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Just received this video from the people at the BBC. It is the highest quality surf vid ever in the world, which is an actual fact, as this is the first time they’ve used the $100,000 Tornado HD4. It’s pretty cool and we can’t stop watching it. What do you guys think? Get over to the Surf Europe Facebook page and let us know.

Here’s the press release:

The clip is an extract from a six-part series called South Pacific, being broadcast on BBC2 from Sunday May 10th 2009 at 20.30 in the UK. The film, from the first programme Oceans of Islands, captures world class surfer Dylan Longbottom in super slow motion and high definition, surfing a 12 foot monster barrel wave.

Capturing the action at 20 times slower than the normal speed, the film also shows the awesome power of the waves from underwater – filmed for the first time are the spiraling vortices created by these huge waves.

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Filming was done with this $100,000 bad boy:

The BBC TV Series:

South Pacific is a portrait of life in the world’s largest ocean. Over six 50 minute episodes, this landmark series explores the isolation of its islands, the extraordinary journeys wildlife and humans have taken to reach these remote specks of land and what happened to both after their arrival.
Journey to places few people have heard of and witness the power of undersea volcanoes as they attempt to form new islands, tiger sharks snatching newly fledged albatross chicks and bizarre human rituals that involve jumping from 20 metre wooden scaffolds with only forest vines to break their falls.
Living in splendid isolation has created a strange and constantly surprising world inhabited by flesh eating caterpillars, giant crabs capable of opening coconuts, vampire bugs with antifreeze in their veins and many other unique animals like kakapos, kagus and monkey tailed skinks. All found nowhere else on earth.
The clip context:

The South Pacific, known as the place where surfing originated, is home to over a quarter of the world’s water and approximately 20,000 islands. These isolated islands exist in some of the most pristine waters found anywhere in the world, harbouring life that is rarely seen.

Some of the biggest waves in the world break on south pacific islands. The storm swells that created the waves in this clip travel over 3000 miles to break on Pohnpei’s shorelines.

The big waves have been an inspiration to the Polynesians culture, and riding them has been a tradition that dates back more than 1500 years.

Useful Facts

– The location of the surf shoot is Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape), Caroline Islands in The Federated State of Micronesia, a place well known within the international surf community for it’s world class reef breaks.
– The $100,000 high speed camera used to film this surf sequence can operate in super slow motion and high definition at 20 times the speed of a normal HD camera. The camera is a TyphoonHD4 which has been specially modified by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, UK, and is similar the the one used on previous BBC landmark series such as Blue Planet and Planet Earth. It required a special housing unit designed and built by German specialist high speed cameraman/technician Rudi Diesel. Until this film no one had ever tried using this type of camera underwater before
– The cameraman who filmed the clip is 27-year-old top surf Australian cameraman Bali Strickland. He’s filmed many of the world’s best surfers at the top surf destinations.
– The surfer who is featured in the clip is 33-year-old Australian world class surfer Dylan Longbottom. Dylan is a world renowned big wave surfer and surfboard shaper. Known for pushing the traditional limits of both aerial surfing and big wave tow in surfing, Dylan won the monster tube award in the 2005 Billabong XXL awards. These days Dylan is developing his board shaping business (Dylan Longbottom designs) and continues to track down and surf the biggest and deadliest waves he can find.