WATCH: Surfer Survives 20-Second Hold Down During Mavericks Mega Swell
20 Seconds may not seem like a long time to hold your breath.
But, in a big-wave surfing scenario, it’s damn near a lifetime. There’s the thrashing beneath the surface that expels energy; perhaps the wipeout which sent you to the depths knocked the wind out of your lungs; then there’s what’s coming next…
During the historic day of surfing on December 28th, 2023 at Mavericks, San Francisco-based big-wave surfer Bianca Valenti endured all of that.
Valenti was whipped into roll-in bomb, as seen by surf filmmaker Tucker Wooding’s drone footage above. Then the wave hit the shelf, jacked up, got some warbles in the face, and sent Valenti into a bodyslam on the wave face.
That was just the start.
She got sucked over the falls, held down in the underwater disarray without oxygen for 20 seconds, then finally, when she popped up, she took another wave directly on the dome.
Luckily, Valenti was okay; she took it like a champ, assuring folks on social media, “It looks bad but I’m okay just wish I would’ve made it.”
A pretty hairy situation nonetheless.
Now, Wooding released his full edit from December 28th, showing all the carnage and epic rides, including Valenti’s hold-down and more, which you can watch below:
Wooding wrote:
“Giant swell hits the coast of California causing flooding and destruction. Meanwhile a large group of surfers take on Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. This was some of the biggest swell numbers we've seen for Mavericks. After almost missing my flight I flew over after filming Jaws the day before. Not knowing what to expect as the day before at Mavericks had extreme south winds and stormy conditions. Got up early and it was massive. We all knew it would be a tow day. The cliff was packed with people as water was going over the break wall and swamping people all day. Jojo Roper caught the wave of the day. Luca Padua stood out as well on one of the craziest waves from the day. Andrew Cotton got towed into a monster that clamped on him. Bianca Valenti had an insane wipeout that resulted in a 20 second hold down and popping up right before she took the next wave on the head. And Kai Lenny and Lucas Chianca surf giant mavericks like it was a small day. Enjoy this video from an Historic Day at Mavericks.”
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