Mavericks, California, is known for its terrifying waves. Dangerous waves of up to 60 feet have been recorded here, and wipeouts have taken lives in the past and continue to do so now. Chasing Mavericks (2012), Maverick’s: A Documentary Film (1998), and The Gift of Barong: A Journey from Within (2006) are all films that Grant Washburn produced. The celebrity also enjoys surfing, and he once told a story of a near-fatal wipeout at Mavericks.

Surviving a big Mavericks wipeout was the subject of a 2016 Surf Channel Television Network YouTube video featuring Grant Washburn. Washburn survived a near-fatal wipeout and now offers advice to other surfers who face these dangerous waves.

A horrifying surfing experience

In the video, Grant Washburn describes the wipeout as the worst experience of his life. He reflected on the day he and his friends went tow surfing. Tow surfing is a kind of surfing where the surfer is towed behind a jet ski, allowing them to ride waves that would be too rapid to catch by paddling alone. Washburn did reveal that boredom prompted him to attempt tow surfing and that he was promptly catapulted into a massive wave that the producer estimates to have been 60–70 feet in height. Washburn rode the wave well, but as he tried to make a turn at the wave’s conclusion, his foot became entangled in the surfboard’s straps. He estimates the explosion that took him out to have been between one hundred and two hundred feet wide. The next thing the producer remembers, is feeling helpless beneath the wipeout.

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Grant Washburn shares his experience while being stuck inside the wipeout foam, saying, “I wasn’t even scared, cuz I just thought I’m over. I didn’t really swim down; I was like, I want to take the last breath as late as I can. The lip is not hitting me; it’s hit you know, it’s like full concussion, and then I took a breath and I curled up and just got slaughtered like you know they look. Any big wave wipeout is just… you can’t describe it because it’s so intense and so loud, and so violent, so I just expected that to be what happened, and it just went on and on and on, which is I expected I’ll never I’m just gonna die.”

How did Washburn get out of this incident?

The wipeout was bad enough, but when Grant Washburn was underwater from it, he was smacked by several waves. The producer had no chance of recovery since the whole incident had rendered him numb. But he remembers how his friend Flea helped him out while he was desperately trying to find Washburn on his jet ski. Flea tracked down Washburn in time, and they rushed him to the hospital.

The wave that killed elite surfers Mark Foo and Sion Milosky, Washburn adds, was twice as huge as the one that nearly killed him. He also stresses the need for “staying calm” in such a situation, saying that it may be the difference between life and death.

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The producer is lucky to be alive to share this terrifying story, which hopefully serves as a warning to other surfers about the dangers posed by Mavericks.