100 Foot Wave (2021) s01e05 Episode Script
The Circus
You can look back on the history
and you can interview a lot of people
and they're gonna tell you about
this notion of the 100-foot wave.
- The 100-foot wave.
- 100-foot wave.
- 100-foot wave.
- The 100-foot wave.
The 100-foot wave.
If people wonder where that concept came from, I'm gonna tell you right now, it was me.
I sproposed that idea as one of my many projects over the years.
It was laughed at first but then people went, there are 100-foot waves.
Maybe bigger.
When Garrett rode the giant wave in 2011, it was clearly the World Record biggest wave that had been ridden.
It just came out of left field.
It was such a shocker for everyone throughout the surfing world big waves they come in Hawaii, on the West Coast, not in the Atlantic.
But lo and behold the biggest waves in the world are there in Nazaré.
Seeing Garrett ride these waves resonated with people watching a tiny little surfer conning down this massive wave and then ygoing past this ancient structure that's been there since the 1500s.
You couldn't have made that up.
And there are giant waves starting in October all winter long, every three days.
It's just the most amazing wave factory that exists on the planet.
One of the most, if not the most famous surf spot in the world right now.
But any surfer who's been involved in the pioneering of a big wave break can't help but feel some kind of ownership to it.
It's got to be difficult for Garrett to see this starlet he discovered sort of dating other handsome dudes.
But that's just the way that things go.
Check out these monster 100-foot waves off Portugal.
The biggest wave ever surfed.
As high as 100 feet.
To put it in perspective, that is taller than an 8-story building.
Surfers are always looking for the next great thing.
It often breaks those brave or crazy board riders.
Severe white routes and waves of mind boggling heights.
What happens here, happens nowhere else in the world.
The biggest wave ever surfed.
The biggest wave ever.
A 100-foot wave.
100 Foot Wave Chapter 5 The Circus Nazaré, Portugal 2019 Season 10 No one would have had Portugal on their top ten list of water sports destinations ten years ago.
But now yevery important big wave surfer goes there, late October, early November, to train.
And now the women with Maya and Justine, it's really becoming a much more diverse time in Big Wave surfing.
Maya came very early on.
She had a very bad experience and overcame the traumatic experience and became the most determined, the most focused big wave surfing woman.
I had a pretty guilty feeling after the accident of wanting something too bad that it almost killed me.
If you ask me what made me come back, I didn't want the accident to shape the rest of my life.
January 18th, 2018.
We went out really early.
It was super cold.
All the waves were especially big and I knew that if I rode a wave that day it was probably be a world record for a woman.
And when it came I just knew it.
I knew the wave had a lot of potential.
I knew there was a lot of water moving.
I knew that I didn't want to fall.
When I see that video, I can barely believe it's me.
That wave got me the woman's world record.
She ended up with the world record and I was so stoked.
For a while she was the only girl trying to charge.
And then Justine came along and they're both just amazing, amazing athletes.
In big wave surfing the girls are just as capable as the guys.
Justine is one of the standout surfers in Nazaré.
Paddle, tow-in, stand up, short board.
She's amazing at all of it.
She brought some of the biggest waves that are out there this year.
I surf because I just love it.
That's all.
To me surfing a wave is about being present and being alive.
To me there isn't a question of gender between being a man or a woman surfer.
You are seen as a surfer and seen by the way you behave.
It's that simple.
I was happy when I first got here to see Maya.
She didn't ask herself if another woman had gone to Nazaré before her.
This was the first place I felt not judged by me being a woman in the water.
This small community, nobody cared that I was a woman.
Which is not something I can say about Hawaii, and other places.
I was accepted as I am.
It didn't matter if I was a woman or a man.
I had my own surf technique.
So I was respected because they saw me as a good surfer.
What she does and the commitment she has in everything she does It's amazing.
I have Fred with me at all times.
He is a fish in the sea.
He is a lifeguard and a professional bodysurfer.
It's great having my boyfriend, my partner, my love with me in the water.
I chose to live my life with these big waves in Nazaré for now.
Yes I'd love to catch a giant wave and I think every surfer that comes to Nazaré shares the same desire.
More than 20,000 flashes of lightning were recorded as the storm raged throughout Saturday and into Sunday.
Rain warnings in effect for pretty much all of Portugal at this time.
In addition to this, the red surf warning in effect for some of those coastal areas.
Night before the swell Come see what we're getting tomorrow.
It's a rare one.
Huge and coming right at us.
That's sick.
It's the entire ocean.
I have faith that it'll be here by the afternoon.
That's tight, eh? I'm kinda feeling like I might catch a wave.
It's so clean.
Why wouldn't I? Because you had a foot operation like six weeks ago.
Yeah but when I'm flat footed, it's fine.
Just don't put it back.
It's not even halfway through the winter.
Morning of the swell I remember kind of thinking it still might be possible the whole time.
And I almost was gonna surf.
I was in my hotel room and I was looking in the mirror, talking to myself, trying to figure it out.
Playing through the different scenarios.
Is that a Patagonia suit? I felt confident about driving and putting Cotty and CJ on waves.
But I didn't feel confident about taking a big wipeout.
I'm just doing my best to stay calm and patient.
I'm feeling like we should be at the Harbor going into the water already.
But it doesn't matter, I'm not surfing.
Do you get nervous? Oh yeah.
I probably get more nervous about the fact that it's CJ instead of Garrett.
There's a really perfect, clean swell.
The kind of days that I really look forward to surfing here in Nazaré.
I'm gonna put CJ on the wave of his life today.
The only one you want is you want this, or you want this.
This one to come right here in the middle.
Then this one's hollow.
I'd say there are going to be at least 30 skis out there so it's going to be pretty crowded.
This is actually the best it's been looking.
Look at that, that looks fucking nice.
Once we've realized Garrett's foot was messed up and he wasn't gonna surf, it kind of put Garrett, Cotty and I all in our own versions of what's going on here, as opposed to; okay boom, we're all on the same page.
We're healthy, we all want this wave.
The three of us were in different places, you know? Me with minor injuries still looking to surf.
Garrett like really taking a step back and Cotty like rearing, ready to go.
- What are you thinking? - Don't know really.
Cotty reminds me a lot of myself as far as his desires and his focus.
It's nice to see him so hungry.
It would be nice to get him what he's looking for.
- Are you excited? - Sort of.
Nervous, you know? - It looks like the magic day.
- Yep.
You're excited but nervous.
This was the biggest swell that came through this season, so far.
It was Garrett's first time really driving since the foot injury, and we were ready for a giant wave to come through.
We're going to offer this to the ocean in thanks and gratitude and also asking her permission to keep us safe and protect all of us.
That we can all stay present and just soak it all up.
Be in our bodies and have some good experiences.
- Everything cool? - Yes.
Hi.
Okay, so we're all linked up now.
Is everybody good? - Does anybody need anything? - All good.
When I got back on the waves I definitely felt a big uprising in competitive energy.
Just with all the people up there.
It's a circus out there now.
Everyone's there.
Ready to go.
Wanting to push the limits, wanting to catch the biggest wave ever.
Look at what you've created.
It's kind of surreal looking back to how good we had it when we learned about it.
Now there is 20-30 jet skis.
Who's to blame? Us? You're a victim of your own success.
This is the first time that I'm surfing Nazaré in six years and I definitely have that feeling of the new kid in school.
All these pros, everyone I see in all the videos and everything.
