FIJI – From near-drownings to unforgettable rides,last Monday was a day to remember at the Fiji surf break known as Cloudbreak.

FIJI – From near-drownings to unforgettable rides,last Monday was a day to remember at the Fiji surf break known as Cloudbreak.

Cloudbreak is a beautiful beast, the Red Bull surfing website writes.

“On a good day she offers up near perfection – warm, blue barrels with that perfect almond tube, and as you look out from the lineup you see tiny white-sand islands speckled with hammocks and palm trees. It doesn’t get more idyllic.

“But on a bad day, she’s windy and nasty and ferocious – you might get the barrel of your life, but also might die.”

Monday, May 2, 2016, was a combination of the two.

The islands of Tavarua and Namotu, Fiji, woke to a building swell. It was a sunny day and there was excitement in the air, surfers having flown in with anticipation the night before, but it wasn’t exactly perfect.

“I spend a few months each year as photographer on Namotu Island,” photographer Beau Pilgrim said. “I’ve been shooting Cloudbreak for the past five years. I’ve been present for a few swells of similar size, but this swell had some morning sickness and less than ideal winds. There were still some nice clean waves to be ridden.”

“A swell this size, although rare, wasn’t an anomaly. In fact, you might remember a day back in 2012, straight after the Volcom Pipe Pro – that was probably the last swell of this magnitude.”

And the boys didn’t wait to get out there. At the crack of dawn there were about three surfers in the water, including one Hawaiian charger named Aaron Gold. But he wasn’t out for long.

When Gold was clipped by a massive wave, it wasn’t just a “bad wipeout”. It was potentially deadly.

He was held down for three waves and came up unconscious. He was rescued by jetski driver Uri Juror, who was alone, and jumped off the ski twice in the impact zone to pull him onto the sled.

Gold, who recently won the WSL big wave awards, was foaming from the mouth when he was scooped from the water and taken to a support boat where fellow big-wave rider Mark Healy administered CPR.

When he was brought aboard the Tavarua boat, he was still unconscious. The crew revived the Hawaiian one minute after beginning the chest compressions.

Back on the island he was given oxygen, and within an hour Gold, while sore and humbled, was smiling at his good fortune.

He was eventually transported to a hospital for precautionary reasons. Shortly afterward Gold’s friends, much relieved, were back in the lineup catching epic waves.

When surf photographer Nick Atkins arrived on Tavarua that morning nothing could have prepared him to find Hawaiian pro Gold being resuscitated on the beach.

The Gold Coast cameraman was called by the World Surf League on Sunday morning to document the 15-20 foot swell at Cloudbreak and was on a plane by that afternoon.

“I work for the WSL from time to time and they just called me last minute. They said get to Fiji.

“There was a guy who was resuscitated back to life as soon as we got there in the morning – Aaron Gold . He was brought back to life.

“He was one of the first people out there and just took a bad fall. Monday was the first day of it, Tuesday was kind of big as well.”

Atkins said apart from once at Pipeline he had never seen waves even close to the size of the surf in Fiji on Monday.

The Fiji Women’s Pro is due to start at Cloudbreak this Sunday.

- PNCCloudbreak is a beautiful beast, the Red Bull surfing website writes.

“On a good day she offers up near perfection – warm, blue barrels with that perfect almond tube, and as you look out from the lineup you see tiny white-sand islands speckled with hammocks and palm trees. It doesn’t get more idyllic.

“But on a bad day, she’s windy and nasty and ferocious – you might get the barrel of your life, but also might die.”

Monday, May 2, 2016, was a combination of the two.

The islands of Tavarua and Namotu, Fiji, woke to a building swell. It was a sunny day and there was excitement in the air, surfers having flown in with anticipation the night before, but it wasn’t exactly perfect.

“I spend a few months each year as photographer on Namotu Island,” photographer Beau Pilgrim said. “I’ve been shooting Cloudbreak for the past five years. I’ve been present for a few swells of similar size, but this swell had some morning sickness and less than ideal winds. There were still some nice clean waves to be ridden.”

“A swell this size, although rare, wasn’t an anomaly. In fact, you might remember a day back in 2012, straight after the Volcom Pipe Pro – that was probably the last swell of this magnitude.”

And the boys didn’t wait to get out there. At the crack of dawn there were about three surfers in the water, including one Hawaiian charger named Aaron Gold. But he wasn’t out for long.

When Gold was clipped by a massive wave, it wasn’t just a “bad wipeout”. It was potentially deadly.

He was held down for three waves and came up unconscious. He was rescued by jetski driver Uri Juror, who was alone, and jumped off the ski twice in the impact zone to pull him onto the sled.

Gold, who recently won the WSL big wave awards, was foaming from the mouth when he was scooped from the water and taken to a support boat where fellow big-wave rider Mark Healy administered CPR.

When he was brought aboard the Tavarua boat, he was still unconscious. The crew revived the Hawaiian one minute after beginning the chest compressions.

Back on the island he was given oxygen, and within an hour Gold, while sore and humbled, was smiling at his good fortune.

He was eventually transported to a hospital for precautionary reasons. Shortly afterward Gold’s friends, much relieved, were back in the lineup catching epic waves.

When surf photographer Nick Atkins arrived on Tavarua that morning nothing could have prepared him to find Hawaiian pro Gold being resuscitated on the beach.

The Gold Coast cameraman was called by the World Surf League on Sunday morning to document the 15-20 foot swell at Cloudbreak and was on a plane by that afternoon.

“I work for the WSL from time to time and they just called me last minute. They said get to Fiji.

“There was a guy who was resuscitated back to life as soon as we got there in the morning – Aaron Gold . He was brought back to life.

“He was one of the first people out there and just took a bad fall. Monday was the first day of it, Tuesday was kind of big as well.”

Atkins said apart from once at Pipeline he had never seen waves even close to the size of the surf in Fiji on Monday.

The Fiji Women’s Pro is due to start at Cloudbreak this Sunday.

- PNC