Jamie O’Brien Nearly Gets Worked by ‘Scary Big’ Waimea River Wave (Video)

In case you hadn’t heard, it’s been a wet winter in Hawaii.

The North Shore of Oahu, in particular, saw heavy rains, flash floods, and dreary conditions during the month of February. The surf wasn’t great, either.

And all that water accumulated in the Waimea Valley, filling the freshwater lagoon to the brim, just waiting to burst. As expected, Jamie O’Brien – the most “psyched” Waimea Bay river wave surfer of all time – was there to ride it. And it was scary big.

“Biggest Waimea river of the year,” JOB claimed in his latest vlog.

Upon viewing the pregnant lagoon before it ruptured, JOB said: “Oh my god…this is gonna be gnarly. I’m scared, but psyching out of my mind. I don’t wanna act too excited because these guys look super extreme, who are digging the river. Get ready, that’s all I gotta say.”

Gnarly, indeed.

It was wild, unwieldly, hectic. Portions of trees and branches flowed down the raging flow, as surfers and bodyboarders attempted to ride the rapids.

Biggest of the year? Yeah, probably. Of all time? Not quite.

That title, at least in recent memory, goes to December of 2022. It was a stormy winter in Hawaii back then as well; it even hailed. Hail! In Hawaii! Anyway, once the river finally broke, JOB surfed the monstrosity and nearly didn’t come back to shore.

“I couldn’t control my board, and I honestly just fell right back,” he recalled. “It’s like a 10 or 12 foot wave, and it sucked me back. Then there was another wave, and it was just as big, and I’m like, ‘oh my god. I’m gonna die. My leash is gonna break. I’m in a very bad spot.”

This time, everyone made out okay.

“We love Waimea river,” JOB concluded.