There's a reason not that many people hunt the left at Waimea, and it's also not that surprising that Mark Healey is the person who seems to have it wired. But say you did want to tackle one of the more challenging and unpredictable waves on the already daunting Seven Mile Miracle, what would you need to know?
"It's a weird wave, you could do everything right and then it just does a clamp into a double-up. There's not a high make ratio out there, that's for sure," Healey told the WSL recently, before going on the score the left a few days later.
"The left likes a bit more west [in the swell], it likes a certain size and a certain interval, for sure.
"You're just looking for this one window where that channel is going to hold open just literally two seconds longer than it usually does before it closes out, to give you a chance at possibly coming out of a barrel if one doesn't clamp and double up ... like they usually do.
"it's got the worst timing for this clamp and double up on so many of the waves on the exit, it's just real hard to come out of them."
One big pro the left has going for it is that it's a sure-fire way to escape the crowd. But then again, there's the obvious pitfall of a serious beating at Waimea Bay and all the "rocking dancing." Do you feel like rolling the dice?
Oh, and another confirmed charger who is partial to trying his luck on the left? Two-time World Champion Tom Carroll.
Healey Goes Left At Waimea
Ben Collins
There's a reason not that many people hunt the left at Waimea, and it's also not that surprising that Mark Healey is the person who seems to have it wired. But say you did want to tackle one of the more challenging and unpredictable waves on the already daunting Seven Mile Miracle, what would you need to know?
"It's a weird wave, you could do everything right and then it just does a clamp into a double-up. There's not a high make ratio out there, that's for sure," Healey told the WSL recently, before going on the score the left a few days later.
"The left likes a bit more west [in the swell], it likes a certain size and a certain interval, for sure.
"You're just looking for this one window where that channel is going to hold open just literally two seconds longer than it usually does before it closes out, to give you a chance at possibly coming out of a barrel if one doesn't clamp and double up ... like they usually do.
"it's got the worst timing for this clamp and double up on so many of the waves on the exit, it's just real hard to come out of them."
One big pro the left has going for it is that it's a sure-fire way to escape the crowd. But then again, there's the obvious pitfall of a serious beating at Waimea Bay and all the "rocking dancing." Do you feel like rolling the dice?
Oh, and another confirmed charger who is partial to trying his luck on the left? Two-time World Champion Tom Carroll.
Mark Healey
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