What is meant by a "heavy wave"

[Bub]

I've watched numerous surf shows on VS. and was wondering if someone can describe what is meant by a heavy wave (i.e "Teapahoo is the heaviest wave") And what would the opposite of a heavy wave be?

Thanks in advance, just something I was wondering about.

[isaluteyou]

a heavy wave is a large wave with a lot of weight behind it refering to how thick it is. Get crunched by one of those and you will know about it the opposite of a heavy wave is a weak wave refering to a wave without much power behind it. You can get 6ft waves+ that are not really that powerfull but the ones that have thick crunching lips are another story

[twerked]

heavy is this:


he may be a sponger, but damn, that takes balllllssss

[Hang11]

^^^^^

Surprised he can even get a wetsuit on with cojones that big...

[dougirwin13]

Over here it seems to boil down to the perceived danger factor.

So yeah a big lip is heavy.

But a more regular wave with a takeoff zone scattered with barely submerged rocks can be heavy too.

[b123]

^^^^^

Surprised he can even get a wetsuit on with cojones that big...

Hahaha

[northswell]

Shipsterns

[Bub]

..got it guys, thanks. That is sort of what I always thought it meant but was never really 100% sure.

That picture of the sponger says "Mitch Rawlins scooping at the Right"...anyone know where on this planet was that photo taken (i.e. where is "the right" located)? Looks like a cold weather locale, by the murky/dark water.

Can you imagine being a complete idiot and paddle into that monster on a 10ft. longboard! Turtleroll? Duckdive? Carry a pistol or grenade with you and just end it right there? Option c is probably the least painful way to go:D

[twerked]

i don't think they ever released the actual spot. somewhere in oz i believe..though i'm not sure

[Aloha]

Hey Twerked, nice avatar. I used to be a season ticket holder (Richard Donald stand). That's one of the things I miss down here, but swapped the Northern Lights for the Southern Cross. "Stand free wherever you may be"

[twerked]

thanks. i have some friends that live in aberdeen, and i kind of adopted them as my scottish team. they're a great club, and wish i could've gone to a match when i was there. celtic was in town, but you had to have season tickets for x amount of time or something. the girl's dad i was staying with used to have them, but he had season tickets a while ago (fergie's days of glory) but not recent enough to get ones for the celtic match. oh well.

on topic: 'that's heavy...there's that phrase again. is there something wrong with the earth's gravitational pull in the future??'

[Aloha]

Yeah the Old Firm matches are the only ones that will sell out the stadium. It would have been good if you had been there two weeks ago on Jan 18 as we beat Celtic 4-2 that day. Wish I had been there too....

[twerked]

yeah, i was stoked to see the result of that. too bad we didn't beat rangers then. send the glaswegians out of pittodrie with 0 points each. a draw is okay though i suppose

[crepuscular]

i don't think they ever released the actual spot. somewhere in oz i believe..though i'm not sure

those ppl riding monster waves would have a "wave chaser" with them

[ripitkyle77]

Pipeline = Heavy waves. I made the mistake of thinking i could swim at pipeline when it was only like 4 feet during the spring, man was i wrong, even tho they are small they are heavy as hell, thank god i was with a buddy haha

[TomBrooklyn]

How much variation in the heavyness of waves can there be for a wave of a given height?

[Manhattan Beach Grom]

Generally, "HEAVY" waves have a thick lip, and a lot of water behind them, like the picture.Weak waves have thin lips, and dont have a lot of force. Usually you will know wether you are on a heavy or weak wave. Weak waves when you are riding on them feel like you have to keep pumping to keep up speed and stay on the wave. Heavy waves you feel like you need to try really hard to stay on your board, and you feel the wave trying to suck you and your board up and over the falls. You can tell...

Check out Teahupoo, Jaws (Peahi), Mavericks, and Cyclops. Those are all "HEAVY" waves.

-Charlie

[RJD]

And the lip, shape , size and pitch of the wave is dependant on the swell (groundswell etc) and the shape of the seabed.

quicker the change from deep to shallow the more pitched and hollow the wave, usualy leads to a bigger lip.

Pipeline goes from very deep too 1ft reef straight off...