They don't know who I am and I'm just kinda Garrett's sidekick.
And then there's the other side of that too, the Portuguese people especially, they would remind me.
No you're the original.
You were here with Garrett for the first time.
So that's good too because I need to learn to claim my moment.
Claim what's rightfully mine, you know? And if it's just one glorious wave at Nazaré amidst all these people it's like no, I can get one too.
- Nicole, you up in here? - Yeah.
We're in between first and second peak way outside the furthest out.
A little outside, you might add one that swings in.
I'm basically trying to get one wave and get the biggest wave that I can.
And I see this big set come through.
I'm like man, that's the one.
Garrett puts me on the right way up the beach and I go on this thing and I'm like lining up and I drop down and I'm just flying so fast and it's bumping so hard and I'm barely staying on.
I feel like I'm fighting to stay on.
You fall off you're like with no breath for a while.
And that's a very scary thought.
End up making it out and there's a bigger wave behind it.
Massive, it comes and picks me up.
I like get the board on, get on the sled and he was flying out of there.
That was CJ, he gets out and I put him on the sled.
We got down there really quick and the board came out from under him.
So his board is on the beach and I'm not sure how we can get it.
I was pretty happy that my board washed in.
And I kinda couldn't surf any other waves because it was pretty terrifying.
I felt pretty unstable going that fast with those bumps, flying down that wave.
I was like oh my god, am I like ready for this right now? And I didn't really feel like I was too ready for it.
So it freaked me out actually, quite a bit.
That was a big ass wave.
- Which one? - Yours.
It was, huh? It felt big.
Couldn't tell.
- How'd it feel? - Weird, it was bumpy.
I'm questioning and doubting.
Like what am I doing? What am I doing? Is it really that fun trying to be out there and surf these 50-60 we're talking about 100-foot wave, is it that fun? Not really.
So I'm thinking, what am I doing? I'm out there risking my life for what? What if 200-foot waves existed on the planet? Good ones.
Are we gonna be out there trying to surf 'em? Where do we draw the line? How was the feeling about the teams? There was a lot of people with jet skis and I kind of liked it, it was nice.
The waves are being surfed all over the place.
Usually there's a lot of waves not being ridden, and it's fun to watch everybody ride.
People on the cliff are happy.
I've surfed enough waves out here, it's fun to watch people now.
Earlier that day Let's take a trip to Portugal with some impressive images.
It's a French surfer that rode one of the world's biggest waves.
Yes, her name is Justine Dupont.
She is 28 years old.
And she surfed the biggest wave of her life.
Yesterday something extraordinary happened.
There was a very big swell.
And I surfed a crazy wave.
Frankly, by far, the most beautiful wave of my life.
The perspective to be able to see the wave and the way the shadow was.
You know, it's amazing.
Yeah she scored this wave with a bunch of dudes out there, and somehow she got that wave at the bottom of the day and just charged it.
It was one of the best shots I ever filmed.
Laurent was in the water shooting the wave.
And I was driving the jetski.
We really got away from the beginning until the end.
And everything you want it's on the footage.
That was the best one today.
It's an interesting world.
Surfers and surf photographers.
It's a very codependent relationship because really you can't have a surf photographer without a professional surfer and you can't be a surfer if you don't have a photographer.
If you want to go out and surf for fun Photographers aren't necessary.
But if you want to surf for a living you've got to document most of the things you do.
And in the world of cinematography and the ocean Mike Prickett has been at the forefront.
My name is Mike Prickett and I'm a surf cinematographer from the North Shore of Hawaii.
I've been doing this, jeez for almost 40 years.
Since 1979 I think I started.
Mike Prickett is one of the greatest surf cinematographers in history.
Mike was always at the top of his game, he was always the guy you wanted working with you.
He's a legend in the community swimming out in the biggest days of surf with these massive camera rigs on his shoulder.
Basically almost any film that you've seen that's water work to just any surf movie Mike has shot.
But Mike has gone through some tough times.
He had a horrific accident in Tahiti.
I went to Tahiti to do a commercial, and I saw a diver that was in trouble, that got stuck in a down current.
So I went down to rescue him.
When I got to him he was 220 feet under water.
He had no air.
He was in a complete panic, his eyes were this big.
I was trying to get him to calm down because he was hyperventilating.
But as I was bringing him to the surface I could feel the air starting get lower we were going to run out of air soon.
We had no choice but to make an emergency ascent.
We broke through the surface and we didn't even make a safety stop.
Within a matter of moments he was already passed out.
Due to getting the bends.
The bends are bubbles in your blood.
So the bubbles went into my spinal cord.
On March 14th I was injured in a dive accident in Tahiti and paralyzed from the waist down.
And the doctor says I have about six months before I plateau off of my recovery.
Yeah I got six months to see if I can ever walk again.
We'll see.
It's been quite a while since that happened.
I was in a wheelchair.
I don't really bring my wheel chair with me.
I just force myself to hobble around and I torture all my friends to go slow walking with me, because I take forever.
Yeah they don't care.
They're like ah, come on pick it up, crippled guy.
Slowly, through the physical therapy he's able to move his legs.
He still has no feeling on them but he's walking around with crutches now, I took a slow road to recovery but yeah that's kind of what happened.
Let's go and get in position.
We shoot a regular surfing shot in the shoulder of the waves right now.
And then after that we'll try and track one.
I'm going to tow Cotty on a couple of waves.
We're going to move over to second, third peak away from the surfers.
Here we go.
Rolling.
Garrett is pulling Cotty down a wave.
And we're looking at Cotty and he's going right.
Yup.
We got it.
I've been here a long time doing footage on the jetski with a go-pro.
This is the future.
Everything looks good.
To see Mike come back and continue to do amazing both technically and artistically Is just an absolute inspiration.
I was elected Mayor on the 29th of September 2013.
When I came to the citadel, the Nazaré Project had already fulfilled some of its goals and we needed to open up Nazaré to other surfers, to spread the word.
And within that vision for me, it was mandatory to have a world surf league event every year.
October 30, 2019 Nazaré Tow Challenge Announcement Through the work of Garrett and through the work also of the ladies, we celebrate this event here.
We've been showcasing the world that the big waves making sure that my dream and the dream of a lot of people in Nazaré is maintained through the years.
It's good to see.
Good to see.
I'm really excited about the Nazaré tow challenge.
Yes I'm really excited about the Nazaré tow challenge.
It's again it's another opportunity to compete on the world stage.
Looking for the perfect conditions.
I want to be actually surfing and not surviving.
Big wave surfing events generally have a window that will run a certain number of months.
The Nazaré tow Surfing Challenge started November 1 and ran through the end of February.
So we have four months to wait for just the right combination of all the elements to come together.
Calling the day for a big wave event is probably one of the most complex things you can possibly do in the sporting world by a mile.
The Super Bowl I can tell you five years from now exactly what day and hour the kickoff is.
In big waves, it's just not like that.
There's gonna be a day at some point in the next four months and we'll tell you three days in advance.
You are constantly monitoring the local weather, the tide, the exact direction of the swell.
You never know totally for sure.
But you have that pressure of saying, look, we're going to run an event.
We're going to have a hundred people from around the world fly in.
We're gonna spend between the events and the prize money and the broadcast probably not far off a million dollars.
So when that perfect storm does come, you don't want to blow it.
February 2020 Three months after contest announcement.
