Ghost Wave: The Discovery Of Cortes Bank And The Biggest Wave On Earth (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I am LOVING this book!!! Everything from how the Cortes Islands became the Cortes Bank, what early inhabitants were like, who the first explorers were to discovery and chart Bishop Rock, all the way up to present day. It's treacherous 25 miles of vastness is now considered THE place to go to catch the world's biggest wave. It seems we humans have been fascinated with the bank for thousands of years. Can't wait to finish. I've spent a lot of time on the California coast and the lure of what is offshore is an almost overpowering draw. So this story about the Cortes Bank 100 miles out to sea is a siren song. There are actually several threads woven together in this book. There is the history of the Banks as a maritime hazzard and their discovery; it's geologic origins and natural history; but the core of this rope, the essential story, is about the ocean and waves and surfers quest to ride the biggest and baddest waves (and why they risk it all). The waves at Cortes at perhaps among the very biggest rideable waves on the planet. The second chapter, "Once Upon an Island", was an interesting diversion into the early seafaring inhabitants of the Channel Islands called the Kinkipar. Most bizarre perhaps is the episode in which a group of adventurers tried to turn the banks into an independent island-state called Abslonia by sinking a concrete ship.There is one aspect of the book that I didn't quite like (nitpicky perhaps), which is that some of the chapters which didn't quite hang together; it read a bit like a series of magazine articles strung together in places. But overall it is a well written and soundly researched book.
What do You think about Ghost Wave: The Discovery Of Cortes Bank And The Biggest Wave On Earth (2011)?
If you love surfing or nautical adventures, this is a must read. If not, it may be a bit slow going.
—yung
Beautifully written, with just enough science and personal insights.
—heysaygirl
