A furious paddle. Momentarily caught in the lip. Then over the ledge as the wave stands tall, starting to square. Negotiating a mid-face bump, a tight line is drawn just inside the guillotining lip as a cavern opens up in front. Standing tall inside one of the best big-wave paddled-barrels ever ridden. A casual exit to the shoulder.
Pete Mel, that's the stuff.
"That board felt like the starting point for a new life."
The inner mechanics of Russell's mind.
Sniffing out the bounty on land and at sea.
From a day with a low wave count yet high consequence.
Like a hundred social media clips joined together but not on social media.
Seeking darkness on a sunny day.
And Matahi lifts the bar yet again.
Bite size humans in king size waves.
Comments
Ironic that it's the kind of wave I'd love to have Pete Mel commentating on, too.
Not bad for an old bloke!
Epic....
Epic, his reaction says it all really.
Is there a filmed from shore angle? I'd love to hear Joe Turpel alongside former worldchamp Martin Potter comment on that" "Checking all the boxes potts; speed, power and flow", "yeah joey, clean exit and his board dissapeared from shore, the judges are going to love that"...
yeah there is a video from shore somewhere. its epic - he was actually really deep.
Except Turpel would have said something about the "inside corner" and Pottz would have said "ya know" about 50 times.
Pottz would have referred to Pete Mel as "This Kid".
Really throwing caution to the wind Joe..
51 years old and redefining the way Mavericks is surfed. Best paddle wave ever at Mavericks and the board holding the rail, seriously incredible stuff.
Surfed it like a 4/6ft wave. Nice long drop and into the barrel. Not at all impeded by the 10ft board. No ugly turns you usually see with such a big board. One of the best big waves I’ve ever seen.
Congrats to Pete...seems he's one guy that's put in so much time out there for a long time. I didn't expect to wake up and see that this morning. Incredible. Loved the way the board held on that back inside rail. The way those big boards are shaped now is allowing some revolutionary approaches. Really amazing wave, and agree with above comment, his reaction says it all. Unbelievable.
sounds like a herd of cows in slow mo
...imagine if we sped up cow noises...
Hahahaha
Thanks to you VJ i just went over to youtube and listened to cows mooing but sped up. Nup. They still sound like cows..just shorter moos!
Ah damn I knew somebody had already done this. There goes my youtube/insta channel getting millions of views and me becoming famous.
Haha. Sorry mate.
So humble afterwards. Just a true champion in my opinion.
Watched this a few times since it dropped. I'm short on superlatives but that's probably the best wave I've ever seen paddled at Mav's.
Barrel dodger
Joking
He’s 51 ?
Ballsy
51 young thats what its about.
you should see the video from shore. he was actually really deep in that barrel
Got link?
Best shape of a Mavs wave I've seen yet. I didn't think it was possible to bet barrelled there...
Edit: Found it -
Scroll down page a bit
thats awesome. i still remember watching Gravity sucks on vhs the first time as a mid coast punk teenager and just amazed at the jaw dropping big wave paddle in surfing.. he got some good ones in that too... respect for still being stoked surfing the same wave.
nice fella when i met him in WA the night before the ASP margies contest kicked off .. me and a mate were pissed and looking around at the big fuckoff tent set up down at mainbreak and pete mel (with a few under his belt too) and a few crew wandered over and hung out , had a chat and a laugh ... surfed with him at windmills (?? i think that was the name of the place) on one of the laydays.. was enjoyin himself in smaller stuff too.
What a lord. Stoked he got the wave of the day!
That's a chip in!
Without ever being there it looks like the reason he got that probably best ever wave at Mavs was cause of where he caught it.
He looks waaaay deeper than the 'normal' take off spot and to have the guts and skill to make a wave of that size and dimensions from where he took off!
Fucken hellman and by the sounds of it a good humble bloke as well.
Shit yeah. to be so deep and hold your position then put yourself over the ledge when so much could possibly go wrong- you're right, Hellman for sure.
Where he caught it, swell size and period, new board technology and experience all combined into one perfect moment. People have tried to surf behind that peak for years and it just hasn't been possible with the boards they were riding - too big and heavy and way too much water moving incredibly and deceptively fast to reset the rail and turn up into the barrel. At the size and period of the swell it allowed a perfect chip in outside the bowl which if you watch the slow mo you see him weight and un-weight the inside rail absolutely perfectly on the drop.