On February 8th the WSL announced that he Nazaré Tow Challenge would be held on February 11th.
The clock was ticking away with an amazing crew of decision makers of the world surf league and especially the local crew there at Nazaré were able to just take what we knew about every other storm that's coming in the last six or seven years and study it and look for the one that had all the right components.
February 11th was going to be easily the best day of the year.
They reached out and I said yes, it looks amazing.
There's definitely a swell.
It seems to be big enough.
And I believe the waves will be there.
It's pretty cool, exactly what we had envisioned and focused on and plan from this place from the day we showed up is now actually happening.
And Cotty's got a spo.
I got a spot but I'm I don't I'm not gonna but I am keeping a wildcard spot so that if I'm better and it is the 100-foot day then I'll surf it.
What's up? How are you? I'm getting excited for you, for this year.
- I'll definitely be ready to drive.
- Yeah? I'm 100% ready to be on the cliff and orchestrating, that would be fun too.
- I think that could be more valuable.
- More valuable, huh? But you'll be freaking out When I watched from the cliff I couldn't do it.
- Couldn't do it.
- It freaks me out.
Because you want to be in the water.
Well you want to be in the water, but also from that different angle it looks so much more gnarlier than from the beach at times.
- Alright, love you.
- Right.
I'll speak to you in a bit.
Love you buddy.
When Garrett was starting to talk about the tow contest and everything, I felt like I had no business being in it at all.
It just felt way out of my league honestly.
All these surfers have had an extra six years experiencing surfing Nazaré, when I haven't even been around.
Yeah, it was hardly even on my radar to be a competitor in that.
So I didn't come for the second half of the season just because I didn't feel ready.
And also, I had another opportunity, a thing that arose that was more what I was supposed to be doing, which was going deeper into healing.
I flew down to Peru for two weeks.
This tribe has created this little village center there for people to come and experience the medicine of the jungle.
The diet is two meals a day and then at nighttime, dinner is drinking Ayahuasca.
So I went there looking for some healing, looking for some answers and clarity on life.
And I've gotten so much growth and learning from that experience.
As I'm getting clearer on what all this means and what's important to myself, I'm finding more respect and a different kind of drive for pushing these limits and surfing this giant wave.
I feel better about the quest now for this hundred-foot wave and I don't feel rushed at all about it.
It's gonna come when it comes.
With the contest on and stuff it's not been the most straightforward of years.
I've been surfing with Garrett for the last 8, 9 years and obviously Garrett's been injured.
So I've been partnered with Tom Butler from the UK.
- You wearing gloves? - No, I'll probably regret that.
- Regret that? - Yeah.
I've been putting in the time with Tom we have to then build our connection together.
We've got to compete.
I'm fortunate to have Tom because he was one of the early guys at Nazaré.
The WSL tow challenge is being watched all around the world.
News crews are coming from all around the world and that's pressure.
But it didn't take too long and we were getting quite comfortable.
We believed in ourselves.
Cotty's excited, hungry, wants it, he's been training for it all year.
He's got a good partner and they're ready.
But they'll also have some serious competition.
Grab the keys.
How's it going? Good to see you.
Can I feel your board? - Do you like them that weight? - Oh it's just for because it's small.
I have my heavy ones for tomorrow and the next day.
- How heavy? - Ten kilos.
Yeah.
Is this one you were doing on the flip side? Sick.
That's the guy to watch, Kai Lenny.
He does every discipline in the water, he's the best at everything.
He does 360s and lands it, and it's amazing.
So I think he's the best guy to watch.
He's an up comer.
Now that Garrett's discovered this wave, Kai's going to rip it apart.
If you need anything while you're here please let me know.
- Thanks, G Mac.
Maybe some tips.
- I'll get tips from you.
Big wave surfing definitely has its old guard and its new guard and Garrett's the ultimate example of the old guard.
The new guard is perfectly represented by Kai Lenny.
He's like a once in a generation freak.
He's just progressing more rapidly than any surfer in history.
Big wave surfing probably will never be the same after Kai Lenny.
I mean the things that he's doing.
Garrett isn't gonna be doing that.
I don't see CJ doing that, I don't see Cotty doing that.
Big wave surfing ebbs and flows with popularity.
Someone like Garrett has gone through the highs and the lows of the sport.
I think as far as progression goes within the sport, it's gonna keep on going places no one ever thought was possible.
My towing partner for the Nazaré challenge is Lucas Chumbo.
When Lucas and I decided to team up, he in my eyes was the most progressive big wave surfer.
He's really pushing the level at Nazaré with giant barrels and giant airs and big maneuvers.
And I wanted to be partnered with somebody that I had a huge amount of respect for, and who I thought was actually better than me.
- Mr.
McNamara! - How you doing? Good to see you.
Lucas is somebody to focus on.
This is the blow.
When I got here in Nazaré I feel so much at home, or I feel so comfortable here.
At my home I'm doing what I love.
And for sure I'm in the best place to do what I love.
What's up guys? Did you get a couple? - We didn't see you in yesterday.
- Yeah, a day out of the wet suit.
You know what time I finished? 2:00 AM to clean the ski.
I'm done today.
I need to rest.
I loved it actually when I came first time to Nazaré, I didn't have any sponsor.
Then two years after I got this sponsor from Red Bull and this is was a dream for me and now I have my locker.
I want to thank you for coming to the inaugural Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge.
This is an event that for a lot of us has been a lifetime in preparation for.
A real opportunity to showcase the state of the art big wave surfing.
When we get up to make the record, nobody go to the light house on that day.
Imagine the difference between that day and now.
I imagine this is the first time you've come back to Nazaré since you had the accident? Oh no, no.
That was like years ago now.
Do people think you're a bit like mad that you're coming back after that? Nah because if it was that horrendous then I wouldn't want to do it again.
And I never thought I was gonna drown or die, so it's just an injury.
- Cheers man.
- Thank you, you're very kind.
Being constantly reminded about the wipeout we can't take too seriously.
It's just part of it, getting the exposure as well.
I could have made that wave and could've been the best of my life.
But probably no one would have ever seen it.
It's like a double-edged sword of what people want to see.
I've been doing the big wave tour for 20 years now and the everyone wants to win ride of the year.
The award you don't want to win is the wipeout of the year.
One of the hall of fame moments was Andrew Cotton at Nazaré getting a little trophy that affirms yours was the best wipeout of the year maybe took a little bit of the sting out of it.
Been trying to win an XXL Award for my whole career and then I win one for a bloody wipeout.
The irony is that this is so typical.
I don't think there's any question that people love a good wipeout.
Just from pure statistics, I just know how many views the wipeouts get versus the biggest paddle wave.
It's just not even close.
As long as they come out of it okay, it's just an epic fail.
The five best wipeouts will be enjoyed more than the one skillful ride because most people looking at it don't know the difference.
The waves are supposed to be good tomorrow too, right? - Yeah.
- Are you going to surf tomorrow? My foot's not really ready for this kind of stuff.
It's not worth it to go out there and hurt my foot and big old swell comes.
That's true.
- I miss you so much right now.
- I miss you.
These are the times I just want to get on a plane.
Oahu, Hawaii I stay home sometimes but it's all a blur.
Nicole McNamara, Garrett's wife/Manager Motherhood is a blur.
I caught one.
Garrett had a lot of work to do, so sometimes it's easier for Garrett to go and just get the work done, then for the whole family to go and us Go do bubbles! Without my family around there's a lot of time to think and so I'm thinking there and ah I could do the contest.
