Session Of The Year Comes To Cloudbreak: "It Doesn't Get Any Better"
In this day and age of surf forecasting and swell models, exceeding expectations is a rarity. Cloudbreak in Fiji did just that on March 7. Twenty-feet and about as perfect as waves get, it was the kind of stuff a kid stuck in a high school history class doodles in their notebook. Reeling down the reef with not a drop of water out of place, it was the kind of day that almost doesn’t seem possible.
“I’ve never seen a session where everyone’s getting a wave of the day,” describes Nathan Florence in his latest dispatch from Fiji.
Making the trip from his home in Hawaii deep into the South Pacific, Florence was joined by big-wave world champ Billy Kemper, North Shore hellman Benji Brand, former Championship Tour star Conner Coffin, and his brother, Parker. Posting up at the mythic Tavarua Resort, the first part of Florence’s new edit shows just how serious these kind of conditions were taken. There’s a lot of deep breathing and not a lot of chatter. Impact suits are pulled on, big-wave guns waxed and ready.
Hitting the lineup at sunrise, it was immediately apparent to the crew just what they were in for. Joined in the water by hard-chargers Jojo Roper, Kohl Christensen, Soli Bailey and a handful of others, this was serious surfing on the most serious of days. One after the other, set after set, the surfers got themselves into what can only be described as the waves of their lives. Things were cut short in the afternoon when the wind came up, but after after trading waves for hours, nobody seemed too disappointed.
Fiji Surf Goes 20-Foot And Perfect On All-Time Swell At Cloudbreak
There have been a number of epic surf days around the world in 2024 thus far, but this Cloudbreak session stands head and shoulders above the rest. Yes, Nazare was absolutely giant a couple weeks ago, and who knows, the legendary 100-foot wave may have been ridden. Not to discount just how heavy that day was, but March 7 at Cloudbreak is the kind of stuff surfers dream about.
“One of the best big-wave sessions I’ve ever been a part of,” Florence explains back on Tavarua. “It turned into this session of one after another of guys getting the waves of their lives and surfing big waves as comfortable as if they were surfing six-foot waves. It doesn’t get any better. Epic session with your friends … time for a beer.”
At the end of the day, everybody made it back from Cloudbreak in one piece and with a big, old smile across their face. Sure, Florence and the crew may be sore and their serotonin levels may be drained, but that's little price to pay for sharing the best waves of your life with some of your best friends.
Fiji Surf Goes 20-Foot And Perfect On All-Time Swell At Cloudbreak
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.