Tài liệu Ghost Wave - The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth pptx

ghost

wave

The discovery of

Cortes Bank and

the biggest wave

on Earth

CHRIS DIXON

A hundred miles off the California coastline,

a fabled peak rises from the depths of the North Pacific,

stopping just fifteen feet short of the ocean’s surface.

Legends and grave warnings surround this submerged

mountain, known as Cortes Bank—rumors of lost ships,

spinning compasses, of bus-size sharks and man-size

lobsters. Yet, the most daring of big wave surfers head

out to the Bank for one simple reason: it is home to the

biggest rideable wave on the face of the Earth; a swell of

massive proportions that surges in from out of nowhere

like a monster.

In this meticulously researched, salt-crusted adventure

tale, journalist Chris Dixon hits the high seas to bring

the secrets of Cortes Bank to the surface, drawing readers

into the harrowing world of the most enigmatic rock in

the sea and the tremendously dangerous big wave surfing

that occurs above it. He recounts stories from Greg Long,

Brad Gerlach, Mike Parsons, and a cadre of divers,

explorers, sailors, nation builders, and lunatics who have

all tried their luck at Cortes Bank and barely lived to tell

of their encounters. This astounding true story of the

Everest of the sea will captivate anyone with a curiosity

about, and respect for, the vast and unknowable ocean.

DIXON GHOST

THE TRUE STORY OF THE BIGGEST WAVE ON

EARTH AND THE MEN WHO CONQUERED IT.

“Ghost Wave takes us to a place of almost mythic power and tells a story that unfolds like a long ride

on a killer wave. I can’t imagine doing what those surfers are doing out there on Cortes Bank—and

I can’t imagine a finer book about them. This is a beautifully researched and compellingly written

book. I read it straight through from the first page. Terrifying.”

—SEBASTIAN JUNGER, author of The Perfect Storm

“A terrific, deeply researched tale about a truly wild place. You couldn’t make up Cortes Bank or

the characters who’ve tried to make it theirs. Chris Dixon takes us out there. He gets us amongst it.”

—WILLIAM FINNEGAN, author of Cold New World

“Mystery shrouded, invisible from shore, riddled with hazards real and imagined, the Cortes Bank is a

sort of Rubicon. Only a handful of surfers have crossed to the other side. In Ghost Wave, Chris Dixon

traces the Bank’s maritime history, the fanciful civilization of Abalonia, and the absolute madmen who

chase shifting peaks in the open ocean.”

—SCOTT HULET, editor, The Surfer’s Journal

“Ghost Wave is a first-rate account of an amazing phenomenon and the people who tried to conquer

and exploit it. A great read.”

—WINSTON GROOM, author of Forrest Gump

“After reading Chris’s most excellent account of the monstrous waves of the mysterious Cortes Bank—

the Bermuda Triangle of the Pacific—I never thought I would ever consider riding a wave like this.

But after surviving a five-foot, headfirst fall from the stage earlier this year, I think I might be ready.”

—JIMMY BUFFETT

WAVE

Chris Dixon’s work has appeared in the New

York Times, the New York Times Magazine, Outside,

Men’s Journal, Surfer, and the Surfer’s Journal. He lives

in Charleston, South Carolina.

Front cover: Grant “Twiggy” Baker on the biggest day

ever documented anywhere. Cortes Bank, January 5, 2008.

Photo: Robert Brown.

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Jacket design by Jacob T. Gardner

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$24.95 u.s.

Quinn Dixon