One wave is all I need, one big wave.
A hundred footer comes, I'll be out there and it will probably come to me.
So I was thinking, yeah, I think I want to surf it.
Three days ago I went out there and after I drove around and felt my foot and felt the chops and checked into my body and realized that if I fell I probably wouldn't come home.
And I was actually getting scared.
Letting fear enter my mind.
I have no business out here, and I want nothing to do with this.
Garrett's mentioned the fear.
I don't think it's so much fear of the waves but fear of the pain that he felt with his shoulder.
I don't think he's afraid of dying, if you die you're not in pain.
His is like just feeling that pain again and depression.
I do feel that it would have been amazing to surf.
But I didn't want to push it.
I wasn't ready.
Two Days Before Contest I've been on the walkie for a minute or two here and there.
Never really was a spotter.
I've always been interested in doing it because I want to see what the people are watching when they're spotting and how they're sharing with us what they see and where they want us to go.
I think we'll have a good practice with Cotty.
I think it will work out.
It's gonna be interesting, something new for me.
Cotty, you guys out there? Yeah just getting out just getting up to the lineup.
How's it looking? Do you want to wait for the sets or just go for anything? I think at the moment we are happy to wait for some sets.
It just feels different trying to see which way they should go for.
This peak here? I can't see where you guys are.
Second third peak, Shit wait, wait, wait.
Definitely some waves on the outside.
Hang tight right where you are.
Second beat, second beat, run over there, go get it, go get it, go, go.
He's gone, he's going, he's going.
He made it, holy shit, amazing.
Wow that was a heat winner.
This is gonna be the greatest show in surfing.
There's no doubt about it.
Yeah boys, you guys are already here.
That was too fast.
I thought it was gonna eat you.
Yeah.
You cranked it so hard, the whitewater was coming, I was like oh, he's done.
I was about to say, down, down.
And then To have Garrett in your corner, like, it's a dream isn't it? Well if someone said to me like, 10 years ago.
Oh you know you're gonna be in the Duracell Nazaré Challenge and Garrett's going to be on the radio calling the shots.
I never, ever in a million years I would think that it's possible.
Garrett was just someone you saw in magazines and movies.
Not somebody who Facetimes you at 6:00 in the morning.
- Hello.
Hey! - Hey.
Hi there! - Did it get smaller? - No, it's good sized.
There's gonna be some good waves and it was really beautiful today.
Guess what I got a taste of today? I have so much more understanding and I guess I should say respect for spotting.
Because I spotted today on the cliff for practice.
It's hard to tell which wave's gonna be the wave.
Yeah it's really hard.
As soon as they came I scored them the sickest wave right out the gate and it worked perfect.
And then they got another good one and then it was tough.
You guys gotta win this thing.
Yeah I know.
Well we're set, aren't we? Oh it's nice and warm in here, it's so cold.
Thank you so much for bringing this.
Sorry to put that on you.
Good to see you.
- So you guys have a meeting at Linos? - Yeah, yeah.
- What kind of a meeting? - Safety and then What is the safety plan? Did they have one ski delegated to each team? Some people weren't happy.
There was only like 2 or 3 really good safety guides out of the 5.
That doesn't seem good at all.
Those safety skis are gonna be on the beach so fast when they lose their ski.
- And you're happy with that? - No, but what can you do really.
I think it's gonna be as safe as it can be, you know? - Let me call Bill.
- Alright, thanks very much.
It's just things can go wrong so quick.
You can have two skis down in a second.
All of a sudden everyone's on two skis and there's still three skis surfing.
- Garrett? - Bill.
I was talking to Cotty about the safety, it sounded really, really scary to me what you guys got in place.
We're about to have another meeting on it, it's been basically an outgrowth that we all talked about.
It's the last meeting, if you want to come and chime in, it's coming up.
If I was in the event I would want to I would say more, but since I'm not, I don't really feel like it's my place to say anything.
Either join in or wait and see whatever we come up with.
- Alright, bye bye.
- Bye, bye.
Garrett is like a lot of us, he'll be a team player when it suits him, and he'll be an independent when it suits him.
And he and I and a lot of other people have had times where we've clashed and it's gotten weird.
His vision has not always matched everyone else's.
We are heading to the safety meeting for the contest.
This is gonna be super big, super gnarly, it's got to be super safe.
Cameras were not allowed in the safety meeting.
So I was concerned about the safety, and I show up at this meeting.
And they're not having a shadow follow.
It wasn't mandatory for each team to have a shadow.
And I spoke very blunt about what I felt.
Without your backup safety, it's very unsafe and good luck.
Alemao Edilson Luis Da Assunçao WSL Nazaré Challenge Safety Driver I thought that the safety measures of the WSL Nazaré Tow-in Challenge, I think that without a doubt, they were the best possible measures.
They had a very solid team.
Garrett didn't agree.
For me it was hard to interpret Garrett's position in a negative way.
Garrett has always been like that.
He always worries.
It's not the first time.
It's not just because the WSL event.
Because he knows the importance and the difficulty of being a safety driver in Nazaré.
It was important that you have veterans like Garrett McNamara who are pushing the safety side, especially in competition.
Because it's easy to get clouded in the fog of competitive surfing and you forget about the basics and the stuff that's most important.
A lot of preparation went into having a safety plan in place for that event.
A lot of really qualified people are working on it.
We had 15 jet skis dedicated to rescue.
If everyone knows what they're doing and sticks to their assignment, it provides a pretty good safety net for everyone.
Hopefully they'll understand what I was sharing with them, I really hope the best for everybody.
I hope everybody comes home.
February 11, 2020 Morning of Nazaré Tow Challenge For the Nazaré tow surfing challenge every important big wave surfer from Brazil, from Hawaii, California, whatever.
Everyone's there.
It's an honor to surf the tow challenge representing Brazil.
To me, it's priceless to be able to put on a jersey with your country's colors.
To see this place, have a professional towing contest.
This is something maybe I dreamed about, I'm not even sure.
But I'm very proud that we have myself and Justine at the level that I think we'll do something and we'll catch waves and we'll represent and we'll put on a show hopefully.
It's quite a unique spectacle.
And whenever we run an event the world has its eyes on us.
It's amazing in two years how excited people have gotten over this wave.
You're gonna see thousands of people covering the cliffs.
It's just like you're going to the Super Bowl of surfing.
Blessed with great traditions and a big swell in the water.
Garrett is in the studio alongside me.
Garrett McNamara, how are you feeling about today? I'm excited.
I can't wait to see these guys out there giving it their best and it's gonna be a great show.
We are expecting some epic performances.
Forty or fifty of the world's best big wave surfers all pushing the limits.
This is gonna be awesome.
There are the teams.
You look down towards Chianca and Lenny, a lot of buzz, a lot of hype, those guys have taken tow to the next level.
Those are gonna be the two standouts.
These guys are gonna bring a whole different look to riding big waves.
Yeah they're definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Every time I do a competition, I want to get the best waves of my life.
And if those are the best waves of my life, than they should win the competition.
Not many people have spent more time out here than Andrew Cotton.
How do you fancy their chances? Everybody loves Cotty.
He's hungry and he wants it.
I'm really excited to see them get action in their heat.
This is it.
If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna be in it to win it.
I was just super hyped up from the event.
The big wave surf competition.
