Big wave surfer ANDREW COTTON, a plumber and father of two from Devon, hit the headlines in 2014 when it was rumored he had surfed the world’s biggest wave, estimated at 80ft. BENEATH THE SURFACE documents the journey of Andrew looking for his next big break.
Presented by RedBull.TV, the short film follows Andrew and his team of surfers, sailors and adventurers who put everything on hold as they secretly chase a wave off the West Coast of Ireland, that emerges only a handful of times each year, giving only hours of warning.
Taking a boat eight miles off the Wild Atlantic Way, the team battle the extreme cold and fierce weather conditions, whilst mapping the ocean’s swell, in order to try and catch one almighty ride. Far from home, frustration sets in as they play the waiting game with a wave not yet demonstrating it’s expected potential. With the days getting shorter, the window of opportunity getting smaller and a disappointing trip before Christmas, means Andrew and his team have to be ready to go as soon as the charts align. But with a young family at home, Andrew must balance the normality of the school run, before boarding a plane alone to Ireland, to face one of earth’s deadliest monsters.
Beneath The Surface can be viewed now for free on REDBULL.TV
Andrew Cotton started surfing at the age of seven on the North Devon Coast. Ever since then, catching waves and being in and around the ocean has been his life. When he left school he worked in a local surfboard factory until the age of 25. He then re-trained as a plumber, but along the way began to realise that his real passion lay in big-wave surfing. At first the Plymouth-born surfer focused on helping pioneer big-wave spots in Ireland, and more recently he turned his attention to Nazare, Portugal. Numerous Billabong XXL entries followed and he came to wider attention in 2012, when he towed American surfer Garrett McNamara into what the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed as the biggest wave ever surfed. Since then Cotton has notched up a series of indisputably big waves, one or two of which have caused debate in the press about whether they are bigger than Garret’s record. With the national and global media coverage that followed, it might be said that Cotton has been helping to push the boundaries as to what was thought possible and put Great Britain on the surfing map. But his success hasn’t come easy, particularly as his North Devon home is not exactly famed for its big waves. He’s sacrificed a lot to get to where he is today, working hard all summer in order to chase down waves all over Europe in the winter, as well as spending as much time as possible with his wife Katie and their two children.
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