Ben Gravy is, without question, the world’s leading expert in finding and surfing novelty waves. Waves that most surfers wouldn’t even consider ridable are Gravy’s bread and butter; so much so that he’s built an entire career out of it.
And sometimes those novelty waves are quite dangerous, like the mysto “square waves” off the coast of New Jersey seen in his latest vlog. Watch the video below.
“After surfing the inlets of New Jersey the past few years, I was recently introduced to the idea of square waves,” Gravy wrote about the video. “There are some waves that you really don’t ever want to encounter when you’re swimming in the ocean. Square waves look like a giant chessboard over the ocean.
“It’s pretty awesome but incredibly dangerous. These waves are apparently the most dangerous surf to be in, but we’ve been driving our wave runner through them & surfing them for years. I’m interested in seeing what else I can find on the outer bars of New Jersey!”
To be honest, the session doesn’t look that dangerous. Sure, they’re out in the middle of the ocean, there’s water moving everywhere, and there’s a sketchy jetski wipeout at the 11:25-minute mark, but…is this more dangerous than gigantic Nazaré? Huge Pipeline? Maxing Teahupoo? Maybe not.
Still, it’s not not dangerous.
For more about the weird novelty waves, Ben offers this breakdown:
“This is a phenomenon called a square wave. They’re said to be some of the most dangerous waves to swim in or be in. I actually couldn’t agree more. I’ve experienced this a few different times in the New Jersey inlets.
“The waves crisscross like X’s in the water. It takes itself out from both angles. When you’re in the middle of that X, it’s almost the most dangerous place you can be. It not only hits you from behind, but it hits you from both angles. It can pin you underwater and send you deep. These waves are absolutely not to be toyed with.”
Before signing off, Ben offers this disclaimer:
“If you’re an experienced waterperson, you can definitely be around these waves and have no problem at all. However, if you are a beginner on new to swimming and surfing in general, I would say stay away from any waves that are wedging.”
Moral of the story? Beginners, stay away from square waves.
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