It could be life-changing.
Everyone wants the same thing, that wave that's gonna make a trip and change your life.
- The 100-foot wave.
- 100-foot wave.
- 100-foot wave.
- The 100-foot wave.
The 100-foot wave.
If people wonder where that concept came from, I'm gonna tell you right now, it was me.
I sproposed that idea as one of my many projects over the years.
It was laughed at first but then people went, there are 100-foot waves.
Maybe bigger.
When Garrett rode the giant wave in 2011, it was clearly the World Record biggest wave that had been ridden.
It just came out of left field.
It was such a shocker for everyone throughout the surfing world big waves they come in Hawaii, on the West Coast, not in the Atlantic.
But lo and behold the biggest waves in the world are there in Nazaré.
Seeing Garrett ride these waves resonated with people watching a tiny little surfer conning down this massive wave and then ygoing past this ancient structure that's been there since the 1500s.
You couldn't have made that up.
And there are giant waves starting in October all winter long, every three days.
It's just the most amazing wave factory that exists on the planet.
One of the most, if not the most famous surf spot in the world right now.
But any surfer who's been involved in the pioneering of a big wave break can't help but feel some kind of ownership to it.
It's got to be difficult for Garrett to see this starlet he discovered sort of dating other handsome dudes.
But that's just the way that things go.
Check out these monster 100-foot waves off Portugal.
The biggest wave ever surfed.
As high as 100 feet.
To put it in perspective, that is taller than an 8-story building.
Surfers are always looking for the next great thing.
It often breaks those brave or crazy board riders.
Severe white routes and waves of mind boggling heights.
What happens here, happens nowhere else in the world.
The biggest wave ever surfed.
The biggest wave ever.
A 100-foot wave.
100 Foot Wave Chapter 5 The Circus Nazaré, Portugal 2019 Season 10 No one would have had Portugal on their top ten list of water sports destinations ten years ago.
But now yevery important big wave surfer goes there, late October, early November, to train.
And now the women with Maya and Justine, it's really becoming a much more diverse time in Big Wave surfing.
Maya came very early on.
She had a very bad experience and overcame the traumatic experience and became the most determined, the most focused big wave surfing woman.
I had a pretty guilty feeling after the accident of wanting something too bad that it almost killed me.
If you ask me what made me come back, I didn't want the accident to shape the rest of my life.
January 18th, 2018.
We went out really early.
It was super cold.
All the waves were especially big and I knew that if I rode a wave that day it was probably be a world record for a woman.
And when it came I just knew it.
I knew the wave had a lot of potential.
I knew there was a lot of water moving.
I knew that I didn't want to fall.
When I see that video, I can barely believe it's me.
That wave got me the woman's world record.
She ended up with the world record and I was so stoked.
For a while she was the only girl trying to charge.
And then Justine came along and they're both just amazing, amazing athletes.
In big wave surfing the girls are just as capable as the guys.
Justine is one of the standout surfers in Nazaré.
Paddle, tow-in, stand up, short board.
She's amazing at all of it.
She brought some of the biggest waves that are out there this year.
I surf because I just love it.
That's all.
To me surfing a wave is about being present and being alive.
To me there isn't a question of gender between being a man or a woman surfer.
You are seen as a surfer and seen by the way you behave.
It's that simple.
I was happy when I first got here to see Maya.
She didn't ask herself if another woman had gone to Nazaré before her.
This was the first place I felt not judged by me being a woman in the water.
This small community, nobody cared that I was a woman.
Which is not something I can say about Hawaii, and other places.
I was accepted as I am.
It didn't matter if I was a woman or a man.
I had my own surf technique.
So I was respected because they saw me as a good surfer.
What she does and the commitment she has in everything she does It's amazing.
I have Fred with me at all times.
He is a fish in the sea.
He is a lifeguard and a professional bodysurfer.
It's great having my boyfriend, my partner, my love with me in the water.
I chose to live my life with these big waves in Nazaré for now.
Yes I'd love to catch a giant wave and I think every surfer that comes to Nazaré shares the same desire.
More than 20,000 flashes of lightning were recorded as the storm raged throughout Saturday and into Sunday.
Rain warnings in effect for pretty much all of Portugal at this time.
In addition to this, the red surf warning in effect for some of those coastal areas.
Night before the swell Come see what we're getting tomorrow.
It's a rare one.
Huge and coming right at us.
That's sick.
It's the entire ocean.
I have faith that it'll be here by the afternoon.
That's tight, eh? I'm kinda feeling like I might catch a wave.
It's so clean.
Why wouldn't I? Because you had a foot operation like six weeks ago.
Yeah but when I'm flat footed, it's fine.
Just don't put it back.
It's not even halfway through the winter.
Morning of the swell I remember kind of thinking it still might be possible the whole time.
And I almost was gonna surf.
I was in my hotel room and I was looking in the mirror, talking to myself, trying to figure it out.
Playing through the different scenarios.
Is that a Patagonia suit? I felt confident about driving and putting Cotty and CJ on waves.
But I didn't feel confident about taking a big wipeout.
I'm just doing my best to stay calm and patient.
I'm feeling like we should be at the Harbor going into the water already.
But it doesn't matter, I'm not surfing.
Do you get nervous? Oh yeah.
I probably get more nervous about the fact that it's CJ instead of Garrett.
There's a really perfect, clean swell.
The kind of days that I really look forward to surfing here in Nazaré.
I'm gonna put CJ on the wave of his life today.
The only one you want is you want this, or you want this.
This one to come right here in the middle.
Then this one's hollow.
I'd say there are going to be at least 30 skis out there so it's going to be pretty crowded.
This is actually the best it's been looking.
Look at that, that looks fucking nice.
Once we've realized Garrett's foot was messed up and he wasn't gonna surf, it kind of put Garrett, Cotty and I all in our own versions of what's going on here, as opposed to; okay boom, we're all on the same page.
We're healthy, we all want this wave.
The three of us were in different places, you know? Me with minor injuries still looking to surf.
Garrett like really taking a step back and Cotty like rearing, ready to go.
- What are you thinking? - Don't know really.
Cotty reminds me a lot of myself as far as his desires and his focus.
It's nice to see him so hungry.
It would be nice to get him what he's looking for.
- Are you excited? - Sort of.
Nervous, you know? - It looks like the magic day.
- Yep.
You're excited but nervous.
This was the biggest swell that came through this season, so far.
It was Garrett's first time really driving since the foot injury, and we were ready for a giant wave to come through.
We're going to offer this to the ocean in thanks and gratitude and also asking her permission to keep us safe and protect all of us.
That we can all stay present and just soak it all up.
Be in our bodies and have some good experiences.
- Everything cool? - Yes.
Hi.
Okay, so we're all linked up now.
Is everybody good? - Does anybody need anything? - All good.
When I got back on the waves I definitely felt a big uprising in competitive energy.
Just with all the people up there.
It's a circus out there now.
Everyone's there.
Ready to go.
Wanting to push the limits, wanting to catch the biggest wave ever.
Look at what you've created.
It's kind of surreal looking back to how good we had it when we learned about it.
Now there is 20-30 jet skis.
Who's to blame? Us? You're a victim of your own success.
This is the first time that I'm surfing Nazaré in six years and I definitely have that feeling of the new kid in school.
All these pros, everyone I see in all the videos and everything.
They don't know who I am and I'm just kinda Garrett's sidekick.
