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Randy Laine (born Elliott Randolph Laine on July 17, 1952 in North Carolina) is an American big-wave surfer, co-pioneer of tow-in surfing, extreme watersports athlete, celebrity-enthusiast, television personality, commercial product endorser and spokesman, and on occasion a men's fashion and action-sports model. Laine is considered to be one of the top, if not the best professional freestyle Jet Skiers to date. In October 2008, Laine will be inducted into the IJSBA's (International Jet Sports Boating Association) Hall of Fame, where he will be honored for inventing many of the extreme aerial maneuvers used in freestyle jet ski competition today. [1] The ceremony is to take place in Lake Havasu, at the conclusion of the IJSBA World Finals. [2]
Laine, who is nicknamed "The Father of Freeride" [3] is sponsored by Red Bull, Billabong, Jet Pilot, Pro Tec, Skat Trak, and Hydro Turf, [4] and has appeared in and on the cover's of over two dozen magazines, including a 1970's spread in Playgirl Magazine. [3] In January 2001, as a part of the first documented expedition to the Cortes Bank, [5] Laine set a world record for the biggest wave ever ridden on a jet ski (a Yamaha SuperJet), where he conquered a 72-foot wave. Beginning in 2002, Laine joined the Billabong Odyssey as marine coordinator, [6] and has been searching for an unprecedented 100-foot-tall (30 m) wave to ride in an effort to set a record for tow-in surfing. Laine has resided primarily in San Diego, California for the last thirty-five years. He splits his time between San Diego, Baja California, Mexico, and the Northshore of Oahu, Hawaii. Laine has one daughter, fashion designer and model Michelle Laine. Randy Laine is the brother of professional surfer Wes Laine, and great nephew of american actor Randolph Scott, through his great grandfather Rufus Butler Scott. Both Randy and his sister Scott Laine, were named after their great uncle.
Boardsports are sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrain, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth. A large proportion of youth partaking in these sports, together with aesthetic damage to property from sports like skateboarding, has led to many board sports being marginalized by the greater world of sports in the past. However, many board sports are gaining mainstream recognition, and with this recognition have enjoyed wider broadcast, sponsorship and inclusion in institutional sporting events, including the Olympic Games.
Laird John Hamilton is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality, and model.
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
Tow-in surfing is a surfing technique which uses artificial assistance to allow the surfer to catch faster moving waves than was traditionally possible when paddling by hand. Tow-in surfing was invented by surfers who wanted to catch big waves and break the 30 ft (9 m) barrier. It has been one of the biggest breakthroughs in surfing history.
Patrick Shane Dorian, or "Shane", is an American surfer from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He spent 11 years touring on the World Championship Tour as a professional surfer. Dorian quit competition surfing in 2003 to focus on big waves. He is currently a big wave surfer and one of the best in the world at big wave riding.
Cortes Bank is a shallow seamount in the North Pacific Ocean. It is 96 miles southwest of San Pedro, Los Angeles, 111 miles west of Point Loma, San Diego, and 47 miles southwest of San Clemente Island in Los Angeles County. It is considered the outermost feature in California's Channel Islands chain. At various times during geologic history, the bank has been an island, depending on sea level rise and fall. The last time it was a substantial island was around 10,000 years ago during the last ice age. It is possible that this island was visited by the first human inhabitants of the Channel Islands, most notably San Clemente Island, whose seafaring residents would have been able to see the island from high elevations on clear days.
Peʻahi is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws.
Keala Kennelly is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. After spending a decade ranked in the top 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), Kennelly took a break from the tour in 2007 to explore her passions for acting and music, including a recurring role as a surfer in the 2007 series John from Cincinnati. She continues to DJ and compete as a big wave surfer.
Skurfing is a towed water sport similar to waterskiing, in that an individual is pulled behind a boat on a tow rope. However, instead of water skis, the sport uses a skurfboard which is a floating platform the user balances on, similar to a surfboard, but typically much shorter, with two foot-straps that prevent falling off the board and three fins positioned on the bottom that make it easier to maneuver when the board is being towed. The word itself is a portmanteau of skiing and surfing. Skurfing is often considered the precursor to wakeboarding.
Mike Parsons is an American professional surfer and surfing coach.
Pete Cabrinha is an American big-wave surfer, windsurfer, kitesurfer and artist. He is the founder and brand manager of Cabrinha Kites.
K38 Water Safety teaches public and federal safety agencies such as lifeguards, military, fire rescue, and law enforcement how to operate personal water craft (PWC), Jet Skis, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Waverunners, Aquatrax, PWC or RWC. K38 teaches personal water craft rescue training in swiftwater rescue, big wave surfing, tow-in surfers, law enforcement, lifesavers, and federal agencies such as United States Navy, United States Marines, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol BORSTAR units and Pararescue.
Maya Reis Gabeira is a Brazilian big wave surfer. She is best known for having surfed a 73.5 ft/22,4 m high wave in Nazaré, Portugal in February 2020, recorded by Guinness World Records as the biggest wave ever surfed by a woman. She also held the previous record for biggest wave ever surfed by a woman, of 68 ft/20,8 m established in January 2018.
Greg Long is an American surfer from San Clemente, California. He has won the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational, in memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay, the Red Bull Titans of Mavericks event held at Mavericks in Northern CA, and the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event held at Dungeons in Hout Bay, South Africa. Additionally, he is the most decorated surfer in the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. He is widely regarded as one of the best big wave surfers in the world.
Mike Castillo is a veteran Baja pilot, well known in the surfing industry. He is credited for spotting the world-famous surf break, Cortes Bank, by air in 1990 while flying over the coast of Southern California with photographer Larry "Flame" Moore.
Cory Lopez is a professional surfer born on March 21, 1977 in Dunedin, Florida, USA. Lopey is his preferred nickname. Cory has been a top ranked contender on the ASP World Surfing circuit for multiple years and is considered by many to be one of the best 'Free Surfers' on the planet.
Teahupoʻo is a village on the southwestern coast of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, in the southern Pacific Ocean.
Mark Robert Visser is an Australian professional big wave surfer, author, keynote speaker and ocean adventurer. Visser is best known for being the first person to surf Hawaii's most dangerous wave Jaws, Maui, at night in 2011. It was documented in a film called 'Night Rider'.
Garrett ‘GMAC’ McNamara is an American professional big wave surfer and extreme waterman known for breaking the world record for largest wave ever surfed at Nazaré, Portugal, successfully negotiating a monstrous barrel at Jaws, and riding tsunami from calving glaciers in Alaska.
Aaron Chang is an American photographer specialized in surfing and ocean photography. He spent 25 years as a senior photographer at Surfing Magazine; he was an early photographer to practice the act of shooting waves with a wide angle lens from the water.