Oahu native Pete Cabrinha currently holds the Guinness World Record for surfing the largest wave ever. The 49 year-old Cabrinha has surfed since he was just 6 years-old, and he still catches the waves.

In a telephone interview, Cabrinha told WaterWideWeb, “The day that I won the Billabong in 2004, I wasn’t out there pursuing a record. I was just doing my thing.”

Throughout his career, Cabrinha has experimented with kite surfing, tow surfing, and wind surfing. “Now I stick to surfing and kite surfing. But, I’d say that kite surfing is a main stay,” says Cabrinha.

The 7 year title holder has had his fair share of close encounters with dorsal fins and sharks. In Hawaii, there aren’t many sharks. So, seeing a shark in the water is always a bit alarming, he says.

On a trip to Tahiti two years ago, Cabrinha was shocked that sharks were everywhere. Apparently, the natives of Tahiti were not spooked by sharks swimming freely all around them. “Sharks in the water there are like neighborhood dogs. The relaxed attitude of the locals makes you feel more relaxed. You recalibrate your attitude toward them,” noted Cabrinha.

Part of Cabrinha’s success with big waves can be attributed to his participation in tow surfing. “In tow surfing, you use a jet ski to reach waves that you normally can’t paddle into,” explained Cabrinha. He and his friends pioneered tow surfing which allowed them to surf wave that were never ridden in places that nobody wanted to ride.

Cabrinha’s advice to aspiring surfers is to be concerned with the sport itself, versus the reward of riding the world’s largest wave. “First, enjoy it. Set personal challenges for yourself, and the rest will happen around you,” Cabrinha assures young surfers. “The prize becomes the mission rather than the journey. For me, it’s always been about testing myself and impacting the sport in a different way.”

At the conclusion of the interview, Cabrinha reminds readers that the surfers out there riding the biggest waves aren’t doing it because they’re after a prize. They’re out there because they are doing what the really love to do. Those who are passionate about the sport will challenge themselves the hardest. And those are the individuals who enhance the sport and leave behind their legacy in sport’s history.

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