And then there's the other side of that too, the Portuguese people especially, they would remind me.
No you're the original.
You were here with Garrett for the first time.
So that's good too because I need to learn to claim my moment.
Claim what's rightfully mine, you know? And if it's just one glorious wave at Nazaré amidst all these people it's like no, I can get one too.
- Nicole, you up in here? - Yeah.
We're in between first and second peak way outside the furthest out.
A little outside, you might add one that swings in.
I'm basically trying to get one wave and get the biggest wave that I can.
And I see this big set come through.
I'm like man, that's the one.
Garrett puts me on the right way up the beach and I go on this thing and I'm like lining up and I drop down and I'm just flying so fast and it's bumping so hard and I'm barely staying on.
I feel like I'm fighting to stay on.
You fall off you're like with no breath for a while.
And that's a very scary thought.
End up making it out and there's a bigger wave behind it.
Massive, it comes and picks me up.
I like get the board on, get on the sled and he was flying out of there.
That was CJ, he gets out and I put him on the sled.
We got down there really quick and the board came out from under him.
So his board is on the beach and I'm not sure how we can get it.
I was pretty happy that my board washed in.
And I kinda couldn't surf any other waves because it was pretty terrifying.
I felt pretty unstable going that fast with those bumps, flying down that wave.
I was like oh my god, am I like ready for this right now? And I didn't really feel like I was too ready for it.
So it freaked me out actually, quite a bit.
That was a big ass wave.
- Which one? - Yours.
It was, huh? It felt big.
Couldn't tell.
- How'd it feel? - Weird, it was bumpy.
I'm questioning and doubting.
Like what am I doing? What am I doing? Is it really that fun trying to be out there and surf these 50-60 we're talking about 100-foot wave, is it that fun? Not really.
So I'm thinking, what am I doing? I'm out there risking my life for what? What if 200-foot waves existed on the planet? Good ones.
Are we gonna be out there trying to surf 'em? Where do we draw the line? How was the feeling about the teams? There was a lot of people with jet skis and I kind of liked it, it was nice.
The waves are being surfed all over the place.
Usually there's a lot of waves not being ridden, and it's fun to watch everybody ride.
People on the cliff are happy.
I've surfed enough waves out here, it's fun to watch people now.
Earlier that day Let's take a trip to Portugal with some impressive images.
It's a French surfer that rode one of the world's biggest waves.
Yes, her name is Justine Dupont.
She is 28 years old.
And she surfed the biggest wave of her life.
Yesterday something extraordinary happened.
There was a very big swell.
And I surfed a crazy wave.
Frankly, by far, the most beautiful wave of my life.
The perspective to be able to see the wave and the way the shadow was.
You know, it's amazing.
Yeah she scored this wave with a bunch of dudes out there, and somehow she got that wave at the bottom of the day and just charged it.
It was one of the best shots I ever filmed.
Laurent was in the water shooting the wave.
And I was driving the jetski.
We really got away from the beginning until the end.
And everything you want it's on the footage.
That was the best one today.
It's an interesting world.
Surfers and surf photographers.
It's a very codependent relationship because really you can't have a surf photographer without a professional surfer and you can't be a surfer if you don't have a photographer.
If you want to go out and surf for fun Photographers aren't necessary.
But if you want to surf for a living you've got to document most of the things you do.
And in the world of cinematography and the ocean Mike Prickett has been at the forefront.
My name is Mike Prickett and I'm a surf cinematographer from the North Shore of Hawaii.
I've been doing this, jeez for almost 40 years.
Since 1979 I think I started.
Mike Prickett is one of the greatest surf cinematographers in history.
Mike was always at the top of his game, he was always the guy you wanted working with you.
He's a legend in the community swimming out in the biggest days of surf with these massive camera rigs on his shoulder.
Basically almost any film that you've seen that's water work to just any surf movie Mike has shot.
But Mike has gone through some tough times.
He had a horrific accident in Tahiti.
I went to Tahiti to do a commercial, and I saw a diver that was in trouble, that got stuck in a down current.
So I went down to rescue him.
When I got to him he was 220 feet under water.
He had no air.
He was in a complete panic, his eyes were this big.
I was trying to get him to calm down because he was hyperventilating.
But as I was bringing him to the surface I could feel the air starting get lower we were going to run out of air soon.
We had no choice but to make an emergency ascent.
We broke through the surface and we didn't even make a safety stop.
Within a matter of moments he was already passed out.
Due to getting the bends.
The bends are bubbles in your blood.
So the bubbles went into my spinal cord.
On March 14th I was injured in a dive accident in Tahiti and paralyzed from the waist down.
And the doctor says I have about six months before I plateau off of my recovery.
Yeah I got six months to see if I can ever walk again.
We'll see.
It's been quite a while since that happened.
I was in a wheelchair.
I don't really bring my wheel chair with me.
I just force myself to hobble around and I torture all my friends to go slow walking with me, because I take forever.
Yeah they don't care.
They're like ah, come on pick it up, crippled guy.
Slowly, through the physical therapy he's able to move his legs.
He still has no feeling on them but he's walking around with crutches now, I took a slow road to recovery but yeah that's kind of what happened.
Let's go and get in position.
We shoot a regular surfing shot in the shoulder of the waves right now.
And then after that we'll try and track one.
I'm going to tow Cotty on a couple of waves.
We're going to move over to second, third peak away from the surfers.
Here we go.
Rolling.
Garrett is pulling Cotty down a wave.
And we're looking at Cotty and he's going right.
Yup.
We got it.
I've been here a long time doing footage on the jetski with a go-pro.
This is the future.
Everything looks good.
To see Mike come back and continue to do amazing both technically and artistically Is just an absolute inspiration.
I was elected Mayor on the 29th of September 2013.
When I came to the citadel, the Nazaré Project had already fulfilled some of its goals and we needed to open up Nazaré to other surfers, to spread the word.
And within that vision for me, it was mandatory to have a world surf league event every year.
October 30, 2019 Nazaré Tow Challenge Announcement Through the work of Garrett and through the work also of the ladies, we celebrate this event here.
We've been showcasing the world that the big waves making sure that my dream and the dream of a lot of people in Nazaré is maintained through the years.
It's good to see.
Good to see.
I'm really excited about the Nazaré tow challenge.
Yes I'm really excited about the Nazaré tow challenge.
It's again it's another opportunity to compete on the world stage.
Looking for the perfect conditions.
I want to be actually surfing and not surviving.
Big wave surfing events generally have a window that will run a certain number of months.
The Nazaré tow Surfing Challenge started November 1 and ran through the end of February.
So we have four months to wait for just the right combination of all the elements to come together.
Calling the day for a big wave event is probably one of the most complex things you can possibly do in the sporting world by a mile.
The Super Bowl I can tell you five years from now exactly what day and hour the kickoff is.
In big waves, it's just not like that.
There's gonna be a day at some point in the next four months and we'll tell you three days in advance.
You are constantly monitoring the local weather, the tide, the exact direction of the swell.
You never know totally for sure.
But you have that pressure of saying, look, we're going to run an event.
We're going to have a hundred people from around the world fly in.
We're gonna spend between the events and the prize money and the broadcast probably not far off a million dollars.
So when that perfect storm does come, you don't want to blow it.
February 2020 Three months after contest announcement.
On February 8th the WSL announced that he Nazaré Tow Challenge would be held on February 11th.
