Spectators watch as body surfers wait to catch big waves in Newport Beach, California, on September 1, 2011. Authorities had warned that dangerously high waves were arriving from a winter storm off New Zealand. #

A surfer flies through the air after jumping off his board while riding the waves at the Wedge in Newport Beach, California, on September 2, 2011, as a large swell hits the Orange County beaches. #

Bruce Irons of Kauai, Hawaii, rides a massive tow-in surfing day during a lay day at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, on August 27, 2011. Irons is the brother of the late three times Association of Surfing Professionals World Champion Andy Irons. #

Laura Enever of Australia jumps into the water to compete in round three of the the Billabong Rio Pro Women's surfing competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 15, 2011. Enever was eliminated in the quarterfinal round by fellow Australian Stephanie Gilmore. #

Surfer Scott Chandler holds his daughter Tyler aloft as their dog Zoey rides on the front of their board during the Loews Surf Dog Competition in Imperial Beach, California, on June 4, 2011. #

Lifegaurds help pull a woman out of the ocean as high waves measuring up to 20 feet pounded the beach at the Wedge on September 1, 2011 in Newport Beach, California. A winter storm off the coast of Australia and New Zealand brought unusually high surf to the Southern California beaches. #

Owen Wright of Australia surfs his way to victory in the championship round of the Quiksilver Pro New York surfing tournament on September 9, 2011 in Long Beach, New York. #

Taylor Jensen of USA surfs a wave during an international surfing event at Sri Lanka's eastern coastal resort of Arugam bay on September 4, 2011. With surfers from the UK, USA, Hawaii, Netherlands, South Africa, France, Japan and Brazil the competition aims to promote the country's east, which was once plagued by the Tamil rebellion, as a major tourist attraction. #

A competitor rides a wave at the third annual Surf Liberia Contest at Robertsport on the coast of the West African nation September 4, 2011. Scarred by two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, Liberia is still recovering from years of brutal conflict, but a fledgling tourism industry has emerged, along with a nascent surfing scene. Among surfers, the country is celebrated for its faultless point breaks and some world-class tubes. #

Spectators are swept by huge waves while watching tides of Qiantang River at a dike on August 31, 2011 in Haining, Zhejiang Province, China. More than 20 spectators were injured by strong tides as the typhoon Nanmadol approached on Wednesday. #

Policemen and residents run as waves from a tidal bore surge past a barrier on the banks of Qiantang River in Haining, China, on August 31, 2011. As Typhoon Nanmadol approaches eastern China, the tides and waves in Qiantang River recorded its highest level in 10 years, local media reported. #

Travis Logie, of Durban, South Africa, free falls down a solid three-meter wave during round three of the Billabong Pro Tahiti at Teahupo'o in Tahiti, on August 28, 2011. #

Owen Wright, of Australia, rides a wave to become runner-up to champion Kelly Slater, of Florida, during the Billabong Pro Tahiti surfing competition, on August 29, 2011. #

Volunteer surf instructors cheer as 9-year-old Morgan Farrier, who is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, stands up on a surfboard during the Mauli Ola Foundation's Cystic Fibrosis Surf Experience Day in Redondo Beach, California, on June 18, 2011. #

Surfing guru Laird Hamilton is pulled on his standup paddleboard in Newport, Rhode Island, on June 28, 2011. Hamilton is working with the PUMA Ocean Racing team's entry in this year's around-the-world race on everything from design to nutrition. In exchange, they'll be searching for the world's biggest waves so he can fly out on a moment's notice. #

Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia surfs in the women's finals of the Nike US Open Surfing championship competition, on August 7, 2011, in Huntington Beach, California, Fitzgibbons won the event. #