Just for reference, I spoke to Curt Myers who shot the footage, early this morning and he said it was hands down the most incredible moment of surfing he's ever seen in 30+ years of filming Mavs. Every main guy who's surfed there over the years eg, Flea, Jeff Clark, Skindog, Matt Ambrose, Ion Banner said its the best surfed paddle wave ever out there.
...his gutsy transition moments at that the base of that wave..inspirational..im going harder this week...
Man, that was some profound and inspirational surfing. He seems to be in shock afterwards, and why wouldn't you be. Decades of devotion culminating in 20 seconds of sublime mastery.
I was just rereading Ghost Wave, the story of the Cortes Bank missions, and it's worth noting that around the turn of the century Pete Mel was badly addicted to meth and other drugs, and fought long and hard to come clean. He made it through with the support of friends and his wife Tara. What a story!
That’s one wave that slo-mo does it justice.
Watching his line into that thing is amazing.
Fkn incredible wave
I counted 5 bump negotiations just to get to the bottom..
The take off and edge work down the face is as good as the barrel for me. So good to see guys his age ruling in the big stuff.
Old guys rule
I loath that phrase and the wearers of the t shirt.
Don’t own a shirt but I’m 52
You rule Andy!
Edit: Whoops Ardy, confused you with Andy.
But I'll stand by my original comment.
With ya there Ardy... now, where can I buy a t-shirt
That was quite incredible, where he paddled in, how he negotiated those last couple of little steps into the bowl. Great stuff Pete Mel.
Anyone remember him paddling into Nazarre and also commentating on a 20ft day?
And a design breakdown on what is going into these boards would be a great article if you can arrange it, Stu.
pearson arrow .
VJ- one of these beauties im guessing
edit: was the 9'10 -
Thanks LD and udo, good links. He was running it as a quad with 3.75" fins - it's that small quad thing that's going on in guns.
I'm not a huge quad guy but when running one of my short wide down railed boards with quads, swapping out to all little fins really made a -good- difference to the board.
For a big wave the face is immaculately smooth, that's one he'll never forget.
Whoever said the slow mo sounds like a herd of cattle, I agree, mutant zombie cattle.
Sure does sound like a herd of cattle. Especially those saying he is barrelled. He never at any point on the wave gets behind the curtain. I’ve watched it over and over because of the “barrel” claims, but just couldn’t see him behind the curtain at all on any part of the wave. That said, he was in an awesome spot on that wave and it was an amazing ride. If anything had gone wrong, it would have been a solid pounding. I’m not sure how it works with hype. It’s like, if one person starts hooting and raving about the “barrel”, others jump on board.
Eh?
Don’t get me wrong, I reckon he rode that wave brilliantly. It’s just that I think exaggerated claims rob things of their true awesomeness. There’s no need to exaggerate anything about what happened between that wave and that surfer. It was awesome.
There is always someone ,isn't there. Front view would prove you wrong. Jamie Mitchell would have a fair idea, but you talk it down legend.
There's a vid of the front view. All you see is him coming out with the spit.
Surfline insta for front view.
SI wins the flog award for the day
Looks pretty barrelled.
Yep, pretty deep too by the looks
Reckon you could safely say he got barreled!!!!
Looks even crazier from land. How much that thing just ledges out.
Yeah reckon he mighta just squeezed into it ...
Far out what a wave.
Watch that, then go f@#k yourself.
After listening to the whole interview with Jamie Mitchell last week, I judge that last epic swell as key to him learning how to take off on that outside peak. So rare they aid, for it to allow paddlers the opportunity to chip-in from there. However, ten hours of practice last week and boomshuka!
Wow, incredible ride, and knifing in like that from so deep, gusty and insane equipment.
Have watched a number of times and reckon gets better each view. Incredible stuff.
Geez hope there is some other footage from a different angel...
Inspirational stuff for 51!
Similar to jaws, that ride will break the ceiling and we'll start to see more paddle in barrel rides at mavs. Remember when jaws was considered un-paddleable, and it's only been the past few years that guys are getting kegged out there consistently. Floatation and designated water safety helped speed up the evolution there and will also at mavs. Especially given the strong focus on mavs ATM, and the young guys like Kai Lenny, chumbo etc putting time in there. A couple of primo swells with good conditions also led to it, the opportunity has been there and it isn't always like that. I echo the sentiments of others here who've crossed paths with Mel, he is a true gentleman and deserves that unicorn of a wave more than anyone.
