An island surfer just found Hilton Head's 'killer' waves with a 'James Bond' stuntman

They'd come to ride waves created by tankers in the nearby shipping channel off Hilton Head's south end, but there were none to be had.

So, on Tuesday morning, Byron Sewell pulled out his binoculars and spied a shoal, one he'd never surfed.

This wasn't traditional surfing Sewell and his crew were doing — this was hydrofoil surfing.

A hydrofoil functions like — and even looks a bit like — a little airplane, according to Go Foil owner and designer Alex Aguera, who was on the water with Sewell. The device is mounted on a rod beneath the surfboard.

"Basically it's like you're ice skating on a wave," Sewell said, describing "foil-boarding." "You can ride ocean swells, and you can ride junky little waves," he continued.

Sewell had enticed Aguera to come to Hilton Head after posting a video of a minutes-long ride off Hilton Head. The video got the attention of surfing great Dave Kalama and his son Austin Kalama. The Kalamas and Aguera, of Maui, Hawaii, had been at the Quicksilver Waterman Collection Carolina Cup paddleboard races in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., and decided to take a quick trip south. The crew would stumble on a surprise find, one with sentimental value to Sewell.

Sewell's Hilton Head-based Native Son Adventures — which teaches surfing, among other things — and Sunny Daze Surf, which designs custom boards on the island, helped organize Tuesday's quest.

When the tanker waves didn't pan out, the men looked elsewhere.

"We'd been riding the inside shoals from about 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.," Aguera said.

"(Sewell) went way off to this outer shoal he'd never surfed," Aguera continued. "It was about 11 a.m., and it was like, 'Oh my God, this is a new killer spot!'"

Miles from the shore, outer shoals with long lines create big swells from waves crashing into them, according to Sewell. He added that a rogue wave almost capsized a boat Tuesday; only experienced and skilled boaters and water sportsmen and sportswomen should venture out near shoals and sandbars with large swells, he said.

The new spot he discovered was at least three miles off shore and produced 8-foot to 10-foot swells, he said.

The result: a three to five minute ride, about a mile long, Sewell said.

Dave Kalama, a renowned "big wave" surfer — who, as a James Bond stuntman, "rode a 40-foot wave in the opening scene of 'Die Another Day,'" according to Outside magazine — said he might reach speeds of 30 m.p.h. on a foil-board.

Later in the day, the crew ate at Hudson's Seafood to celebrate.

And Sewell, whose known for his famous post-Hurricane Matthew "Welcome Home" sign, nicknamed his new surfing spot after his dad.

Hampton "Hurricane" Sewell got his nickname from chasing storms, his son said.

But locals also remember the elder Sewell for teaching kids how to surf, which he's done for decades, according to his son.

Byron Sewell wanted to honor that legacy.

So, henceforth, the new surf spot will be called ...

"Hampy's."

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 3:41 PM with the headline "An island surfer just found Hilton Head's 'killer' waves with a 'James Bond' stuntman."