Chilean Bombs

The following is an article published by Surfline´s Mike Cianciulli on June 18, 2008, about a new discovery in Chilean waters.

While most of us up here in the Northern Hemisphere began rocking boardshorts and tuning up our grovel boards in preparation for summer, south of the equator things got a bit more serious. A few weeks back, South American big wave hunters found a deep-water slab that could easily hang with the best of 'em.

Chilean surfers Ramon Navarro, Christian Merello, Diego Medina and Brazilian Everardo Pato waited for the ideal conditions and swell to show before attacking this newly discovered sleeping monster. It took the teams 30-minutes to motor out on jet skis. And with no land in sight, what awaited them was much larger, steeper, thicker and meaner than any large-scale wave they've encountered throughout the northern reaches of Chile's seemingly endless coastline.

Recently, teams with the Red Bull South Swell Project began turning their sights a bit more southerly towards some of Chile's unsurfed nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, growing industry threatens their new find.

"We will continue to travel throughout the southern coast because we're sure we will soon ride the biggest waves in the world. I just hope we have enough time to accomplish this before big industry destroys and pollutes these surf spots," says Chilean pioneer Ramon Navarro of the thermal electrical center that threatens to destroy their new slab. "This would be a shame because we have been looking for this wave for years and now that we have found it -- the thermal electric plant wants to destroy it."

Navarro claims that his slabby monster during this session was the biggest of his life. Although, the spot (described by the crew as the "miracle wave") doesn't quite stack up - foot-for-foot - with a Maverick's bomb, the square shape and amazing raw power combined with the size surpassed even their wildest expectations.

"That was the heaviest wave I've ridden in my life so far," said Navarro, who is known in worldwide big-wave communities as a perennial charger.

And that's not the end of it, Chile's 2580 miles of coastline is bound to be holding many more slab-o-riffic hidden monsters. With a strong storm window and a host of local chargers on the hunt, look for more big discoveries to come out of South America's silent giant.

About International Surfing Association
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980. 

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since.  The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).

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