Overview

While it features the ""knights of the waves,"" the world's elite surfers, and the stunning locales where they practice their craft, this is not your standard sport photography collection. These breathtakingly dramatic images by leading figures in outdoor and extreme sport photography, it is the immense power and beauty of the ocean that is the true ""star."" These brilliant and briny shots from seemingly impossible angles capture mounting ocean swells and cresting, curling, and crashing waves ridden by nimble, intrepid athletes, whose precarious dance embodies our collective love for the acrobatic challenge and of the sport. The entertaining text provides a breezy review of surfing history, from its Polynesian origins to the death-defying big wave riding of today, with vignettes of pioneers and contemporary luminaries, including big wave emeritus Jason Polakow, teenaged phenomena Kai Lenny, windsurfer Robby Haish, bodyboarder Mike Steward, and the veritable Poseidon himself, Laird Hamilton. Readers will discover how each offshoot of the water surface sport emerged, how its innovators adopted new techniques and equipment to suit the unique aerodynamics of windsurfing, kite surfing, stand up paddle, body boarding, and most daring of all: tow-in surfing, which involves high-stakes teamwork and strategy to tow the surfer by jet ski and drop - at just the right moment-before a monster wave towering as high as 100 feet! ILLUSTRATIONS: 156 colour photographs

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GUILLAUME DUFAU Originally from Landes, the department in the southwest of France famous all around the world for the quality of its waves, Guillaume Dufau discovered surfing on the beach break waves of Hossegor in the 1980s. In 1997, after his studies in journalism, he became part of the Surf Saga magazine team, becoming editor-in-chief a year later at the age of 24. After that, for 10 years he was head of the editing department for the monthly Surf Session, at Biarritz, for whom he produced numerous documentaries from the four corners of the world, particularly Tahiti. A great reporter, he regularly publishes articles on the so-called sport de glisse, travel, and environment, for the French and international press. KAI LENNY At only 18 years of age, Kai Lenny is a precocious waterman, who lives for and by the ocean. His childhood on the island of Maui, Hawaii, enabled him to be in close contact with the waves of his childhood heroes: Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Robby Naish... accomplished and versatile watermen who would partner him in windsurfing, kite surfing, and Stand Up Padlle sessions, or while surfing the giant waves at Jaws. Constantly traveling around the world, this exceptionally mature teenager is conscious of his privileged existence, but shows no complex career ambitions: ""I want to be number 1 in Stand Up Padlle and windsurfing, but I especially want to continue making progress in all the disciplines that I practice, without favoring one or the other for the wrong reasons, like money or fame. It is the pursuit of pleasure and respect for the moods of the ocean that will always guide me.""

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