Nathan Florence Survives Hectic Rock “Washing Machine” (Video)

Usually it’s the rock jump – the entering the water from a stony ledge – that takes surfers out. But in this case, it was reverse. Nathan explained:

“I got to do a new paddle out at the rocks. I met some new friends who I follow, who I’ve looked up to for a while. Some gnarly bodyboard dudes. They were willing to surf it. One guy was like, ‘I’ll show you how to do it.’ We jump off the rocks, and it was super sketchy. Right when I jumped off the rocks, I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get back in.’ That worked, but going in, I don’t know how it’s gonna work. So, the whole session, I was thinking about how I was going to get back in.”

Luckily, Nate and his new bodyboard buddy timed it just right, and they made it back in safely amidst the angry ocean smashing up against the shelf. He continued:

“Going in was way harder than getting into the water. It was a chaos washing machine. We paddled over to another area, and it was way worse. We were like, ‘how are we going to get in?’ The waves were exploding onto the rocks. There was just nothing to do but get it done. We get close, and then we look around, pause for a second, and I was like, ‘now! Let’s go!’ We paddled super hard and washed ourselves up the ledge. I put a ding in my board, but that’s way better than my head. It was extreme.”

Good news is, Nate’s still in one piece. And it appears the Slab Tour is still going strong. Stay tuned for more from the world’s foremost authority on mutant, nearly unsurfable waves to surely come in the near future.