Photo: Tim Bonython // Instagram
Tim Bonython has more experience than most in massive surf, but even he isn’t immune to the power of big waves. Just a few weeks ago, he got caught by a monstrous wave that broke his camera and very well could have ended his life. Now, he just released a brand new edit of the entire thing.
“The Moment,” as he calls it in the appropriately titled video, went down in Spain, during La Vaca Gigante, a big wave surfing event organized by ObsessionA2 Club that takes place at “Cueto” cliffs, near the city of Santander, in Northern Spain.
“The deal was for me to be on a ski,” explains Bonython in the video. “I needed a ski and a driver. Didn’t know who the driver was, but he’s a nice guy from France, Thomas. Once we got out there, the waves were actually pretty nice. They were not really big and gnarly. It was a good little space to sit in. It wasn’t like here at Nazaré, where you’re dodging monster surf all the time. Waves were kind of around the 10 to 12-foot mark. The swell was starting to fill in during the day.”
Suddenly, though, the wind shifted, and everything changed. The water got choppier and the waves got bigger and bigger. Tim and Thomas watched as huge sets started breaking out the back. Finally, one particularly massive set came in and the pair found themselves stuck between a wall of whitewater and jagged rocks. Unable to escape, they were swallowed up by the wave. The ski and camera were destroyed, and both men narrowly escaped being slammed against the rocks.
“Meanwhile, Shabby Lopez, one of the surfers, was absolutely getting annihilated,” describes Bonython. “He actually got a ski to the head and got a concussion, ended up in the hospital. And this all happened in about five minutes. With all the carnage and everything that went on at that time, the organizers pulled the pin on the whole event. It just got so dangerous.
“But when I came in, I was pretty emotional. I really didn’t know what to think. I thought about my life. I thought about my camera. I was a bit of a blubbering mess, to be honest, at that time. Then I looked across and I saw Thomas standing next to his ski, which had been absolutely annihilated. This place really did show its teeth.”
The experience isn’t going to stop him in the slightest, though. “I tell you now, I’m going to be back,” he added. “I can’t wait to get back in the water again. It’s just in my blood. I have a major addiction to what I do, and it’s going to take a lot of stopping, you know, for me to stop doing what I do.”
