Shorboarders, longboarders, men, women, and children all convened over the weekend in La Jolla, California. The goal was to break the world record for most surfers on one wave at the same time, which was previously set at 110 by a group in Cape Town, South Africa.
Unfortunately, however, after video review the attempt was deemed unsuccessful. On the 13th wave of the session, organizers believed they had 113 riders on one wave, breaking the Cape Town record, but it turned out there were only 97, just 14 shy of the record.
“We came so close,” Ernie Hahn II, who conceived the event, told the Times of San Diego. “But it was an incredible experience surfing into history with the One Wave Challenge. … I’m very proud to have been part of such a great event and community experience. ”
The event was a benefit for the Boys to Men non-profit association, which helps in mentoring youths with male role models. Each participant in the One Wave Challenge donated $50 that also went towards a free breakfast.
And although this attempt was a failure, the organizers say they’ll be back again.
“This was not easy,” official judge, Eric “Bird” Huffman, said. “World records are broken through hard work, passion and dedication. We will channel that energy as we spend the next 360 days preparing for next year.”
And perhaps the conditions had some effect on the outcome. The waves in Southern California have been pumping lately, and San Diego has been on fire. And while conditions like this are ideal in almost any other situation, fitting over 100 surfers on a single wave is certainly not one of them. But I doubt any surfer in their right mind is complaining.
Nearly 100 surfers stand up on the same wave from Saturday’s World-Record-Breaking attempt in La Jolla. Photo: Chris Stone / Times of San Diego