The clock was ticking away with an amazing crew of decision makers of the world surf league and especially the local crew there at Nazaré were able to just take what we knew about every other storm that's coming in the last six or seven years and study it and look for the one that had all the right components.
February 11th was going to be easily the best day of the year.
They reached out and I said yes, it looks amazing.
There's definitely a swell.
It seems to be big enough.
And I believe the waves will be there.
It's pretty cool, exactly what we had envisioned and focused on and plan from this place from the day we showed up is now actually happening.
And Cotty's got a spo.
I got a spot but I'm I don't I'm not gonna but I am keeping a wildcard spot so that if I'm better and it is the 100-foot day then I'll surf it.
What's up? How are you? I'm getting excited for you, for this year.
- I'll definitely be ready to drive.
- Yeah? I'm 100% ready to be on the cliff and orchestrating, that would be fun too.
- I think that could be more valuable.
- More valuable, huh? But you'll be freaking out When I watched from the cliff I couldn't do it.
- Couldn't do it.
- It freaks me out.
Because you want to be in the water.
Well you want to be in the water, but also from that different angle it looks so much more gnarlier than from the beach at times.
- Alright, love you.
- Right.
I'll speak to you in a bit.
Love you buddy.
When Garrett was starting to talk about the tow contest and everything, I felt like I had no business being in it at all.
It just felt way out of my league honestly.
All these surfers have had an extra six years experiencing surfing Nazaré, when I haven't even been around.
Yeah, it was hardly even on my radar to be a competitor in that.
So I didn't come for the second half of the season just because I didn't feel ready.
And also, I had another opportunity, a thing that arose that was more what I was supposed to be doing, which was going deeper into healing.
I flew down to Peru for two weeks.
This tribe has created this little village center there for people to come and experience the medicine of the jungle.
The diet is two meals a day and then at nighttime, dinner is drinking Ayahuasca.
So I went there looking for some healing, looking for some answers and clarity on life.
And I've gotten so much growth and learning from that experience.
As I'm getting clearer on what all this means and what's important to myself, I'm finding more respect and a different kind of drive for pushing these limits and surfing this giant wave.
I feel better about the quest now for this hundred-foot wave and I don't feel rushed at all about it.
It's gonna come when it comes.
With the contest on and stuff it's not been the most straightforward of years.
I've been surfing with Garrett for the last 8, 9 years and obviously Garrett's been injured.
So I've been partnered with Tom Butler from the UK.
- You wearing gloves? - No, I'll probably regret that.
- Regret that? - Yeah.
I've been putting in the time with Tom we have to then build our connection together.
We've got to compete.
I'm fortunate to have Tom because he was one of the early guys at Nazaré.
The WSL tow challenge is being watched all around the world.
News crews are coming from all around the world and that's pressure.
But it didn't take too long and we were getting quite comfortable.
We believed in ourselves.
Cotty's excited, hungry, wants it, he's been training for it all year.
He's got a good partner and they're ready.
But they'll also have some serious competition.
Grab the keys.
How's it going? Good to see you.
Can I feel your board? - Do you like them that weight? - Oh it's just for because it's small.
I have my heavy ones for tomorrow and the next day.
- How heavy? - Ten kilos.
Yeah.
Is this one you were doing on the flip side? Sick.
That's the guy to watch, Kai Lenny.
He does every discipline in the water, he's the best at everything.
He does 360s and lands it, and it's amazing.
So I think he's the best guy to watch.
He's an up comer.
Now that Garrett's discovered this wave, Kai's going to rip it apart.
If you need anything while you're here please let me know.
- Thanks, G Mac.
Maybe some tips.
- I'll get tips from you.
Big wave surfing definitely has its old guard and its new guard and Garrett's the ultimate example of the old guard.
The new guard is perfectly represented by Kai Lenny.
He's like a once in a generation freak.
He's just progressing more rapidly than any surfer in history.
Big wave surfing probably will never be the same after Kai Lenny.
I mean the things that he's doing.
Garrett isn't gonna be doing that.
I don't see CJ doing that, I don't see Cotty doing that.
Big wave surfing ebbs and flows with popularity.
Someone like Garrett has gone through the highs and the lows of the sport.
I think as far as progression goes within the sport, it's gonna keep on going places no one ever thought was possible.
My towing partner for the Nazaré challenge is Lucas Chumbo.
When Lucas and I decided to team up, he in my eyes was the most progressive big wave surfer.
He's really pushing the level at Nazaré with giant barrels and giant airs and big maneuvers.
And I wanted to be partnered with somebody that I had a huge amount of respect for, and who I thought was actually better than me.
- Mr.
McNamara! - How you doing? Good to see you.
Lucas is somebody to focus on.
This is the blow.
When I got here in Nazaré I feel so much at home, or I feel so comfortable here.
At my home I'm doing what I love.
And for sure I'm in the best place to do what I love.
What's up guys? Did you get a couple? - We didn't see you in yesterday.
- Yeah, a day out of the wet suit.
You know what time I finished? 2:00 AM to clean the ski.
I'm done today.
I need to rest.
I loved it actually when I came first time to Nazaré, I didn't have any sponsor.
Then two years after I got this sponsor from Red Bull and this is was a dream for me and now I have my locker.
I want to thank you for coming to the inaugural Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge.
This is an event that for a lot of us has been a lifetime in preparation for.
A real opportunity to showcase the state of the art big wave surfing.
When we get up to make the record, nobody go to the light house on that day.
Imagine the difference between that day and now.
I imagine this is the first time you've come back to Nazaré since you had the accident? Oh no, no.
That was like years ago now.
Do people think you're a bit like mad that you're coming back after that? Nah because if it was that horrendous then I wouldn't want to do it again.
And I never thought I was gonna drown or die, so it's just an injury.
- Cheers man.
- Thank you, you're very kind.
Being constantly reminded about the wipeout we can't take too seriously.
It's just part of it, getting the exposure as well.
I could have made that wave and could've been the best of my life.
But probably no one would have ever seen it.
It's like a double-edged sword of what people want to see.
I've been doing the big wave tour for 20 years now and the everyone wants to win ride of the year.
The award you don't want to win is the wipeout of the year.
One of the hall of fame moments was Andrew Cotton at Nazaré getting a little trophy that affirms yours was the best wipeout of the year maybe took a little bit of the sting out of it.
Been trying to win an XXL Award for my whole career and then I win one for a bloody wipeout.
The irony is that this is so typical.
I don't think there's any question that people love a good wipeout.
Just from pure statistics, I just know how many views the wipeouts get versus the biggest paddle wave.
It's just not even close.
As long as they come out of it okay, it's just an epic fail.
The five best wipeouts will be enjoyed more than the one skillful ride because most people looking at it don't know the difference.
The waves are supposed to be good tomorrow too, right? - Yeah.
- Are you going to surf tomorrow? My foot's not really ready for this kind of stuff.
It's not worth it to go out there and hurt my foot and big old swell comes.
That's true.
- I miss you so much right now.
- I miss you.
These are the times I just want to get on a plane.
Oahu, Hawaii I stay home sometimes but it's all a blur.
Nicole McNamara, Garrett's wife/Manager Motherhood is a blur.
I caught one.
Garrett had a lot of work to do, so sometimes it's easier for Garrett to go and just get the work done, then for the whole family to go and us Go do bubbles! Without my family around there's a lot of time to think and so I'm thinking there and ah I could do the contest.
