Surfer’s love to claim they’ve scored the biggest wave of all time, but it’s hard to disagree with Peter Mel. The American big wave surfer had a memorable weekend after catching what many are calling the ‘wave of the decade.’

The 51-year-old was surfing the famed Mavericks surf break off the coast of northern California when he caught a heavy barrel. As he paddles in, the wave swells and grows to a massive size. Unfazed, Mel gets up on two feet and rides the wave without fear. Tucked into the huge barrel, Mel casually comes out with the spit as the crowd cheers loudly. 

“That wave was by far my best in 29 years of surfing Maverick’s,” Mel told Surfline. “I mean, I’ve been seeing those types of waves my whole life. But I was never brave enough to do it. I always thought, ‘maybe I could get one from there.’”

This is the second big wave Mel has attempted in the past month, with the Santa Cruz local riding a similar wave back in December. 

“So today, I just went to my spot again and said to myself, ‘I need to be a little deeper so I can actually get behind it and then pull up into it.’ And that’s kinda what happened. I just visualized the outside part where you can get the chip-in. That’s the only way you’re going to get through one of those big ones. Because you can’t take off from the bowl. It’s too vertical.”

 

   
   
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“So I got the chip on the shoulder and it worked out. The wave stayed open. I’m actually depressed right now. It’s crazy. I don’t know. It’s the weirdest thing. I’ve never felt this kind of…it’s like, ‘Oh my God. I’m 50 years old. Did I just do that?’ But it’s like, ‘now what? What do I look forward to now?’ You know what I mean? Do I do it again? It’s pretty scary, I guess, so I don’t know.”