(CNN)Professional surfer Tom Dosland is used to gigantic surf breaks, but none quite like the one he was sent free-falling from on Wednesday in Hawaii’s Pea’hi.
The Aloha state has been hit by enormous waves thanks to this year’s El Nino, sending even the most seasoned surfers tumbling as they attempt to navigate down the near vertical slopes.
In what has become a viral video sensation — social media has termed it the “craziest wipeout ever captured on film” — Dosland is sent airborne from a 40-foot monster wave.
Recounting the experience to Surfer Mag, Dosland likened the intense force to “being in a car crash”. He said he was actually blinded for a few seconds because of the strong sea spray before falling.
“It looked like a sea monster rising out of the ocean when it came my way,” Dosland said. “But I was going. No matter what. So I flipped around and started paddling to get into it.”
“You can’t really tell from the video, but there was some wind blowing spray up the face as I was about to drop in, which pretty much blinded me for a few seconds. I could only see out of one eye, and only partially.”