WHAT is as tall as a house, travels faster than a galloping horse and can make Cornwall one of the scariest places on earth? The answer is a giant wave known as The Cribber.

On average the wave occurs once every couple of years, when conditions are right. Surf bums have been known to give up and get a job waiting for it to arrive.

Last week the tides and low-pressure swells far out in the Atlantic coincided to create one of the best Cribber breaks on record.

While most of Newquay’s surfers watched respectfully from the shore, Clive Bertish, a South African surfer, tamed the legendary wave. Mr Bertish, 30, who has ridden giant waves at Mavericks, California, Todos Santos, Mexico, and Waimea, Hawaii, was one of two daredevils who braved the water when The Cribber finally arrived at Fistral Beach.

The champion big-wave surfer described the experience as incredible. He said: “If you try to put it into words it just sounds silly.”

The one longboarder who attempted to join him had his board snatched by the giant swell and dashed to pieces on the rocks. Newquay’s RNLI lifeboat was launched but the surfer had managed to make it back to shore.

Surfers from around the world go on alert from September each year hoping that weather conditions will combine perfectly to create the huge swell.

The Cribber became part of surf legend in September 1966 when three visiting Australians, Jack Lydgate, Johnny McIlroy and Pete Russell, rode 30ft waves at the spot off Towan Head at Newquay.

Since then the ideal conditions for the big waves have happened several times but only a handful of people have ridden them.

The Cribber takes its name from a reef which stretches out half a mile under the sea from Towan Head. Surf enthusiasts monitor five-day forecasts and wave patterns in the mid-Atlantic. For the best conditions a low pressure is needed to develop the 20ft swell that creates the waves when they reach the shores of Cornwall.

Wind direction and velocity are also crucial as anything above a Force 4 will cause the surf to blow out and higher wind speeds make conditions more dangerous. Low tides are also a vital factor in creating the ideal waves. The shallower the water, the more upward pressure is created so that when the water hits the rock formation it forms bigger waves.

Mr Bertish, 30, a sales representative for a surf clothing company based in Newquay, travels all over the world in search of big waves but was delighted to have one in his home town.

He said: “It’s unusual to get a wave that big in Newquay. It gives you a real adrenalin rush rather than just putting a smile on your face. I was out there by myself. There was one other guy who came out but he got himself into trouble and had to go back.”

Estimating the exact size of a wave is a hopeless task when you are on top of it. The photographer who took pictures of Mr Bertish reckoned the face of the waves ranged from 25ft to 30ft. Officially wave heights are measured from the back and do not include the trough. In Hawaii, home of big-wave surfing, breaks of 60ft are not unusual.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Please help: maimed children of war want their lives back
• Unlocking the cruellest prison
• Prince Charles named in £81m court battle