An eclectic mix of surfing tales, with classic tales of monster waves and bitter rivalries among surfing legends to hilarious anecdotes of what goes on among the breakers. A colour section features dozens of stunning surfing images A treasure trove of tales of incredible waves and remarkable riders to stoke the fire of armchair surfers and hardcore wave-riders alike. Preface xi Part One Going to Extremes Child’s Play? Definitely Not 3 Hold Down 7 Surviving the Atom Blaster 12 Oh My God (Take 1) 18 Size Matters 23 Part Two Tragic Tales In Memory of Andy Irons 31 Veitch: RIP 36 QED 40 The Peterson Problem 44 Part Three When the Big Stuff Bites A Bite out of Burle 51 People in Car Crashes Don’t Stop Driving 55 Bare Hands and Bombs 59 The White Zone 66 Part Four Gonzo Interlude Being Dave Rastovich 75 A Thrust Too Far 87 Do You Know Russell Winter? 92 Four Surfers and a Painting 98 Part Five Contests and Communities Higher than a High Five 105 Black Clouds and Bellyboards 109 Bad Boy Bobby and the New York Quiksilver Pro 114 The Big M 120 Lord Thurso, Cool in Caithness 123 A Debt at Dungeons 126 After Rio Breaks 133 Part Six Worldwide Waves Seven Ghosts 139 Hokkaido – The Rights of Passage 145 1,300 Miles for a Wave 150 Ed’s Left, aka the Spot with No Name 153 Loco on Lobos 157 The Lady in the Emerald Green Bathing Dress 162 Purring thanks to ‘Da Cat’ 168 Part Seven Obsession Peg Leg Rik 175 Soldiers Get Stoked 179 The Daily Wavester 182 The Amazing Mr Slater 186 Part Eight Inspiration Stoked 193 Colonel ‘Mad Jack’ Churchill 195 OMG (Take 2) 199 Dr Sarah and the Meaning of Surfing 204 Acknowledgements 208