BIG wave surfer Felicity Palmateer has miraculously survived a head-on altercation with a monstrous wave at Jaws which forced her to deploy her oxygen canisters and snapped her surfboard in half.
“I’m OK but my board is badly injured,” Palmateer told The Daily Telegraph from Hawaii after her appearance in the six-woman final at the Pe’ahi Challenge, part of the WSL Big Wave Tour.
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Palmateer, an artist, model and surfer, fell on a 30-35 foot giant and was then held down under the water by the ferocious force of the notorious wave off the coast of Maui.
She was eventually pulled from the impact zone by a water safety patrol officer on a jetski.
“I used both my canisters of oxygen, snapped my board and went round and round in the washing machine,” said Palmateer, who like all competitors wore a specially equipped buoyancy vest during competition.
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“I also coped a couple of hits on the head. But I’m OK. Not hurt at all really.
“It is crazy how much relief I feel now.”
Despite her close call in the biggest conditions she has ever surfed, Palmateer says the event was “unreal”.
“There was a great vibe all around,” said Palmateer, who finished sixth in the women’s hour-long final.
Defending champion Paige Alms won the women’s crown with fellow Hawaiian Ian Walsh claiming the men’s title in 30-40 foot conditions.
“Anyone that says they’re not scared of this place, I think they’re lying,” Alms said. “I think it’s the most powerful and intimidating big wave anywhere in the world, by far.
“I definitely look up to Ian (Walsh) and I’m super stoked that he won it. We couldn’t have asked for anything more — it definitely put on a show so thanks Pe’ahi.”
Gold Coast surfer Ryan Hipwood was the only Australian in the men’s final, finishing sixth.