In the first heat of the 2014 Body Glove Mavericks Invitational, a giant set wave rolled through the outer bowl, catching several of the competitors inside the massive wave. Veteran big wave surfers Jamie Sterling and 2010 Champion Chris Bertish failed to make it over the back and were drilled with the lip of the wave and the massive force of water behind it. But surfer Mark Healey could only watch as he found himself in the worst position: caught inside with an enormous wall of water bearing down on him and his fellow competitors heading his way, backwards over the falls.
Healey bails his board and prepares to take one on the head, getting drilled by the force of the wave and pushed a nearly 60 yards in. He comes up only to prepare for the next wall of whitewater heading his way. The horrific scene was captured with Mark’s GoPro HD3+ camera, giving just a glimpse of what these surfers endure. Note: the hold-down is edited, so it is not in real time. Check it out!