Note submitted by Vissla 

Gabriel Villarán decided to revisit one of the best waves he ever surfed in his life and one of the best waves ever surfed, especially in Puerto Escondido, in that epic swell in 2014.

His wave ended up losing in a controversial result (read note here) narrowly ahead of one by Shane Dorian from that same day.

“This is a flashback to a really big swell in Puerto Escondido, in the 2014 season, for which I was nominated for "Ride of the Year" (at the XXL Awards).

It was my first time traveling to Puerto Escondido with a good gun quiver, including this magical Klimax 9'4 epoxy, since the last time I traveled to Puerto Escondido with an XXL swell, I had to rent a gun. It worked well, but borrowed boards don't give you the same security.

 

See this post on Instagram

 

In Puerto Escondido, Mexico during the 2014 season 🌴 Motivated by instinct and gut feeling, I was able to take this opportunity and turn it into an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life 🙏🏻 @vissla_peru 💥 #creatorsandinnovators

A publication shared by Gabriel Villaran (@gabriel.villaran) the 16 2020 10 08: XNUMX PDT

That day I got into the water at around 7:30 or 8 in the morning and the truth is that I didn't have much luck with my first waves, almost all of them closed in on me and I was left wanting to catch one of those bombs. More or less at 11:30 or 12 in the afternoon, the wind started to come in and that's when I wanted to get out, I was tired, I was dying of hunger and I was thirsty.

Out of nowhere came one of the biggest sets of the day, the first waves came in tight and we all got through them, but the third or fourth wave came in with an epic shape, I didn’t hesitate, I turned around immediately as if to mark that I was going, while I was paddling I knew I had to enter and exit the tube immediately, I went down sideways to gain a few meters and I only remember that the tube was really big, I kept going down diagonally while everything got really dark, I was able to move forward, I was able to get through that first section and from there to the door of the tube, I knew I had to negotiate a half Backdoor exit, but the wave was full of foam and the exit got kind of complicated, I remember that I had to hold the line for a few meters to be able to get out of that critical middle area and release the guillotine.

The truth is that until I saw the images I didn't realise that it had been a really big, solid wave, it had been deep and had the potential to be something more than just a tube. The good thing is that I went with my instinct at that moment, it seemed to me that I had a good chance of doing it and I decided to go for it.

For me it was a historic day, one of the best waves I have ever ridden in my life, there were several wipeouts and several bombs, Brad Domke's on the skimboard and Shane Dorian's with which he won "Wave of the Winter", all of that happened in a single day," said the Peruvian.