Surfer takes on 41-foot monster wave and lives to tell the tale

Hundreds of surfers paddled to a wave break off Windansea Beach yesterday to honor slain surfer Emery Kauanui Jr., surrounding a boat from which his mother, Cynthia, scattered his ashes.

Surfers heading out to catch waves at Windansea yesterday saw Kauanui's name painted in black on the iconic sewer pump house made famous in a 1968 book by author Tom Wolfe.

News of Kauanui's death devastated members of the elite Windansea Surf Club, said surfboard shaper and shop owner Tim Bessell, whose boards the late surfer rode. A memorial “paddle out” is what you see in the above picture...

that would be a nightmare, not a dream, for most surfers.

So, where was this big wave? The pics are awesome, I believe 'though it would be a nightmare while it was happening, the feeling after having survived would be incredible. Any time I have survived things like that, I've always felt awesome, isn't that why people do things like that to begin with? Between sharks, undertows & many other significant issues, I believe that most surfers comprehend they are risking something. The Houston Art Car enthusiasts all tried to remember that as we mourned the loss of Tom Kennedy
http://www.tomkennedyart.com
in April to a body surfing accident in which he got pulled into the undertow in the San Francisco area. Did you take the photos of the wave? I often feel that the photographers that take those shots are taking as big a risk if not bigger than the surfers themselves. I remember watching a special featuring surfers that surfed the Eddie Aikow competition that got called off due to extreme waves, while some surfers got towed in one or two actually got dropped from a helicopter & then they showed a shot of a photographer hanging out the open helicopter door almost upside down to get his shots. Thanks for your story & I look forward to learning where this wave was, yer pal Mel Bell.