Wedge July 24 2009 In Memory of Monte Valantin

[modernwarefare2nukez]

How do you respect those idiots......they got themselves killed?

[halofreak2626]

i was here that day, so sad =(

RIP Monte!

[The2econd1]

i was there

[themightyrara]

You should have made a video of the 25 foot sets, rather than a holiday film

[squeakens]

I went out in this when I was young and believed the fact that I was a competitive swimmer made me invincible. The instant I got on my first wave and saw the way the current was breaking back at me, I knew I was screwed. I fought that until I was totally exhausted and would probably never go out there again. It can beat you down in no time.

[SoCalSwimKing]

I was out there when the Guy died. A friend of mine tried to rescue him and got him out to the lifeguard boat. JackSTFU, the water wasctually in the upper 60's at the time. Pretty nice.

[blunt69]

rip, people really tried to save that guy too, really sad.

[jackstfu123]

looks really cold

[loserwitekid]

grow a pair and go out even if there are warnings. your gonna die eventually so why not die with a thrill?

[mathewheldman]

lol dont talk kid.

[loserwitekid]

shut the hell up you stupid pussy mexican

[mathewheldman]

@loserwitekid number 1 im not mexican im portuguese irish

number 2 i would break your face you tough little keyboard jockey

[xnormajeanx1]

warnings lol ? you think that stopped me?

[3AZYxBR33Z3]

if there were warnings i dont see y people would go out there

[nmdking1]

The warnings were for swimmers (without flippers) but surfers/bodyboarders ect. entered at their own risk

[ImRoyce]

i dont really see why people even go out when its that big

unless they rush or jus want some attention then you should stay out of the water, because if you ride it its not that long of a ride and no matter how good you are like 95% of the time your gonna get worked cause its a close out

[shotgunator]

I hear you. I have been out on 10+ foot days and being caught inside on a set is a pain in the ass. It is so shallow, you cant get under the turbulence and just get thrashed no matter how experienced you are. I noticed on the really big sets no one risked taking the waves.

[ProneSurfing]

yes they are big waves, yes they are dangerous

but the experience just surpasses every emotion

you have to understand that

[prestonpawns]

u guys r idiots i wasnt bragging

[nmdking1]

Keep your opinions to your self dude. you shouldnt go around calling a person who has just died a stupid kook, he had a family , he had friends and they have lost him so its just so slack to say that sort of stuff

[Njskim29]

wtf do u mean he had no business in the water its called body boarding get a life and try it

[prestonpawns]

obviously u hav no idea wht happened dude 1st off all i live a minute from wedge and i saw wht happened he wasnt bodyboarding u idiot he was sum random older guy from LA going in with no idea wht its lik in there and b4 u say sumin stupid yes i hav gone in at wedge not theat big as it was then but the biggest i went was 7 so ya asshole i do kno wht its lik

[ibskatin]

dude thats crucial

[Oceanus2690]

were they surfing that day? man that deserve all respect i have

[prestonpawns]

i have i live right next to it

[ericxc1]

Was he an experienced bodysurfer? Know anything more about him?

[prestonpawns]

do u guys read the paper they said he wasnt he was som older guy from LA not knowing wht he was doing

[MrMonsterenagee]

i was there. you had to be over the age of 15, and have fins.

[prestonpawns]

or if the lifeguards knew ur ability my friends went in and they werent 15 but ya u definatley needed to hav fins

[rexcars27]

thing is, 86.2% of the people are standing around because everyone else is. they have no idea why they are standing there. most are wondering why they can't go swimming

[Kyleskimskate]

Indeed.

[orangetransformer]

i dont get why peoples common sense doesn't tell them "wow, big wave thats a lot of water maybe i shouldn't go in"

[TidePools]

Someone needs to invent cyber-bouncers.

[chronicavengers]

cylinders is much heavier than the wedge but at the wedge you have a perfect A frame

[Happysouthcamper]

Isn't an A frame where you can go left or right? I don't think you're going to want to go right at that spot...

[thechozenone37]

@Happysouthcamper on some sets it breaks a litttle farther to the right and you can actually get a nice little right with a side wave that comes at you for reverses

[airasiax]

thats not a perfect A frame. america never has perfect A frames.

[vantuba25]

I didn't say wedge is a perfect A frame. What is it with Australians always running their mouths. Cyclops is just a wall of water with no history to it. The Wedge goes back many years and have produced some incredible bodysurfers, and actually has a long history to it. You wouldn't even be allowed out at Wedge when its big anyway kook.

