I think... I mean, there's some controversy, as there should be. It keeps things interesting.

Surfing is a way of life for a lot of us in Hawaii and especially on Oahu. People can completely take it to the next level and give it an almost religious feeling. These people would rather die surfing the world's biggest wave than not try it at all. I know, it may seem a little cliché by now, what with the Point Break ending and all that, but seriously, some of these guys care more about surfing than anything else in the world.

The video that is to follow is of Ken Bradshaw on January 28th 1998 as he successfully rode a wave that was estimated at the time to be in excess of eighty-five feet. A lot of you might not have surfed before and will pass this off as nothing really that exciting; that is not the case. He is effectively tip toeing on the edge of an eight story building with a massive pool filled with jagged rocks at the bottom. What's more, if he were to fall into that pool, it would throw him around like a rag doll for a good couple of minutes and could end up throwing him anywhere in a two mile vicinity. That is essentially the reason you don't see more than one person riding a wave this big. There is very little room for failure.

At the time, it was thought to be the biggest wave ever ridden. The escapade took place on Oahu's famous North Shore at a spot affectionately called "Outside Log Cabins". Ken's day didn't begin or end with this wave and he claimed to have ridden another 20 waves that day between forty and sixty-five feet.

The biggest wave ever surfed is a debate for all times but this one certainly comes close. There was a spoof video released by Billabong a couple years back in which a Miguel Del Toro surfed a 100-foot wave. It was pretty obviously fake and nobody is giving the man who doesn't even exist the credit.

The closest thing that has ever been caught on film during competition was Mike Parsons at the tow surfing contest at Jaws Maui several years ago. You can see him surf the wave at the beginning of "Billabong Odyssey". The judges of the contest awarded him a perfect 10 for his ride on the estimated sixty-five foot wave shot from a helicopter. Either way, both clips are incredible examples of what the earth is capable of and how we humans can harness it.

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