:55:02
Next thing you know,
another wave came over the rock.
:55:05
I'm underwater again.
The tension from my leg rope relieved.
:55:08
I climbed on the rock,
and I got rid of that damn anchor...
:55:11
...that was around my leg.
:55:14
It's funny that Mavericks surfers value
their surfboards more than their lives.
:55:19
It's like a lifeline.
:55:20
If you get held down,
the only thing that I know...
:55:23
...is at the end of this is something
that floats more than I do.
:55:27
So if I wait and hold onto it,
that's up.
:55:29
So I reach around
and grab my leash...
:55:31
...and climb it back to the top,
back to the surface.
:55:34
I know, in my experience,
there were times when...
:55:36
...if I didn't have a leash,
I'm not sure I would have lived.
:55:42
In May of 1992...
:55:44
... two years after Clark shared his
spot with Powers and Schmidt...
:55:48
...Surfer Magazine
took Mavericks public...
:55:50
... with a cover story
titled "Cold Sweat."
:55:56
As if to back up
the front-page headline...
:55:58
... in 1994, California was bombarded
by a series of epic north swells...
:56:03
... announcing to surfing's big-wave
fraternity Mavericks was the real deal.
:56:08
That's when the entire,
you know, surf world...
:56:11
...converged on Mavericks, like,
"Okay, this place is legitimate.
:56:15
We're gonna really see
what it's worth here."
:56:20
On December 23rd, the sudden
arrival of three of Hawaii's...
:56:24
... most famous
Waimea Bay surfers...
:56:26
... Ken Bradshaw,
Brock Little and Mark Foo...
:56:29
... created the biggest stir
and gave the impression...
:56:32
... that something momentous
was taking place.
:56:40
That day was amazing...
:56:42
...to have the Hawaiians paddling out:
Brock Little, Mark Foo, Ken Bradshaw.
:56:47
My gosh, I was like a proud parent
or something like that, you know...
:56:52
...because they gave the spot
that I've surfed for so many years...
:56:56
...the credibility
to actually come and surf it.
:56:59
Helicopters were hovering,
and photographers...