One of nature’s greatest spectacles is watching the giant waves crash along the shores of our Cantabrian Sea several times each winter. Add to that a unique spot like La Vaca, where the seabed causes the waves to nearly double in size compared to neighboring coasts, and things get even more intense. And as a final touch, seeing those tiny “ants” on their big boards paddling, standing up, and defying the drop created by these towering marine walls… the scene becomes truly breathtaking.
The La Vaca XXL event is highly recommended, and this week’s edition was once again a thrill — as you can see in these photos from their Facebook Page.
2016 La Vaca XXL Event
As surfers from Suances, we’ve truly enjoyed watching our four local riders — Mirka, Varín, Tino, and Pablo — who did a great job facing the tough conditions and competing against other experienced surfers, some of them among the top names in the international big wave scene. In almost every heat, we had one of our locals out there challenging the ocean at its most powerful.
Having someone you know in the water made it all the more dramatic when a new set started to rise on the horizon, threatening to destroy everything, only to break — some of them — in a clean and orderly way, forming barrels on waves up to 7 meters high.
The Numbers Behind La Vaca
A total of 40 big wave surfers took part in the event, and around 10,000 people experienced those magical moments live — where the line between big wave glory and disaster seems razor-thin. Everything went smoothly, and it feels almost miraculous that there were no major scares, thanks in part to the jet skis providing safety support. These riders pushed it to the limit, often waiting until the whitewater was nearly on top of them to make a rescue, and then returning a few waves later to pull a surfer to safer ground.
Until not long ago, watching big wave surfing seemed only possible with an expensive and long trip to Hawaii — but here’s this article to encourage you to catch future editions of the incredible La Vaca XXL event and the thrilling world of big wave surfing.
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