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The Inertia

Ironically enough, it’s really easy for anybody who writes about riding waves to describe charging the big stuff as, “hucking yourself over ledges” every once in a while. We’re sometimes guilty of that verbal portrait here at The Inertia, not to diminish the act itself, but really just because some days, it feels like the only way to articulate what we’re watching and sharing.

“It’s not just a bunch of hellmen out there mindlessly hucking themselves over the ledge,” Andrew Karr says, about to explain it all to us with an eloquence more deserving of the act of pulling into a 30-foot Jaws bomb.”It’s actually a very well thought out and calculated operation where nerves and fear are fully present and are actually what help drive us to get into the zone and perform at the top level.”

Karr recently put together a short of some of his own exploits knowing there’s a gap in relating to what we see on screen and what big wave watermen and women actually experience. People who ride these waves on any craft are in the smallest of percentiles of the human population, and Karr recognizes it’s not just about the highlight reel of the rides.

“It does not fully showcase the hours and months of preparation and training that go into putting oneself in a position to ride these waves successfully,” he tells The Inertia. “But what I think it does do is give an insight into the mindset and intensity that come with the anticipation of a session at XXL Jaws or Nazare.” It’s the focus, the look on a person’s face when they are throwing themselves over that ledge, the pre-dawn check from the lighthouse at Nazaré, and all the nerves that come with it. It’s all part of the picture, and it’s all these things that make big wave surfing so special.”

Follow more of Andrew Karr’s big wave exploits on Instagram here.

 
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