Right man with right read on the ocean he's in the right place he's got the right equipment, he's got the right moves and executes it perfectly. The cameraman didn't f it up either. What's not to love. Legendary
A different angel, a-m? Not sure they have the technology.
The drop(s) in slo-mo? Holy buckets! I think that big ol’ board went weightless three times. And the ledge before the black hole at the bottom? Terrifying. Chapeau Pete Mel.
I agree with Joe and Pottz. That was both the best wave in surfing ever and totally farked up.
That front view shuts up the nay sayers. What I liked about Mel’s wave was that it could be 6ft Backdoor and it wouldn’t have been surfed any different.
Could not happen to a nicer guy. I’ve spoken to him on 2 occasions and he is always super engaging.
Pinnacle of surfing right there!
https://beachgrit.com/2021/01/interview-wsl-commentator-and-santa-cruz-…
That'll be hard to beat for ride of the year, tube of the year, and whatever other gongs get given these days in the XXL wave awards. How good was it that he completed the wave, traveling for what seemed like another 20 or more metres out into the flats before just sitting back down on his board? That's a wave as well surfed as any I've seen, and in some respects is also reminiscent, on a much grander scale (XXL vs XL perhaps), of that one so well ridden through the Deadmans barrel at Manly mid-last year. And also both beautifully filmed.
Wow! Another one.. but empty.
Here's another front on view.
It's around the 41 minute mark
Nah that's a different session all together.
It's from late December.
Blue board ?
Different wave ! Thought it was the same wave.It's kind of similar.
Jeez, then there's this tow one with Pete. That big and clean, never seen?!
Incredible. Two record breaking waves by one bloke at one wave, in just a few days?
Imagine being caught inside and seeing that thing come down on you
Wow, that’s HUGE!!!! Peter’s paddle in wave was big & impressive, but it kind of looks small compared to this beast he’s charging...
Nah, edit: it’s still a big paddle in, maybe 10 or 12 x head high.
Watch twigs wipeout from today trying to replicate the perfect chip in of Pete Mel.
Horror show.
That was kinda scary to watch... I love Twiggy and was hoping that wasn't going to be his last wave.
Wouldn't you love to enjoy what Pete Mel's been feeling for the last couple of days!
Way better high than any drugs could give you Id imagine.
The come down is probably just as hard or even harder though.
Imagine thinking what is next to try and re-capture that feeling. Would be keen to know if folks that charge like this, ever get to a point and say that was the one and then stop seeking.
I reckon it gets to a point for most where size doesn't matter anymore. Quality and enjoyment is the go. Except for some guys. Till death.
Greg Noll maybe? I remember reading after his Makaha wave he stopped surfing.
means my best may still be coming!
Twiggy to Pete: "Hold my beer"
Ian Walsh holding on
Those paddlers got hammered -
https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/peter-mel-ups-ante-breaks-sundays-se…
Twiggy trying to take off on the bowl that Pete Mel backdoored. Ouch!
Wave of the winter.BOOM
yep and probably wave of the century
Twigs airdrop flogging around 1.47...faark
Haha, what the! re Chuck.
Amazing. Was thinking why are they so rubbered up at Maui, and finally clicked that it is at Mavs. That wave, shifting peak and angle looks so much harder to ride than Jaws even. Would be super scary to sit so wide waiting for one and seeing that damn thing coming. The lip misses him by about a metre as he pulls under the bottom turn. The difference between a severe crunching and a euphoric rush. ( an euphoric, a euphoric? Couldn’t decide so went with what sounded better. :-) )
A crunching might've sent him to an hospital.
Yeah, he would have come back about 4’11” tall after it crushed him, so glad to not see a lip coming down on him or anyone else as far as I’ve seen.
One more angle, not the best vision but plenty of channel camaraderie:
There’s a guy that comes through 2 waves later, camera is on Pete Mel trying to take in what just happened. I imagine he’s saying “look at me”.
Least recognised ride at Mavericks that day. :-)
Footage circulating out John John on a bomb at the outer reefs on the north shore with slater in the Chanel claiming it. Looks around the same size as this and even longer tube, it’s going next level
Think that was Kaiwi Berry. Lot of people made the mistake but Mike Latronic has just cleared it up.
But now this vid of JJF has surfaced so ignore my last comment!
Kaipo and Pete Mel
Pete Mel at it again yesterday
Mavs
Brave girls
Condors Chip in Air drop is mental