Have you ever heard of a Brazilian deep water slab that's often wider than it is tall? Meet Avalanche. Twenty-seven-year-old Brazilian Ziul Andueza just sent us this incredible vision of the right-hander from a recent session.
The wave is unlike most slabs in Brazil. It's 12-feet deep at its shallowest point, and far off any other rock formation. This results in an extremely clean and performable wave when it does break.
Two sessions from the mysterious deepwater slab in Brazil. Video by Straya Films.
According to NXF Bodyboard, a local crew of heavy wave hunters, an underwater mountain chain and rock shelf meet open-water East/Southeast swells to produce 'Avalanche' and other similar slabs in the area.
Located offshore from Vila Velha, Espirito Santo -- approximately 500km north of Rio -- with water temps at averaging in the low-to-mid 70s, it's easy to compare this spot to a warmer version of ‘The Right' or ‘Shipsterns Bluff', especially when you see see the power of the lip.
Gabriel Sampaio - WSL / Ana Catarina
"The second day started out with Caio Vaz getting beat up to the point he laid on the ski's sled for 10 [minutes] just breathing and waiting out for a couple hours to get back on the rope. Caio Vaz is a world notorious big wave surfer, so that was a clear warning sign for everyone else," Andueza recounts.
"I had just cracked my hip 3 weeks earlier hitting the floor at my home slab the Shock, so it was quite hard to try and not overthink it, but I feel like it's just about figuring out a clean line on the wave."
Rodrigo Cardoso - WSL / Ana Catarina
Brazil's Deep Water Slab 'Avalanche' Rumbles To Life
Bryan Benattou
Have you ever heard of a Brazilian deep water slab that's often wider than it is tall? Meet Avalanche. Twenty-seven-year-old Brazilian Ziul Andueza just sent us this incredible vision of the right-hander from a recent session.
The wave is unlike most slabs in Brazil. It's 12-feet deep at its shallowest point, and far off any other rock formation. This results in an extremely clean and performable wave when it does break.
According to NXF Bodyboard, a local crew of heavy wave hunters, an underwater mountain chain and rock shelf meet open-water East/Southeast swells to produce 'Avalanche' and other similar slabs in the area.
Located offshore from Vila Velha, Espirito Santo -- approximately 500km north of Rio -- with water temps at averaging in the low-to-mid 70s, it's easy to compare this spot to a warmer version of ‘The Right' or ‘Shipsterns Bluff', especially when you see see the power of the lip.
"The second day started out with Caio Vaz getting beat up to the point he laid on the ski's sled for 10 [minutes] just breathing and waiting out for a couple hours to get back on the rope. Caio Vaz is a world notorious big wave surfer, so that was a clear warning sign for everyone else," Andueza recounts.
"I had just cracked my hip 3 weeks earlier hitting the floor at my home slab the Shock, so it was quite hard to try and not overthink it, but I feel like it's just about figuring out a clean line on the wave."
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