One wave is all I need, one big wave.
A hundred footer comes, I'll be out there and it will probably come to me.
So I was thinking, yeah, I think I want to surf it.
Three days ago I went out there and after I drove around and felt my foot and felt the chops and checked into my body and realized that if I fell I probably wouldn't come home.
And I was actually getting scared.
Letting fear enter my mind.
I have no business out here, and I want nothing to do with this.
Garrett's mentioned the fear.
I don't think it's so much fear of the waves but fear of the pain that he felt with his shoulder.
I don't think he's afraid of dying, if you die you're not in pain.
His is like just feeling that pain again and depression.
I do feel that it would have been amazing to surf.
But I didn't want to push it.
I wasn't ready.
Two Days Before Contest I've been on the walkie for a minute or two here and there.
Never really was a spotter.
I've always been interested in doing it because I want to see what the people are watching when they're spotting and how they're sharing with us what they see and where they want us to go.
I think we'll have a good practice with Cotty.
I think it will work out.
It's gonna be interesting, something new for me.
Cotty, you guys out there? Yeah just getting out just getting up to the lineup.
How's it looking? Do you want to wait for the sets or just go for anything? I think at the moment we are happy to wait for some sets.
It just feels different trying to see which way they should go for.
This peak here? I can't see where you guys are.
Second third peak, Shit wait, wait, wait.
Definitely some waves on the outside.
Hang tight right where you are.
Second beat, second beat, run over there, go get it, go get it, go, go.
He's gone, he's going, he's going.
He made it, holy shit, amazing.
Wow that was a heat winner.
This is gonna be the greatest show in surfing.
There's no doubt about it.
Yeah boys, you guys are already here.
That was too fast.
I thought it was gonna eat you.
Yeah.
You cranked it so hard, the whitewater was coming, I was like oh, he's done.
I was about to say, down, down.
And then To have Garrett in your corner, like, it's a dream isn't it? Well if someone said to me like, 10 years ago.
Oh you know you're gonna be in the Duracell Nazaré Challenge and Garrett's going to be on the radio calling the shots.
I never, ever in a million years I would think that it's possible.
Garrett was just someone you saw in magazines and movies.
Not somebody who Facetimes you at 6:00 in the morning.
- Hello.
Hey! - Hey.
Hi there! - Did it get smaller? - No, it's good sized.
There's gonna be some good waves and it was really beautiful today.
Guess what I got a taste of today? I have so much more understanding and I guess I should say respect for spotting.
Because I spotted today on the cliff for practice.
It's hard to tell which wave's gonna be the wave.
Yeah it's really hard.
As soon as they came I scored them the sickest wave right out the gate and it worked perfect.
And then they got another good one and then it was tough.
You guys gotta win this thing.
Yeah I know.
Well we're set, aren't we? Oh it's nice and warm in here, it's so cold.
Thank you so much for bringing this.
Sorry to put that on you.
Good to see you.
- So you guys have a meeting at Linos? - Yeah, yeah.
- What kind of a meeting? - Safety and then What is the safety plan? Did they have one ski delegated to each team? Some people weren't happy.
There was only like 2 or 3 really good safety guides out of the 5.
That doesn't seem good at all.
Those safety skis are gonna be on the beach so fast when they lose their ski.
- And you're happy with that? - No, but what can you do really.
I think it's gonna be as safe as it can be, you know? - Let me call Bill.
- Alright, thanks very much.
It's just things can go wrong so quick.
You can have two skis down in a second.
All of a sudden everyone's on two skis and there's still three skis surfing.
- Garrett? - Bill.
I was talking to Cotty about the safety, it sounded really, really scary to me what you guys got in place.
We're about to have another meeting on it, it's been basically an outgrowth that we all talked about.
It's the last meeting, if you want to come and chime in, it's coming up.
If I was in the event I would want to I would say more, but since I'm not, I don't really feel like it's my place to say anything.
Either join in or wait and see whatever we come up with.
- Alright, bye bye.
- Bye, bye.
Garrett is like a lot of us, he'll be a team player when it suits him, and he'll be an independent when it suits him.
And he and I and a lot of other people have had times where we've clashed and it's gotten weird.
His vision has not always matched everyone else's.
We are heading to the safety meeting for the contest.
This is gonna be super big, super gnarly, it's got to be super safe.
Cameras were not allowed in the safety meeting.
So I was concerned about the safety, and I show up at this meeting.
And they're not having a shadow follow.
It wasn't mandatory for each team to have a shadow.
And I spoke very blunt about what I felt.
Without your backup safety, it's very unsafe and good luck.
Alemao Edilson Luis Da Assunçao WSL Nazaré Challenge Safety Driver I thought that the safety measures of the WSL Nazaré Tow-in Challenge, I think that without a doubt, they were the best possible measures.
They had a very solid team.
Garrett didn't agree.
For me it was hard to interpret Garrett's position in a negative way.
Garrett has always been like that.
He always worries.
It's not the first time.
It's not just because the WSL event.
Because he knows the importance and the difficulty of being a safety driver in Nazaré.
It was important that you have veterans like Garrett McNamara who are pushing the safety side, especially in competition.
Because it's easy to get clouded in the fog of competitive surfing and you forget about the basics and the stuff that's most important.
A lot of preparation went into having a safety plan in place for that event.
A lot of really qualified people are working on it.
We had 15 jet skis dedicated to rescue.
If everyone knows what they're doing and sticks to their assignment, it provides a pretty good safety net for everyone.
Hopefully they'll understand what I was sharing with them, I really hope the best for everybody.
I hope everybody comes home.
February 11, 2020 Morning of Nazaré Tow Challenge For the Nazaré tow surfing challenge every important big wave surfer from Brazil, from Hawaii, California, whatever.
Everyone's there.
It's an honor to surf the tow challenge representing Brazil.
To me, it's priceless to be able to put on a jersey with your country's colors.
To see this place, have a professional towing contest.
This is something maybe I dreamed about, I'm not even sure.
But I'm very proud that we have myself and Justine at the level that I think we'll do something and we'll catch waves and we'll represent and we'll put on a show hopefully.
It's quite a unique spectacle.
And whenever we run an event the world has its eyes on us.
It's amazing in two years how excited people have gotten over this wave.
You're gonna see thousands of people covering the cliffs.
It's just like you're going to the Super Bowl of surfing.
Blessed with great traditions and a big swell in the water.
Garrett is in the studio alongside me.
Garrett McNamara, how are you feeling about today? I'm excited.
I can't wait to see these guys out there giving it their best and it's gonna be a great show.
We are expecting some epic performances.
Forty or fifty of the world's best big wave surfers all pushing the limits.
This is gonna be awesome.
There are the teams.
You look down towards Chianca and Lenny, a lot of buzz, a lot of hype, those guys have taken tow to the next level.
Those are gonna be the two standouts.
These guys are gonna bring a whole different look to riding big waves.
Yeah they're definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Every time I do a competition, I want to get the best waves of my life.
And if those are the best waves of my life, than they should win the competition.
Not many people have spent more time out here than Andrew Cotton.
How do you fancy their chances? Everybody loves Cotty.
He's hungry and he wants it.
I'm really excited to see them get action in their heat.
This is it.
If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna be in it to win it.
I was just super hyped up from the event.
The big wave surf competition.
It could be life-changing.
Everyone wants the same thing, that wave that's gonna make a trip and change your life.