:11:02
Nobody would touch it.
:11:27
The Californians were mentored...
:11:28
... by Makaha's first generation
of big-wave riders.
:11:31
Surfers like Woody Brown,
along with Wally Froiseth...
:11:35
... George Downing and Buzzy Trent,
had spent much...
:11:38
... of the previous decade
challenging Makaha's giant surf.
:11:41
They were the astronauts
of their era.
:11:45
They were conquering waves
no one had.
:11:47
To me, those guys
were bigger than life.
:11:51
That trio of guys were
the first really hardcore...
:11:56
...big-wave riders that set
the blueprint for the next generation.
:12:01
But it was 23-year-old
George Downing...
:12:04
... who carved the mold from which
all other big-wave riders were cast.
:12:08
I think George Downing, in a sense,
is truly the original big-wave surfer.
:12:12
Downing designed and built
the first true big-wave surfboard...
:12:16
... and was instrumental in exploring
Oahu's other big-wave breaks.
:12:20
They wanted to ride
more big waves...
:12:22
...and Makaha doesn't
get big that often.
:12:25
And we had heard these fabulous
tales about, you know...
:12:28
...this deep, dark, foreboding place
called the North Shore.
:12:34
Fifteen miles up the coast
from Makaha was the North Shore...
:12:38
... a remote 13-mile stretch
of coastline backed up against...
:12:42
... a patchwork of pineapple fields
and taro farms.
:12:52
I can remember coming out
of the pineapple fields of Schofield...
:12:56
...and getting my first glimpse
of the North Shore.
:12:59
Here's this magical place
laid out in front of you.