From: montage
For most surfers, a really long ride might last about 20 seconds and cover 50-60 yards, so imagine the thrill experienced by a group of standup paddlers recently when they rode waves for a distance of nearly five miles -- amid the splendor of the pristine Alaskan wilderness.
Consider two representations of two very big waves, below. The first is a photograph of Mike Parsons at Cortes Bank. The second is a video of Garrett McNamara near Nazare, Portugal. Now take out some measuring tape and make the distance of one foot between your hands. That's the amount, according to the Billabong XXL committee, that McNamara's wave is bigger than Parsons's wave.