Airman hits the surf. Penguin hugs a surfer. Surboard gets sharked. 100 foot waves are a-coming.

‍✈️ Airman hits the surf in uniform

What’s the best way to say goodbye to six years in the U.S. Air Force? Apparently, it’s to get barreled—in uniform.

On his final day of service, Senior Airman Siaosi Soto paddled out at Sandy Beach on Oʻahu in full Air Force dress blues and caught waves on his bodyboard. Soto called it his “freedom ride,” and the whole thing was captured on video, complete with a soundtrack of Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The only hitch? When the day came, he didn’t have his own uniform—so he borrowed one from a friend. Good news: it washed well.

Surfboard suffers a massive shark bite

A surfer at Cabarita Beach on Australia’s east coast is lucky to be alive after a shark took a massive bite out of his board—almost snapping it in half but missing the rider entirely. The beach, located just north of Byron Bay, was promptly closed by local authorities.

Photos from the scene show a textbook Jaws-style chunk missing from the board. Kelly Slater chimed in on Instagram, calling the surfer’s escape “incredible” and adding, “Surfboards have saved quite a few surfers with that tiny barrier.”

The same beach saw a shark bite incident just two months ago. Surf Life Saving NSW deployed drones to scan the area after Monday’s attack. No injuries were reported—but one board is most definitely DOA.

Penguin hugs a surfer

In a moment straight out of Surf’s Up, filmmaker Alan van Gysen and a group of surfers were surprised by a surfing penguin during a session at Noordhoek Beach near Cape Town. The African penguin paddled into the lineup, jumped on boards, and hitched rides on surfers’ backs (hence the hugging).

Renowned for capturing seals, whales, and sharks in places like the Mentawais and Skeleton Bay, van Gysen called it “one of the most incredible wildlife experiences I’ve ever had.”

Surfers. They just never learn, says Erin (Hurricane)

Forecasters warn that Hurricane Erin, now a Category 1 storm headed toward the East Coast, could generate waves exceeding 100 feet in height—though skeptics say they’re unlikely without further intensification.

Jean-Raymond Bidlot, senior scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), told Newsweek that projections suggest “the largest significant wave height could reach values in excess of 50 feet with an associated most-likely largest wave of more than 100 feet.”

AccuWeather’s expert Alex DaSilva was more cautious: “While 100 feet can’t be ruled out, I think they would only be possible if the storm becomes a Category 4 or 5. Waves near the center of 50–75 feet are much more realistic (assuming a Category 3 storm).”

Still, local surfers are buzzing. One report captured riders cheering that Erin “is primed to send big waves to our coastline,” even amid warnings of dangerous rip currents and surging tides. Daily News summed it up best: “Deadly Surf Ahead.”

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team