Video: Freesurfing Historic Swells In Fiji
On day three of the Volcom Fiji Pro, a swell of epic proportions was making its way to Cloudbreak, a reef break off the coast Fiji known for producing great surf. But before it hit, weather was less than ideal. So poor, in fact, that after two heats, competition was called off due to bad winds and dangerous conditions.
A few hours hours later, though, everything shifted—the winds calmed and the massive swell finally arrived, bringing with it beautiful, giant waves. Instead of kicking back and watching them go unridden, the surfers headed out in hoards—and Volcom continued to air what had become a freesurf that would go down in history.
"It was probably the best day of surfing ever," surfer Kohl Christensen texted to a Surfing magazine editor that morning. "Biggest paddle barrels ever ridden. Next level. We're heading back out now."
Watch the highlights for yourself.
"It's unfortunate [that the competition was called off], but in dealing with Mother Nature, that comes with the territory. The positive we were able to draw from the afternoon was Volcom and the ASP bringing the free surf session live to the masses for a couple of hours. I think that was really special....it was a phenomenal display of surfing," said Dave Prodan, media director for the ASP, about the day.