What, when, where was the longest, deepest, largest tube ride ever ridden AND filmed? Who was the rider? What type of board? How many fins? NO tow-in surfers please!
peter crawford–22 seconds desert point indo 8-10 ft
now thats a barrel…wow thats long
The man: Gerry Lopez. Standing on a single fin at the Pipe. Peter Crawford was a kneeboarder- whats that have to do with these questions?
because the question was longest tube ride – You must be in the typical small close minded sheep surfing seems to be in as of late. WAKE UP LITTLE BOY!!!
George called the other night, and during the course of our conversation, he told me a story about his famous film “Echoes”, specifically that last big tube ride. Naturally, I asked how large it was… 12 feet? He said, “a lot bigger than that!” Time frame: over 30 years ago. Its hard to believe, but during the hours that he filmed the final Echoes footage, George was the only person surfing Lennox Heads, and as far as he knows, there were no witnesses. He was alone. The outside waves were large enough and moving so fast, heaving so quickly, that his sophisticated flex spoon kneeboards werent capable of dropping in early enough to survive… too sketchy, especially with an additional 20+ pounds of camera gear sitting on his shoulder. What to do? Just riding a complete wave that day was very difficult and dangerous. Finally he tried another of his vehicles instead of the kneeboard, and soon found that he was able to drop in a bit farther outside, having gained an extra 3-4 seconds of distance as a means of stabilizing the arc of his trim… then activating the camera as the wave began unfolding, entering the hollow inside section. George described it as a surreal experience, the lip hitting the trough about 8 feet to his left… appearing to spiral in slow motion. As can be seen, it was a heavy, dredging ride, and really, really deep. He rode that wave for a long time. Best of all, he successfully documented the entire, timeless experience. Comparing that tube to Pipeline, he said "While Pipeline is very hollow and intense, its a much shorter ride than a long point break like Lennox." On the waves he didnt finish, the impact from the lip was so powerful that he and his equipment were exploded right through the back of the wave! He was concerned that if he were carried too far shoreward, he`d never be able to get back out again. Then he caught that last wave, and as he rapidly skimmed down the face, everything came together. If you watch that Echoes footage, consider this… George regards that tube ride as a benchmark of sorts. He caught it, dropped-in, and rode the entire wave while filming much of it from the inside out… on a cheap $20.00, four pontoon, finless, rubber and canvas air mat. ----- “You might be in there for only a few seconds- in real time- but in your head it goes on for hours. It is an experience that’s hard to describe, riding inside of a big, grinding wave. Often you’re riding so deep inside the tube, you don’t make it out. You take a terrible wipe out. What matters is when you’re in there, it’s the time interval when you’re inside the wave. Time enters space, a zone of its own. The only reality is what’s happening right then.” George Greenough ----- Shot over two years in California and Australia: “The film is elevated to a level approaching the sublime in the celebrated last 23 minutes, ‘Echoes’, in which Greenough’s (the surfer’s) own footage, shot at ten times normal speed, takes the viewer under and down the face of huge waves and inside the tube…” Oxford Companion to Australian Film. http://bonza.rmit.edu.au/essays/1999/tim_fisher/Echoes.html
How do you get a copy of Echoes?
But did he ride a surfboard? Are rubber flippers “fins”? Is belly riding the same thing as surfing? Greenough`s the king of low-tech surf stunts?
I thought Greenough filmed that on a kneeboard! The classic tube flick! Is it available on DVD and where to buy?
it is a classic !the mat riding at the island sand point is very slippery[smile]
i got a copy in europe.Isaw it on the big screen in maybe-73 .The big screen really does it justice.The tubes are like a garage door coming over[smile]!!Great 70’s california point surfing without the mobs of today even those esoteric spots in the film are done now!