H2uh0

'Shark Park," a spot miles offshore Santa Barbara County, looked deceptively placid.

On the deck of the 75-foot Condor Express, 10 seasoned surfers, six photographers, two videographers, two writers, a medic and a water rescue specialist watched earlier this month to see if it was big enough to break. There was a palpable sense that maybe they'd be out of luck.
But peering out over the surface of the sea as it rippled slightly like a rustling teal blanket in the early morning light, they focused on a set of waves racing toward the submerged rock reef, wondering if it would break.
Pointing at one wave as it bunched up on the reef, Dan Curry, a 46-year-old, barrel-chested, Carmel-baseed big-wave surfer and personal trainer, muttered, "There it is."
The wave warped ominously, jacking up as high as a four-story building half a city block long before the wall of water curved over, exploding in a thundering cavernous barrel. Sounding like a jet engine on overdrive, the explosion of white water sent a concussion of rippling "wavelets" as big as six feet into the channel.
Mr. Curry and the other surfers smiled.

They knew as the tide dropped, the waves would get even better, bigger and hollow.
With sea lions swirling through the clear water, the surfers on the Condor scurried to get into their wetsuits, beginning what would turn out to be a full day of epic surf in perfect conditions on a wave that had just been discovered. The Feb. 7 expedition to Shark Park -- given the ominous name because of its proximity to a spot where a sea urchin diver was killed by a Great White several years ago -- was part of a six-year effort by Montecito-based photographer and filmmaker Greg Huglin.
Since 2000 Mr. Huglin -- known to many as "Huggie" -- has been scouting distant offshore locales looking for the next Peahi or Mavericks or Cortes Banks. He was looking for a spot that can hold massive waves, possibly even the elusive crown jewel of this emerging extreme sport -- "the 100-foot wave."
In the last few years, big-wave surfing has made quantum leaps, as surfers began to use Jet Skis and Waverunners to tow themselves into ever bigger waves, double and triple the size of anything ridden before. Waves in excess of 50 feet cannot be paddled into, and tow-in surfing has become the next frontier for big-wave riders.

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