The Wave

Book excerpt: In recent years waves have been recorded which are dramatically larger in size. They have the power to flatten oil rigs and sink supertankers; they seem to disobey the laws of physics, swelling when logic shows they should be running out of steam. These rogue waves have attracted an obsessive following of scientists, who seek to understand them, and of extreme surfers, looking to tame them. The author talks to the climatologists trying to unlock the causes of these waves, and looks at the danger they will wreak on our planet. Guided by Laird Hamilton, big-wave-rider extraordinaire, the author exposes a world of obsession and dare-devil surfing, a world filled with eccentric wave-hunters - both scientists and surfers - who are universally convinced that bigger waves are coming. And that they can ride them.