:08:01
...for a mile underneath the town
of Windansea.
:08:25
And that was just having a good time.
:08:27
But people see it and go,
"What's this all about?"
:08:29
That behavior wasn't mean-spirited.
It was playful.
:08:32
It was like turning a hearse
into a surf-mobile.
:08:35
Instead of dead bodies, it was all
about living life to the fullest.
:08:39
Amidst the mirth and mayhem
of the fledging surf scenes...
:08:42
... from Windansea to San Onofre,
to Malibu, much homage...
:08:46
... was given to the sport's
Polynesian roots...
:08:48
... with grass shacks, floral aloha
shirts and the playing of ukuleles.
:08:57
But on a winter morning in 1953,
another Hawaiian import...
:09:01
... landed like a bomb
on the front porch of California.
:09:05
I remember I was
a 14-year-old paperboy...
:09:10
...delivering the Evening Outlook.
:09:12
I got to work...
I had looked at the front page...
:09:15
...and there it was: Buzzy Trent,
George Downing...
:09:17
...and Wally Froiseth coming down
what looked like a 30-foot wave.
:09:26
This simple image sent shock waves
through California's surf culture...
:09:31
... triggering the first migration
of West Coast surfers...
:09:34
... to the Hawaiian Islands
and Oahu's Makaha Beach.
:09:44
It was Makaha's combination
of smooth...
:09:46
... crystal-blue warm water,
and large, gently tapered waves...
:09:50
... that helped create surfing's first
accessible big-wave riding paradise.
:09:59
At Makaha, if we had 10 guys
on a good day, that was a lot.