What Is Cortes Bank and Why Are Its Waves So Famous?

TL;DR

Cortes Bank is an underwater feature off the coast of California that focuses wave energy, creating some of the largest surfable waves in the world, often exceeding 100 feet in height. The bank's unique topography and location result in significant wave formation driven by storms in the North Pacific Ocean. It became widely known among surfers after its massive waves were first ridden in 2001.

Transcript

Female Presenter: So welcome on behalf of Authors at Google. I'm really excited today to bring you Chris Dixon to discuss his new book Ghost Wave: The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth. Chris is the founding editor of SurferMag.com. He once spent a year documenting the wild life of another author we've posted here, Jimmy Buf... Read More

Key Insights

• 😃 The Cortes Bank is an underwater feature off the California coast that produces some of the biggest waves in the world.
• 👋 The waves at the Cortes Bank are formed by massive storms that originate off the coast of Siberia and are pushed by the Japan current.
• 👋 The waves at the Cortes Bank can reach heights of up to 100 feet or more and are sought after by experienced big wave surfers.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Cortes Bank, and how does it create such large waves?

Cortes Bank is an unusual underwater feature off Southern California that Dixon describes as essentially a sunken Channel Island. Its steep surrounding depths and broad shoal focus wave energy like sunlight through a magnifying glass toward the shallow pinnacle called Bishop Rock.

Q: What is Ghost Wave by Chris Dixon about?

Ghost Wave: The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth explores Cortes Bank and the surfers who pursued its waves. Dixon says the work and assistance of big-wave surfers who confronted waves around the world made the book possible.

Q: Why did Chris Dixon become fascinated with Cortes Bank?

Dixon became fascinated with the bank in 2001 after surfers including photographer Rob Brown and Mavericks surfer Ken “Skin-Dog” Collins went there. They rode waves that, according to Dixon, nobody even knew existed.

Q: How large is Cortes Bank?

Dixon says the bank’s shoal stretch is about 15 miles long, making it a large underwater feature rather than a small seamount. The surrounding water drops to 1,000 fathoms, or 6,000 feet.

Q: What is Bishop Rock at Cortes Bank?

Bishop Rock is a very shallow pinnacle where Cortes Bank focuses wave energy. Depending on the tides, its shallowest point comes within 12 to 15 feet of the surface.

Q: Who first investigated Cortes Bank as a possible surf location?

Around the turn of the century, Surfing Magazine photo editor Larry “Flame” Moore became determined to chart offshore locations that might produce waves. He examined Cortes Bank with Bill Sharp and Sam George after studying the spot off the California coast.

Q: What did Phillip “Flippy” Hoffman know about Cortes Bank?

Hoffman had fished for abalone at Cortes Bank in the 50s and knew that conditions there could become very large and rough. He described a place with cerulean water, kelp forests, schools of fish, and huge bat rays, but he never surfed it.

Q: What other underwater hazard did the surfers identify at Cortes Bank?

The maps appeared to show a shipwreck at the bank covered by three feet of water. The group did not know exactly what it meant, but they believed such a shallow obstruction could generate a wave.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The author became fascinated with the Cortes Bank after a group of surfers discovered massive waves there in 2001.

• The Cortes Bank is an underwater feature that creates huge waves due to its unique topography.

• The book explores the history of the bank, including its discovery by early surfers and the challenges they faced in surfing the massive waves.