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New Zealand surfer survives tsunami by riding giant wave
A student and his fellow surfers used their skills to ride the giant waves to safety after a deadly tsunami struck Samoa.
Fri, Oct 02 2009 at 1:55 PM
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Photo: TravOC/Flickr
When an 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck on Wednesday morning, causing a massive tsunami that may have claimed nearly 200 lives, New Zealand hospitality student Chris Nel laid down on his surfboard and rode it to safety.
Nel and five others were surfing on the coast of Savai'i island in Samoa when the first signs of the tsunami appeared.
"All of a sudden the water went real weird, it kind of glassed off and got real lumpy, then we started moving real quick, getting sucked out to sea. It was pretty scary looking back and seeing the reef completely dried up. It looked like a volcanic riverbed — it was just gone."
As a “big-ass spurt of water” hit the shore, Nel says, "I was thinking, 'this is it, we're going to get washed away and smashed into the jungle'."
Nel and the other surfers spent the next 45 minutes struggling to reach the shore, riding the waves out and trying not to get smashed onto the beach by the force of the water.
When he finally reached safety, he headed to his surf camp in the jungle only to find that most of his belongings had been swept away. He flew back to Wellington with his surfboard and a pair of jeans.
Others weren’t so lucky. On another side of the island, the once-idyllic tourist destination of Lalomanu, the bodies of five children and a woman were found on the beaches and in trees. But there was one other story of survival against the odds — a 2-day-old baby who lived through the ordeal was named ‘Tsunami’.
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What size wave we talking? http://hampshirekitesurfing.com/Kitesurfing_Lessons_South_UK_Hampshire_S...
this Is Dope.....=D
Even if that photo was used as a placeholder, the story itself is definitely possible. I have a group of buddies that were out there for 2 weeks and got it pretty good.
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Call me a sceptic BUT !!! ....
1.Surfers in Samoa do not wear full lenght wetsuits even in the 'winter months' when water temp is still 20-22 deg C
2.Tsunami conditions do not like the photo shown ... maybe this is Niel surfing back home in wellington ...?
3. The water colour is nothing like what you would expect after a tsunami and in this tropical region ... lack of debris in water etc
Maybe I got this wrong and the pic is of the guy surfing back home ...?
Click the source of the picture.
It brings you to the photographer Flickr page, and the title for the photo is "Newport Beach, California".
dude ur an idiot....read the article first.....obviously the picture is not of the day the tsunami hit....dumba$$
I love this comment!
If you click on the link under the photo ("TravOC", who the photo belongs to), it takes you to a Flickr.com account where it gives info about the photo. ["Surfer, Newport Beach California"] It was probably used as stock photo to dress up the article a bit, it wasn't intended to portray what was happening. Besides, I'm sure that Mr. Nel and the other surfers mostly paddled their way to safety, since tsunami waves aren't really all that "surf-able".
Interesting article thought.
Lol