Cheese Wave? Hunting an Elusive Novelty Surf Spot (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 7:39 PM ET

Meet Jon and Tom Paterson – two brothers, who spend their time “freestyle riverboarding” on the Ottawa River. It’s perhaps the most Canadian thing possible; it’s simultaneously dangerous, as the duo trudges out into raging waters, cheating death on multiple occasions throughout their videos, and also goofy, as they ride their inflatable boards on their knees, rasta-colored boardshorts over their fullsuits, bicycle helmets on their domes, and occasionally front flipping down the face.

So Canadian. But delightfully so.

In probably their gnarliest adventure yet, Tom and Jon hunt an elusive “cheese wave.” They never explain why they call it that, but most likely, it’s on account of the wave lurching at an almost right angle in the center, resembling a wedge of Romano. The whole thing plays out like a search for Bigfoot, or some other mythical creature. Give it a peek (and a chuckle) below:

“The entire summer, I was obsessing over cheese wave,” the narration begins.

As the boys march into the unknown, they search for the elusive mush of muenster. Then, apparently, they find it. They dive in, floating through the wave, sussing it out.

“It was so unpredictable swimming through this feature,” the narration continues. “The water was going straight up. We swam through it over and over again, trying to understand it. Sometimes it felt like it was sucking us through the wall. And other times, it felt like it was trying to backflip us. We’re essentially experiencing a reverse waterfall.”

They camp out, waiting for the river levels to rise, and finally, score the big cheese:

“Most waves, you have a tiny little space that you’re playing with,” the brothers reflect after the session. “But when you get on cheese wave, there’s a massive face. Even standing there looking at it…I knew it was going to be a good wave, but not that good.”

Paging Dylan Graves…

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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