of that coming from visitor trips and another $150.2 million tied to spending on boards, gear, repairs, lessons, and services. The numbers add up fast: roughly 783,000 surf sessions take place annually across the 31 breaks that make up the Santa Cruz World Surfing Reserve. That's quite impressive, but sea level rise is set to change that picture. Right now, 10 of those breaks are surfable more than half the daylight hours in a year, and only two are rarely surfable. With one foot of sea level rise, surfability across the reserve drops nearly 30 percent, leaving only seven breaks surfable more than half the time and two breaks almost completely ...