Latest Update: January 20, 2001

The Ben Marcus Report: Cortez Banks

To whom it may concern,

Talked to Peter Mel at 9:00 this Saturday morning, Fresh Off the Boat from Project Neptune, the first real succesful expedition to the Cortes Banks, a seamount 100 miles straight west of San Diego.

He was a little amped.

"It was fucking great. It was an insane trip. We scored. We just got back into San Diego Harbor. We putted out and putted back and it took about 10 or 11 hours to get there and back, each way. We were cruising on the way out. Slept all the way, in and out.

"It was just us out there, no other boats in sight. Randy Laine and Aaron Chang were out there on a V Boat. JP and Dana Brown were shooting 16 mm for Danas project. Rob Brown was shooting from his boat and Flame was flying overhead in a small plane.

"Mike and Gerr where shredding and me and Skinny were shredding. Evan tried to paddle and got whomped, but we all got whomped. I got whomped and we lost the boat at one point but we all pulled it off and got out alive.

"The waves were so fast it was incredible. Way faster than anything Ive ever experienced. We were way out in the middle of the ocean so there was nothing to slow these things down. The waves were going 25 or 30 MPH and it felt like we were going a lost faster than that. It was a life-changing experience.

"We showed up and there was some morning sickness and it didnt look that big. But then the swell filled in and the sun came up and it was on. All day it kind of looked like those Pat OConnell photos of San Clemente Island. There were seals bobbing around and checking us out. No land in sight. It was green and blue water, just beautiful.

"We surfed out there a solid six or seven hours. We got the morning session and then the tide changed and the place is real tide sensitive. The rip got going through it so we waited a little bit and then it turned on for the afternoon session. It was California oil glass, perfectly slick.

"It was insane. A life-changing experience.

And then this from Evan Via Steve Hawk:

"I talked to Evan. Here's what he had to say: It was huge but not otherworldly -- maybe not as big as that day at Outer Log Cabins a few years ago. Parsons got the two biggest waves, and they're probably the leaders for the XXL award right now. Evan was stoked. They were all stoked. It's a long, shifty wave. Like gigantic Sunset Beach, he said.

"All the tow-in guys were ripping. Gerlach surprised them all. He pulled into some big tubes and came out. Skindog pulled into a gigantic closeout that sounded heroic. Peter was doing his big condor swoops.

"Evan and John Walla tried to paddle into a couple but got caught inside by a big set that swung wide. Evan said he was pretty scared. Took two on the head, then got rescued by Peter and Skinny. He tried again later, but got caught inside again. If they were only paddling, they might not have caught any waves.