[joooood233]

lowers is A frame on most days

[shotgunator]

Right about that. Never got hurt on the wedge but got my ass kicked on cylinders last year. Thank god for Dilodin and ambulances. F#@k that pissed me off.

[lokrenzo]

@shotgunator THIS NEWPORT BEACH

[env1233]

@chronicavengers isnt it called cyclops?

[GunzF54]

@env1233 no cylinders is the wave break right to the right of wedge.

[gromster21]

@chronicavengers A Perfect A Frame, The Wedge is so inconsistent and sloppy. It does throw pretty mean, thats why its so treacherous but in no way is it a perfect a frame. Pipe on a good day is a great a frame..Seen it way to many times and surfed it. Words dont explain it.

[ChristophusMaximus]

@chronicavengers a perfect frame jhahhaa, the wedge is the nastiest wave on the west coast, haa i grew up bodysurrfing it and i love it but its still nasty

[cheed22]

there isnt 1 video that shows how big it was for 3 days u just had to be there. theres no words that could describe it i was speechless

[wiinotps3]

you atually had to be there. it was insane. even by the pier in huntington beach they were huge, and someone shot the pier! it was amazing!

[shotgunator]

Saw it. Wild

[iTagyourhood]

RIP Monte.

[ridethepow]

Believe or not, P st. is more dangerous then both!

[WTFSNPWN]

Yeah man cylinders isnt a joke. I am more scared of that wave than I am of the wedge. MUCH heavier I think.

[ClosedCasketMelody13]

and no side wave for assistance

[spongaweb]

Was Monte surfing or bodysurfing?

I could see without having fins you could easily be overcome by the sets.

[TrevorSurfsBetter]

pretty sure I remember them saying he was bodysurfing.

[WTFSNPWN]

I got stuck out there with a single fin and I nearly drowned. Wave came in and ripped my leash off(Hell yes I wear one in surf this big) along with my fin and fin teather. It was one of the scariest times of my life. But I am glad to say I have pics and footage of me charging the monster on this day.

[Happysouthcamper]

Actually, with a big swell, the lifeguards won't let you go out without fins.

[shotgunator]

Bodysurfing

[hurleyboyJT]

@spongaweb he was body surfing and i watched his death that day it was gory

[KennyandtheSkull]

nice vid.

Our respects to Monte Valantin, a surfer.

[TrevorSurfsBetter]

little dume was great yesterday, 12ft sets. However, anybody else just totally amazed at the length of these sets on this swell? I sat through a 20+ wave set and just couldn't believe it, they just never stopped. Was not fun getting caught inside.

[bryansurfing23]

yah yesterday there were some super consitant sets in oceanside. they never stopped coming and today i got caught on the inside in carlsbad on like a 10ft set that had literally 15 waves to it!!!!!

[shotgunator]

That is what caused his death. If the set was normal, he would have been able to get back out. 10+ massive waves came at him never giving him a break. I am right there with you getting caught inside. Taking the wave is the easy part.

[smadi420]

i went to saltcreek yesterday, i didn't see unusualy high waves... was today ne better?

[shotgunator]

You may want to check it out today around 10am before high tide. Here are the conditions:

15-18 ft.

triple overhead + with occasional 22 ft.

and fair+ conditions.

This morning's dawn patrol: Expect solid wedges mostly in the double-triple overhead plus zone with occasional bigger sets. Very dangerous with many close-outs. Clean surface conditions. Tide filling back in all morning.

[smadi420]

you think it'll be higher waves at high tide?

[BassBoosterBuddy]

It's sad that Monte Valantin lost his life, and may he rest in peace, but he broke two of the sacred wedge rules. Be aware of your surroundings, and STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THE ROCKS.

[matt07777]

t street is bombb

[S8clothing]

Thanks! I was at westward beach ZUMA and it was thick and SICK! S8

[GoodDogCarlWoof]

My brother, who is an excellent body surfer, went out and got caught in the washing machine. Two lifeguards came out to try to help him and they both lost their flotation devices. They all made it out of the water safely. However, around 1:00PM, someone hit the rocks and died.

[burtonjb13]

intense, i surfed tstreet this day 10 foot

[surfer3595]

I was there. coast guards and life guards everywhere!