Historic Cloudbreak Tavarua Fiji July 2011 Raw & Uncut Big Wave Surfing Footage

Back in 2011, an historic swell descended upon Fiji and specifically, Cloudbreak off Tavarua island. The lineup was filled with an all-star cast of elite big-wave surfers including Bruce Irons, Kohl Christensen, Mark Healey, Kelly Slater, and more. In the above video edit – filmed by Surfline’s late founder, Sean Collins – you’ll see an uncut glimpse at one particular session, featuring all the wipeouts, massive barrels, and commentary from the channel.

Before the Volcom swell the next year, this 2011 swell was the bar set by which all other swells were compared. It was also one of the last swells that Surfline’s founder, Sean Collins, forecast before his passing It was a swell that Kelly skipped the J-Bay contest for (he still won the world title, his last) and is oft-remembered for iconic pictures of Bruce Iron’s grab-railing an orangeish-pink gun in the barrel and Ryan Hipwood’s XXL Ride of the Year nomination.

Compared to the other storms, this event had it’s own unique characteristics and special-sauce that set it apart. A large, complex storm system with multiple low centers was aided by strong 1035mb high pressure centered off Australia’s southwest coast. The pressure gradient between these two large systems set up an almost unheard of fetch aimed at Fiji, stretching 1300nm wide and up to 3000nm long, reaching from west of Australia in the Southern Ocean, all the way into the Tasman Sea. Winds of 35-50kts in this fetch built seas over 45ft with a resulting deepwater swell in the range of 13-15ft at 16-18sec.

Anatomy of this Swell:
https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/an...

Tag the time code of your favorite rides in the comments below.
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