Often overlooked in favour of more fashionable breaks (including Banzai Pipepline), Waimea Bay is not only one of the biggest, but also one of the deadliest waves ever to have risen out of the sea.

During the summer months, the waters in Waimea bay remain calm and flat, but when the cooler, winter months hit, the beast wakes up. In December, 2009, the break was consistently producing waves ranging anywhere from 30 to 50 feet high.

Authorities even closed the area down in January 1998 because the waves were so big, they were regarded as being ‘condition black’ – considered too big for anybody to ride and survive.