Last weekend, the first major swell of the season slammed into Bali, with Koa Smith calling it “12-foot Hawaiian.”
At that size, Uluwatu goes from a series of playful peaks to a heavy, deep water wave that slabs off the drop and steamrolls down the outside reef. On these big days, most of the pros in Indo are off chasing other waves, so it’s not often talented heavy water surfers like Smith are around to give Uluwatu’s outer bombie a proper crack.
In the edit above, Smith uses a GoPro to offer his unique POV as he paddles out, decides where to sit, and explains what type of waves he wants to ride. He then proceeds to take off steep, deep and inside, packing a pair of XL tubes with mixed results. After a large tube vaporizes him, you can count the seconds as he’s held underwater, comes up for a breath, and then goes back under as another wave breaks on his head.
“That took me to a place that was a little scary,” Smith says to the GoPro after paddling safely out the back. “It forced me to go deeper…like I’m OK — I can’t do anything but relax and make it through this. Now I’m just feeling the benefits, heavily.”
While the GoPro POV never does big waves justice, it’s a rad tool to bring us along for a ride we’d otherwise never experience. Because let’s be honest: You aren’t packing 12-foot tubes at Uluwatu anytime soon.
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