MUSIC: Waves by Steven O’Brien https://soundcloud.com/stevenobrien Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music provided by Music for Creators https://youtu.be/I2evNDljd64 ––– • Contact the artist: steven@steven-obrien.net http://steven-obrien.net/ https://twitter.com/_StevenOBrien_ https://www.facebook.com/stevenobrien... All footage from June 2016 - WORLD SURF LEAGUE Not close to the biggest day, but beautiful. Puerto Escondido Area Introduction The state of Oaxaca (pronounced: wah-HA-ka) in Southern Mexico is home to what could be considered the most-famous beachbreak in the world: Zicatela Beach, aka Puerto Escondido. But few realize that the potentially fatal monster of a wave is flanked on both sides by incredible surf spots, many of which are well-kept secrets guarded by the kinds of people you don't want to piss off. Some local knowledge is key to really enjoying the region, as many of the best waves are sand-bottom right points located miles from the highway down little more than bike trails. Crowds Puerto Escondido has some pretty intense crowds, complete with their own homegrown locals who rival the guys on O'ahu's North Shore, so mind your Ps and Qs in the water, and be humble. As the swell increases in size, the men are separated from the boys, so if you're the former you might find it manageable. The points to the east used to be empty, but recent publicity and stories of perfection on the scale of the Superbank have caused an influx of visitors. Get it before it has Kirra's crowd. Hazards Thievery is probably your biggest concern, as Mexico is infamous for rip-offs and corrupt police. It's also a very hot, muggy place, so heat exhaustion is possible, but if you're gonna paddle out into 20-foot Puerto Escondido, losing your wallet or getting prickly heat are the least of your worries. The Seasons Summer The prime surf season, summer is also the rainy, muggy season, beginning in June and lasting until October. Water temps are in the 80s; air temps in the 80s and 90s. Most surfers visit Mexico in summer. Fall This is when the booming south swells begin to taper off, but there is still plenty of action, especially at the beachbreaks. Temperatures cool a bit, the rain eases, the tourists go home ... but the surf is still there. Winter The "coldest" time of year, with air and water temps hovering in the 70s. It's pretty dry, too, and south swells are nonexistent, so the Mexican surfer instead must focus on spots that catch northwest and west swells. Not a bad time of year, but not the best. Spring We reckon that spring is the best time to visit Mexico because it's still dry, temps are warming up but not too much, the tourist masses have yet to arrive, and you get those early-season south swells creeping up the coast. Puerto Escondido, Mexico Ron Cassidy in 2007, Noel Robinson in 2011, then Jay Adams in 2014, Puerto Escondido has taken the lives of some good men. The problem of tourists getting washed out to sea and lost was pervasive, but recent improvements in lifeguard protection have had a profound impact at Playa Zicatela, but that doesn’t make the wave any more safe on its heaviest days. “I don’t know how I didn’t die out there,” Mark Healey pondering after catching a giant left out there last year. During the recent Puerto Escondido Challenge Makua Rothman pulled into a dark, sandy pit and came up with a lung full of foam. He was forced to the beach where it took him a long time to recover. GHOST TREES, USA, California SHIPSTERN BLUFF, Tasmania, Australia DUNGEONS, South Africa CYCLOPS, Australia OURS, Cape Fear, Australia NEW SMYRNA, USA, Florida Cortes Bank Nazaré, Portugal, Where Maya Gabeira almost drowned Jaws, Hawaii The Right, Cow Bombie, Pedra Branca, Australia Punta De Lobos, Chile Belharra, France Punta Galea, Basque Country, Getxo, Spain La Vaca, El Bocal beach, Spain The Cribbar, Newquay, Cornwall, UK, United Kingdom, England Mullaghmore Head, Ireland Aileens, Ireland
Visibility: 55842
Duration: 2m 7s
Rating: 138