High water mark

RHODE ISLAND SOUND -- As Tropical Storm Ophelia churned toward New England last Friday and the National Hurricane Center advised boat-owners to remove their vessels from the water, six men instead crowded into a 20-foot, flat-bottom inflatable and headed out to sea.

As their small red craft hopped across the choppy Atlantic, the crew, decked out in sleek black wetsuits, clung to the ropes and eyed the ocean hungrily. Years of training had prepared them for their goal on this overcast day: to ride the biggest waves New England has to offer.

Yet, at this moment, crew member Kevin Kirby's response to a question about finding sport where so many have found misery seemed poignant. ''I think Katrina and the tsunami have made people aware of the power of water," he said.

Captain Christian Schlebach surveyed them all and declared, ''It's like we're on a mission."

With strong swells pulsing up the coast, they hoped those waves would show their power at ''Elbow Ledge," a boulder-littered, underwater reef extending south for about 2 miles from Sachuest Point in Newport.

Schlebach, 36, and brothers Kevin and Matt Kirby had organized the core of the group for a day just like this. Schlebach had ridden 20-foot waves while growing up in South Africa. The Kirby brothers belong to the second of three generations of area surfers. The Hawaiian surfing experience of Teague Sobin, also aboard, would prove valuable. And darting alongside the boat on one of two jetski's was Kevin's friend since boyhood, Mick Souza, a former Mr. Universe whose jokes provided comic relief.

Because such big-wave surf spots are miles off the coast (where paddling would be very dangerous during storms), the group planned to utilize a relatively new surfing technique in which a jetski tows surfers strapped to specialized boards and whips them into large waves. Though some say ''tow-in" surfing with jetskis removes the sport's purity and can cause environmental damage, professional surfers like Laird Hamilton have perfected the technique to master previously unridable 80-feet waves like ''Jaws," a perilous reef break off the coast of Maui. With Ophelia more than 400 miles away, the group hoped Elbow Ledge would at least reach the 15- to 20-foot range -- large enough so that it would break and could be ridden using the tow-in technique.

''I think it's capable to get 30 feet," Kevin said.

The Kirbys know the reef well. They spear fish around it on calmer days and first tried surfing there in 2003 when Hurricane Fabian skirted the coast. That day, Kevin was towed on a homemade board but had to quit when the boat was nearly swamped by the large swells. Then they watched the next day as a group of professional surfers successfully rode the wave by towing behind jetskis, while a photographer captured the glory for Surfer Magazine.

Inspired, Kevin bought a jetski of his own -- a powerful four-stroke Kawasaki with a 1,500cc engine. He enlisted the help of big-wave legend Jeff Clarke, the man who pioneered the spooky surf spot ''Maverick's" at Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. For 15 years, Clarke rode alone through bitter, New England-type waters haunted by great white sharks. It wasn't until 1994 that the rest of the world noticed Clarke's beast, which has conjured waves with 70- to 100-foot faces. Since 2003, Clarke has shaped two smaller and sturdier surfboards for Kirby made especially for tow-in surfing, and he has coached Kirby.

''There's a difference, mentally," Clarke said of big-wave riders. ''You have to like power. You're almost like a mountain man. You're comfortable putting it all on the line. Being a big-wave surfer, you really rely on your instincts."

Bit of a letdown
Knowing that Elbow Ledge isn't the only surf spot in New England capable of producing big waves, Kirby began to train. The 48-year-old would run with dumbbells underwater until he could swim for a minute without a breath, a handy thing considering a wipeout on a 25-foot wave could put you below for 20 or 30 seconds.

Kirby also teamed up with Souza, who still looks ferocious at 44. Unable to swim or surf, Souza has learned to drive the jetski -- with a passion. Sometimes donning a snorkel mask, Souza particularly likes the thrill of riding down the faces of breaking waves. ''I just like to tow," he said. ''I like it big."

As the team headed toward Elbow Ledge, Matt, 45, likened it to approaching a distant island. From afar, it looked like a bump on the horizon. But upon arrival, the reality became apparent. House-sized swells undulated frighteningly at 20-30 m.p.h. A larger set of waves would surely have swamped the boat, so the group anchored at a safe distance. But the guys were disappointed. Elbow Ledge was ''feathering" (breaking only at its peak) and nothing more. Still, the Kirbys, Schlebach, and Sobin (who is working on his own surf movie) unpacked the tow boards, strapped in, and towed around the wave, hoping the swell might pick up.

It didn't. A rising tide stopped the wave from breaking, and before long, only 10-foot bulges showed. Crestfallen, the crew headed to a smaller surf spot nearby to pass the time.

''It's a fickle wave," said Kevin.

''Some days it's good, some days it's not," said Souza. ''Hopefully tomorrow, it'll be nasty."

Nasty was the right word for it. Overnight, forecasters predicted tropical-storm-force winds blowing onshore, with 40-60-m.p.h. gusts. But at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the wind blew surprisingly lightly as the storm neared Rhode Island. Assessing the conditions, the Kirbys and Souza made a difficult choice: Souza, who can't swim, would have to stay behind in spite of his training.

''It's not a game when it's 20-foot seas," Kevin later said. ''Nobody wants to be in a situation where somebody's going to get hurt. Obviously, we're not pros, but it doesn't change the fact that we're in 20-foot surf. It's not Jaws, but you can still die."

A breakthrough
The Kirbys met Schlebach near Easton Point, then checked Elbow Ledge. Again, the crew waited, and again, Elbow Ledge refused to yield. So the group traveled east to the Little Compton peninsula. Bingo! On the leeward side, they struck gold at a break they would identify only as ''secret spot." With the Kirby brothers working together and Sobin and Schlebach combing forces, the team strapped in, towed behind the two jetskis, and finally released the towropes' handles to ride 18- to 20-foot faces.

The session lasted for 3 1/2 hours as the storm mercifully veered into the ocean past Cape Cod and produced only light winds, allowing for prime surf conditions and sparing the coast. Even the sun appeared, and the crew towed so long that the Kirby jetski had to be switched to its backup gas tank.

''We are all so stoked," said Kevin, describing the waves as the biggest he had ever ridden in Rhode Island. ''It wasn't 18-25-foot Elbow, but . . ."

Throughout the day, a number of rescues were performed in which the jetski driver had to drag a fallen surfer out of the impact zone on a rescue sled. ''I was down for maybe 15 or 20 seconds," Kevin said, describing one particularly long hold-down. Clarke later suggested that anyone seriously considering tow-in surfing should at least learn to perform a jetski rescue and take a lifesaving class.

Danger aside, Kirby relished the accomplishment of the team. ''For me, it was just like reaching the top of Everest," he said. ''Because it's been a couple of years of just training, getting the gear together, coordinating. Well, maybe not Everest. Maybe Mt. Washington."

But for Schlebach, ''secret spot" was a nice warmup for things to come. ''It wasn't that big, but it was good training for one of those 25-to-30-foot days. If it happens, we'll be ready."